Thoughts On Enemies In Horror Games?

[LuLingqi1]

Hey guys! So I just started work on a horror game. I'm at the stage where I need to start working on the enemies. 


Personally, I hate the horror games where the enemy can one hit kill you, and it's super easy to avoid early on, but then get's to become god tier crazy AI towards the end. Or like, when there's multiple enemy types right, yet they can all one hit kill. I think a mix of Yomawari and Fatal Frame type enemies would be pretty rad in a horror game for rmmv. 


Optional second question- What's scarier, slow moving yet deadly enemy that can't keep up very well, but if it hits you deals massive/fatal damage, or fast moving weak enemy that can follow for longer and can hit you multiple times if you aren't careful.

 

[GatsRoller]

Consider some very slow one hit KO constant enemy, the difficulty would be the scenario and and it having traps or puzzles while you escape, so the real danger is not the monster, but how fast you solve or avoid the puzzle or trap

 

[Fugama]

tbh being able to fight the enemy almost always ruins it for me. I prefer puzzle solving with hints of escalation. Witches house did a good job of building things up but the chase was really disheartening for me. In that sense I guess I'm just more a fan of well handled lovecraftian horror. 

 

[Crabs]

You can use those creepy monsters from zelda ocarina of time as inspiration. They won't just go and "hit" the player, they can have some mechanics to trap or annoy the player.


1) Wallmaster - It can be used as a jumpscare and to annoy the player by grabing him and dropping on another place. (or maybe kidnap a member of your party?)

Spoiler

2) Dead Hand - Summons hands from the floor to immobilize a party member to eat him.


A suggestion could be creating an immobile monster that summons moving hands from the floor that grabs the player a certain amount of tiles towards him. So you have to dodge its hands, or he will pull more and more and then one-hit kill the character.

Spoiler

3) Redead - Disguises as a sobbing NPC and screams loudly to immobilize the character and jump on his back to do "something I have no idea" if the player gets close enough.


You can use monsters like him to make areas where the player can't go. Or put a lot of them on a corridor as traps to serve as a support for a stronger enemy that is following you.

Spoiler

 

[CallMeKerrigan]

Those enemies in Zelda were extremely creepy. 


OP, what about an enemy that teleports towards the main character? Like a shadowy figure that turns invisible and shows up right beside you? You would probably need a couple events triggered in a limited space. That would be really creepy. 

 

[Blackyu]

YAY I HAVE IDEAS


-Slow-moving, legless creature who follows you almost everywhere, including throughout some puzzle rooms, so you'll have to solve the puzzles while dodging the monster.


-If you prefer fast-moving, maybe a giant spider. You could outrun it by crawling in low places it couldn't reach. It could also not get through doors, so the chase will only happen in one big room.


-Typical "Don't look at me" creature. Quite fast and good AI, but as long as you look at it, you won't be harmed. And you could add a mechanic that allows going backwards while a certain key is pressed, allowing the player to keep eye-contact with the monster while moving.


-Creature that would create hallucinations or make some obstacles appear out of nowhere while it's chasing you, and would use said obstacles to slow you down and catch up to you.


-Shadow that could walk through walls and keeps changing the screen to pure black before turning it on again, and back to black, back to normal etc...


-Creature that emits a source of light. And the chase would happen in the dark, so for once you'll have to avoid light.


Those are really typical, most have already definitely been used, that's all I can come up with at the moment, if I get anymore ideas I'll post them here.

 

[LuLingqi1]

YAY I HAVE IDEAS


-Slow-moving, legless creature who follows you almost everywhere, including throughout some puzzle rooms, so you'll have to solve the puzzles while dodging the monster.


-If you prefer fast-moving, maybe a giant spider. You could outrun it by crawling in low places it couldn't reach. It could also not get through doors, so the chase will only happen in one big room.


-Typical "Don't look at me" creature. Quite fast and good AI, but as long as you look at it, you won't be harmed. And you could add a mechanic that allows going backwards while a certain key is pressed, allowing the player to keep eye-contact with the monster while moving.


-Creature that would create hallucinations or make some obstacles appear out of nowhere while it's chasing you, and would use said obstacles to slow you down and catch up to you.


-Shadow that could walk through walls and keeps changing the screen to pure black before turning it on again, and back to black, back to normal etc...


-Creature that emits a source of light. And the chase would happen in the dark, so for once you'll have to avoid light.


Those are really typical, most have already definitely been used, that's all I can come up with at the moment, if I get anymore ideas I'll post them here.

You. Are. Insane.

Those enemies in Zelda were extremely creepy. 


OP, what about an enemy that teleports towards the main character? Like a shadowy figure that turns invisible and shows up right beside you? You would probably need a couple events triggered in a limited space. That would be really creepy. 

I have one like that currently. She causes the screen to flash as she teleports around. 

3) Redead - Disguises as a sobbing NPC and screams loudly to immobilize the character and jump on his back to do "something I have no idea" if the player gets close enough

Spoiler

Of all the monster's you listed, I think re-dead is the only one I like. The rest were so dumb to me from zelda


I've currently got a main antagonist who can teleport, and then a couple of smaller enemies who are super fast, but when they hit you, they run away and get stunned momentarily.