Research Paper

The Psychology of Fear and its application in

Survival/Horror Video Games

Phillip Welch 77177337

4 th May 2018

Introduction

“Do you want to see something really scary” (The Twilight Zone, 1983).

What images does the mind conjure up at hearing such a statement?

Whilst parallels exist between the horror movie spectator and video game player there

are two distinct differences. Viewers of the horror movie genre perceive the events from a

safe environment and observe the proceedings on screen, in a linear form. Unlike the horror

movie viewer, the video game player is immersed into a nonlinear world and has a direct link

to the proceedings unfolding on the screen. The player may have to make moral judgements

which could result in life or death decisions or even behave in a completely barbaric manor in

order to survive. The psychological effects of such a traumatic medium require further

exploration. By review of previous studies and analysis of the results of primary research

which consisted of an online survey. This report will endeavour to comprehend the

motivations and expectations of the horror game genre devotees. The report follows a logical

progression which leads to the reasoning behind the sound design of the latest survival/horror

video game titles. The conclusions derived from the results will enable the student to enhance

the sound design of future horror based video game projects.

The Psychology behind Fear

All mammals are equipped with adaptive instincts like fight or flight, these are

systems housed primarily in the brain stem (Panksepp 1998). Fear has a neurocircuitry that

passes from the amygdala through the hypothalamus to the periaqueductal gray (PAG), down

to the brain stem, and out through the spinal cord (Asma, 2014). The amygdala is the gland

that regulates fear. The amygdala controls the instinctive bodily reaction to an event. It

evolved such that when an event is encountered (be it real or perceived) the gland will react.

The hippocampus (The hippocampus deals with the formation of long-term memories and

spatial navigation (Mandal, 2017)) then makes an association as to the emotional state the

encounter previously elicited (Cantor 1998). From an evolutionary perspective, the emotion

of fear protected humans from predators and other threats to the survival of the species. An

individual’s response to such stimuli will vary, this is due to a combination of their

personality and learnt behaviour. When an emotion is triggered it has an impact on judgments

and choices (Lerner and Keltner, 2001). A study has been carried out on the judgments and

choices made by participants of differing personality traits. Those who were fearful,

consistently made judgments and choices that were relatively pessimistic and amplified their

perception of risk in a given situation. Those of a happy or angry persuasion were more likely

to disregard risk by making relatively optimistic judgments and choices (Sylvers, et al.,

2011). Awareness of a person’s emotions and considering how they might influence their

decision-making in a given situation is crucial in the design, and particularly the audio

component of a survival horror video game.

How Horror Movies use the psychology of fear

The question is, why would someone intentionally watch a horror movie or play a

horror based video game? People like watching and playing for different reasons and no

theory has been put forward that explains everyone’s motives and reasoning. One theory

dating back to Aristotle, is the notion of catharsis (i.e., that people watch violent and

frightening films as a way of purging negative emotions and/or as a way to relieve pent-up

aggression) (Lee, 2016). The main element of what makes things scary is ambiguity, i.e.

when a person is not completely able to interpret or understand something. Horror movie

killers usually have a deformed or hidden face, and movie monsters are just deformed

variations of humans or animals. This prevents the viewer from reading their facial

expression and thus the true nature of a person (Mind of Steel, 2018).

Though film is an audio-visual medium and the visual tends to play a more

emphasized role within cinema, this is certainly not the case in horror (Hayward, 2009). In

fact, it can be argued that sound plays an even greater role in the narrative than the visual, on

the basis that much of the killer’s movements are communicated through sound. Horror plays

on the audience’s fear of the unknown, and sound plays a huge role in this (Donelly, 2005).

Prof. Michael J. Epstein (2012), who leads Northeastern University Auditory

Modeling and Processing Lab, has researched human reactions to alarming sounds and film

scores. He identifies four main categories of music use in horror movies to evoke

physiological responses: dissonance and unnaturalness, chaos, or disorder; the dynamics of

loudness, speed, and pitch; uncertainty, expectations (silence during tense moments),

whispered voices, context disconnect and the startle reflex. Daniel Blumstein (2016) of the

