record

Thesis Info

LABS ID
00904
Thesis Title
Horror Computer Games: Developments, Distinctions, and Experiments
Author
Graham King
2nd Author
3rd Author
Degree
Year
2019
Number of Pages
79
University
University of Lodz
Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Katarzyna Prajzner
Supervisor e-mail
katarzyna.prajzner AT uni.lodz.pl
Other Supervisor(s)
Language(s) of Thesis
English
Department / Discipline
Game Studies
Languages Familiar to Author
English
URL where full thesis can be found
Keywords
Computer games, survival horror, flow, genre
Abstract: 200-500 words
Computer games would not seem to be a mature enough medium to invoke such negative emotions such as horror and repulsion or to maintain an agonizing atmosphere. Common belief would hold that computer games ought to be fun, pacifying, and pleasurable. The following thesis will take a look at the survival horror genre of computer games and trace its lineage from 1992 to present day. With that basis we will then attempt to identify the unique aspects in which computer games can horrify audiences through experimental manipulation of narrative and interface and posit that experimentation is a fundamental aspect of the horror genre across mediums. To establish a baseline of horror the paper will refer heavily to Noël Carroll’s notion of art-horror in his seminal work The Philosophy of Horror (1990), wherein he states that the audience is intended to feel both fear and repulsion toward a central monster. In order to research this topic the paper will use comparative analysis for the many examples of survival horror computer games and discourse analysis for the referenced texts concerning genre, conditions of play, difficulty, and the effectiveness of narrative in an interactive setting. The results of this study show that the survival horror genre relies upon experimental game design techniques and subversion of established tropes in order to succeed but the conclusion that horror games utilize unique and distinctive methods for creating horror is much less clear.