Fear defines action horror games as developers reveal how design choices shape unforgettable, often perilous player experiences.
What is the scariest moment in an action horror video game?
Is it your first encounter with the xenomorph in Alien: Isolation? The iconic zombie dog jump scare in Resident Evil or the slow trek through Half-Life 2’s Ravenholm?
Fear is personal and enigmatic, so how do developers deliver a memorable horror experience?
Beyond Fear: Inside Action Horror Games is an intimate collection of exclusive first-hand interviews that dissect the intentional design choices of the genre’s best and most interesting games. It’s a book about success, failure and lasting impact.
John Romero examines DOOM’s overlooked horror. Ken Levine wrestles with how his perfectionism led to mistakes in BioShock, and Half-Life’s Marc Laidlaw confronts the prospect of a career unfulfilled. The contrasting fortunes of Aliens: Colonial Marines and Alien: Isolation are charted by those who lived it. Resident Evil Village star Maggie Robertson celebrates Lady Dimitrescu, plus much more.
Nick Akerman peels back the skin of action horror games to reveal emotional stories and the decisions that can make or break the people behind them.
- 142 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Beyond Fear: Inside Action Horror Games
About this book
Information
Table of contents
- Front Cover
- Half-Title Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Foreword by John Romero
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Scary on purpose: John Romero examines DOOM’s intentional horror
- Chapter 2 Writing Half-Life: Marc Laidlaw on the power of collaborative storytelling
- Chapter 3 No Gods or Kings: Ken Levine goes deep on BioShock and the terror of making mistakes
- Chapter 4 Absolve or Punish?: Dante’s Inferno’s history of sin
- Chapter 5 Untethered: How the Aliens: Colonial Marines crew were left stranded
- Chapter 6 Safe Haven: Building Alien: Isolation’s intelligent slow burn horror
- Chapter 7 Resurrecting arcade: How Returnal kept Housemarque’s cycle alive
- Chapter 8 It takes a Village: Maggie Robertson on Resident Evil’s Lady Dimitrescu
- Glossary
- References
- Special Thanks
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Yes, you can access Beyond Fear: Inside Action Horror Games by Nick Akerman in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Computer Science & Gothic, Romance, & Horror Literary Criticism. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.