University of California, claims that there are biologically ingrained reasons why sudden,

dissonant sounds and minor chords make us apprehensive. While studying yellow-belied

marmots in Colorado, he found that, when baby marmots scream, they cause “nonlinear

chaotic noise.” Horror movie scores make heavy use of this kind of sound, for example, in

the iconic dissonant sound in the 1975 Steven Spielberg film ‘Jaws’. When the shark starts to

attack people, the chords start slicing and create a feeling of chaos. In movie ‘The Shining’

(1980), sound designers used recordings of animal screams. Nonlinear sounds – a dissonant

chord, a child’s cry, a baby animal’s scream – trigger a biologically ingrained response,

making hearers think that their young are threatened. Epstein explains the application of this

natural reaction in film: “common musical intervals, changed slightly to create dissonance,

are immediately disconcerting. The more a film uses them, the more uncomfortable we are

(Epstein, 2012)”.

The final technique is the startle reflex. Many scenes in horror movies use the startle

reflex to make the audience jump. Therefore, even though the jump scare is a convention, and

most viewers already know that something creepy would happen after the silence, sudden,

loud sounds played after silence will make audiences jump over and over again (Horowitz

2012).

The Application of Audio in Survival/Horror Games

We can now see that people are slaves to the evolutionary inbuilt, physical and emotional

reactions which are elicited when the fear response is triggered. Unlike watching a horror

movie in a cinema which occurs in a linear format, playing a survival/horror video game

takes place in a non-linear environment. The player has a certain level of autonomy and the

decisions they make during gameplay will directly influence the way they perceive the

gaming experience.

From a game sound perspective, differentiation between design approaches is crucial

to sound design that intends to evoke a fearful response in the player. Psychological horror

dictates steady pacing and therefore slowly evolving, unnerving atmospheres. Action horror

requires shocks, graphic depictions of violence and against-the clock tension devices. This

points to significant differences in sound design, with the former approach more likely to

employ dissonance, uneven rhythmic structures and ambiences slow-building rises in pitch

and tempo, distorted and sharp equalisation, etc. In contrast, an action-horror theme would be

expected to require short attack bursts of sound, high contrast volume changes and

aggressively quick tempos. Whilst psychological horror deals in sounds that connote the

unknown or the uncanny, action horror sounds signify immediate, characterised danger and

disgusting imagery (Garner, 2013).

In working towards an understanding of what causes certain things to lie within a field

of what is frightening or uncanny, Freud (1919) made reference to an essay, “On the

Psychology of the Uncanny‟, by Jentsch (1906), which first initiated the subject of the

uncanny in contemporary thought. Freud (1919: 226) acknowledged Jentsch‟s argument that

the uncanny is a mental state instilled when one cannot distinguish between the living and the

dead or between what appears to be animate or inanimate: the feeling caused by waxwork

figures, ingeniously constructed dolls and automata. Freud describes an affinity between the

uncanny and a doppelganger. The replica of a human at first represents an assurance against

death. Trepidation then emerges as one realizes that the doppelganger actually represents the

inevitability of one’s death, a ghastly harbinger of death (1919: 235).

The fear potential of sounds in computer games has been examined by Grimshaw

(2008a), who proposes a conceptual framework of sound in First-Person Shooters and

includes a discussion of the semantics of alarms in such a context, and also discusses the

utilisation of uncanny sound in computer games (Grimshaw 2009). Ekman and Kajastila

(2009) conducted a small-scale study, the results of which suggest that making the

localization of sound (that is, the ability to perceive the location of the sound source) difficult

increases the fear factor. The structure of the survey and the number, gender and age group of

the participants has not been disclosed. There is however, considerable research on the

subject. French critic and composer Michel Chion, notes: “The use of diegetic sound in

survival horror games is virtually the same as that of diegetic sound in horror films. Sound

for which there is no identifiable on-screen visual source intensifies causal listening in taking

away the sense of sight (Chion, 1994 p.32)”.

In first-person shooters or horror games where the player operates in a hostile

environment the threat stimulus event is often associated with the unfamiliar, the unknown,

and the darkness. A good sound design will exploit these environments using ‘uncanny’

sound, which will substantially improve the immersive quality of the video game, as

‘uncanny’ sound is typically associated with negative emotions such as Plutchik‟s basic

feelings of terror, fear and apprehension (Plutchik 1980).

