Help us to make a great survival horror game!(Survey) Thread

Hello everyone.

We are starting the development of a survival horror game, and we need your help to define what does not really exist anymore in this type of game. We Are a small team, but we really want to deliver a game to relive the good times of Suvival horror.

Here's our progress so far. (only one week of worl, programming the basis of movement and change of camera / environment)
Youtube.com

The best way we have found for you to help us is via this form, it has some questions and we would like to know your opinion about it!
Docs.google.com

Many thanks to all who participate, and we'll be here answering any questions and listening to all suggestions.Be assured that you will be participating in the development of a great game!

Edited by: Tonbery

I think survival horror has gone doodlyHay the past decade. It's like after maybe 1 or 2 hours of amazing, tense gameplay, something turns into something large and unscary. You gain completely wackAhooo weapon and powers! What is up with that.

Re1 was pretty scary. I realize that those gameplay aesthetics does not apply anylonger - but some of it is valid, and should be cultivated.

My 5 pence in this is: Think slow, underpowered, hold onto making large circus freaks(preferably don't...ever), scarce and weak weaponry. Dangers that will take you out and not just stand there.

What you got going (which is ofcourse not much given the one week of dev) looks like it could be in the right direction. I usually call it truck controls, like you are driving a truck. Turning is slow and adds tension. Fixed camera angles is a welcome. Re1 had some of the best, and a couple of the worst. You know better, and can build the game better, since you have all the knowledge gathered since Re1.

Good luck.

Edited by: andreasng

My advice, for what that's worth, is don't go all shooter... Think Re1 to 3 and code veronica, with a bit of silent hill 2, where the mist was technically used as an engine mechanic to hide further away models, but it also provided a very eary look to the game making even a near contact apprehensive and an enemy sighting genuinely scary, n.b scary and frightening are two different things, and a lot of newer games seem to forget that.

Good tank controls work well with survival horror, but it really has to be very intuitive and responsive, or it can start to get annoying really quickly IMO.

The SCP-087 'Stairs Demo' is a good example of very minimalist horror. It's all about anticipation and what you can't see. The best horror games take full advantage of sound effects and music, this goes a long way to putting the player on edge. Grimey deteriorated locations also add a degree of trepidation, but I'd suggest not going overboard on the torch/darkness game-play. Some newer games have me straining to see anything rather than getting into the game, definitely a mood killer if done too much.

Edited by: garry68

Wow, nice feedback, thanks you two! =D