Atari's Haunted House in 1982, was one of the first specifically designed horror genre

games. The game used the technique of restricting the players view, this made the player

concentrate on the audio element. The sounds used were of dissonant uneven rhythmic

structures such as mentioned earlier. The psychological effect had the players fearing what

could be lurking in the dark, the fear of the unseen.

In 1996 ‘Resident Evil’ was released by Capcom games. This was the first time that a

video game was marketed under the term, ‘Survival horror’. Resident Evil's success led to the

release of a plethora of similar style games, all adopting many of the key elements present in

Resident Evil, in the hope of replicating its success. None were more successful than the

1999 title Silent Hill. Silent Hill employed the theme of a more relatable protagonist. The

story follows a father in search of his daughter in a mysterious town. Silent Hill expanded the

scope of the survival horror format, utilizing more psychological horror elements during the

trials faced by the father as he tries to find his lost child (Finnegan 2016). The work carried

out on these earlier games furnished future game developers and sound designers with

knowledge of what worked well and what did not work so well. Thus, the next generation of

survival horror game developers were able to evolve and improve their products.

The best example of fear inducing audio used in recent horror survival video games is

from Resident Evil 7 (Capcom 2017). This latest chapter of the resident evil franchise takes a

different approach to the previous games. The main theme being that of the horror aspect

(Hachisako 2017). The foundation of the music score is the violin tremolo strings not

dissimilar to their successful use in the Alien Isolation game. These were combined with

binaural sound effects and voice over sections which became part of the score. The voice

actors were told to make sounds as if they had plastic bags on their heads, also sound as if

they were drowning. The result fitted together with the atonal music score (D’Oliveira 2017).

The sound design used the experimental technique of musical composition using recorded

sounds as raw material. This generated original sound content. A lot of the sound design

concentrated on immersing the player into the horror scenario. Environmental ambience was

crucial in making the player feel they were actually inside the game world. Along with

natural sounds (wind etc.) scary sounds were added such that would be heard in an old house

resting, such as snapping of wood. Section of silence were added in order to make the player

lose their sense of time and thus dread what might happen next (Sonae 2017).

Analysis of primary research results

The questionnaire consisted of nine questions in total. The questions asked were:

1. What is your gender?

2. What is your age?

3. What is your favourite horror video game genre?

4. What do you find scarier?

5. What do you find the most disturbing in a human looking killer?

6. What didn't you like about playing a Horror Video Game?

7. Which is your Scariest Non-human Horror Video Game character and Why?

8. Which is your Favourite Horror Based Video Game and Why?

9. Which is your least Favourite Horror Based Video Game and Why?

The survey was completed on average, in 6 minutes. Results show that the horror genre video

games are played predominately by males, although there was not a vast discrepancy between

the genders. The chart result is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Result of question one, on Genders

The games were played mostly, by people in the age bracket of 18 – 24. There was an age

spread up to the 55 – 64 age bracket, but no one over the age of 65 played. The chart is

shown in figure 2.

Figure 2: Shows the Age range of Horror game players

The results from question three show that the most popular genre was Survival Horror,

favoured by almost half the participants. Psychological games came second, with just over

twenty percent. No one played any Jump Scare games. The results are shown in figure 3.

Figure 3: Results of Favoured Horror Game genres

ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES––SURVIVAL HORROR (ALIEN ISOLATION)

42.86%6

–FIRST PERSON SHOOTER HORROR (DOOM)

14.29%2

–THIRD PERSON SHOOTER HORROR (DEAD SPACE)

14.29%2

–JUMP SCARE HORROR (FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDIE'S)

0.00%0

–PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR (SILENT HILL)

21.43%3

–OTHER

7.14%1

TOTAL 14

The interesting result of question four revealed that 100 % of the participants found the idea

of something malevolent scarier than actually seeing it on the screen. This is shown in figure

4.

Figure 4: Shows 100 % Found the idea of Something is Scarier than Seeing it

Question five showed that 36 % of participants found that a killer who looked normal was the

most disturbing. This was closely followed by the killer being devoid of empathy, with 28 %.

This was closely followed by the killer being disfigured at 21 %. No one found a deranged

killer at all disturbing. The result chart is shown in figure 5.

Question six showed that most people disliked a Horror video game with a weak story line. A

bad ending and being too realistic came a joint second. The percentage results are shown in

figure 6.

Figure 5: Shows that most Participants found a Normal looking killer most Disturbing

Figure 6: Results of what the Participants didn't like about playing a Horror Video

Game.

Questions seven, eight and nine were all test box answers only. Question seven asked: Which

is your scariest non-human horror video game character and why? The answers given showed

that the majority of the participants found the Xenomorph from the Alien Isolation survival

ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES––WEAK STORY LINE

35.71%5

–TOO SCARY

7.14%1

–NOT SCARY ENOUGH

7.14%1

–BAD ENDING

14.29%2

–TOO REALISTIC

14.29%2

–NOT ENOUGH REALISM

7.14%1

–OTHER

14.29%2

TOTAL 14

horror game the scariest character. Some of the reasons given for this are shown below:

Alien from alien isolation was scary. This was aided by the not knowing where it was

and it then coming out of nowhere and chasing you!

The Xenomorph in the Alien, a soulless, merciless nonstop killing machine

The Xenomorph, No Empathy, No reasoning with it.

Question eight asked the participants: Which was their favourite horror based video game and

why? The results were a total spread of different game titles, these included games such as:

Dead Space

Until dawn

Amnesia, the dark decent

Outlast

Resident evil 7

Question nine enquired as to what was their least favourite horror based video game and

why? Again there was a considerable spread of games put forward. The jump scare game

‘Five Nights at Freddie’s’ was picked out a number of times. Reasons given for this were:

Five nights at Freddie’s wasn't scary at all. Predictable and was redeemed only by a

VR addition of the game

5 nights at Freddie’s. Too many jump scares.

Resident Evil 5 and 6 also came in for some criticism, with one reply stating:

Resident Evil 5 and 6 became too action oriented losing a lot of atmosphere the series

had combined with making your character too able to progress through the game (too much

ammo too much abilities/movement control. Siren, Fatal Frame and dead space series (not

dead space 3) are what I would consider the perfect horror games action/atmosphere/and

enemy design, looks, sound and movement. These games would not work half as well if they

had less effort put into the world and sound design.

Discussion of results and conclusions.

The response of the questionnaire participants to the question of what is more frightening was

of the most significance. As 100 % chose the idea of something (An Unseen Malevolence) as

opposed to the appearance of the monster, killer or whatever the physical manifestation of the

malevolent entity which is inducing the fear factor into the game player may be. This

reinforces the research into the inbuilt human evolutionary responses to a threat situation. The

magnitude of the threat is amplified by the fact that the cause of the threat is unknown. The

mind is given carte blanche to imagine an infinite number of horrendous aberrations waiting

in the dark, as not knowing what may be lurking there was potentially fatal to the survival of

a caveman. The amygdala will react and (as Cantor stated) the hippocampus will make an

association with past events which in this scenario (given the questionnaire results) will be

extremely negative.

The results from question five raised some interesting points, as the majority of the

questionnaire participants found the most disturbing trait of a human looking killer to be that

they looked like a normal person. This possibly reflects Freud’s theory of the affinity

between the uncanny and a doppelganger. It may also be due to the fact that the game player

cannot predict the future actions of the killer due to the normality of their countenance. As

pointed out in the ‘Man of Steel’ (2018) article, reading facial expressions is an important

survival tool, as it exposes the true nature of a person. When the game player concludes that

the facial expressions of the protagonist do not reveal their true intent (looking at the

questionnaire results) the player will become somewhat unnerved. The killer being disfigured

was only third on the list. This conflicts with the theory proposed by Plutchik, that the biggest

threat stimulus is associated with the unfamiliar and the unknown. This may be due to the

fact that today’s game players have become desensitized through years of viewing monster

based movies and television shows.

Having explored the relationships between sound and image that appear to influence

perceptions of uncanniness, it could be concluded that in order to engender fear and

apprehension in a horror computer game, it would be simply a matter of incorporating these

techniques into the sound design. The problem with computer game sound design is that

sound samples do not significantly change across multiple re-playing of a game and thus

what might once have been unfamiliar and uncanny, becomes familiar and mundane. The

game player becomes accustomed to the sounds and their use within the game world and thus

the fear factor is diminished (Grinshaw, 2009). This flaw is however getting increasing

reduced as the game design gets ever more sophisticated and the audio memory budget

allowance for the sound design is increased.

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