intro lecture depaul university – brian schrank, phd
TRANSCRIPT
ADVANCED GAME DESIGNINTRO LECTURE
DePaul University – Brian Schrank, PhD
STEPHEN KING’S HIERARCHY OF EMOTION
“I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud”
—Stephen King
HIERARCHY OF EMOTION
1. Terror2. Horror3. Grossed-Out
HIERARCHY OF FEAR / DISCOMFORT
1. Terror2. Horror
3. Grossed Out
GORE GENRE RELISHES THE GROSS OUT
GORE GENRE RELISHES THE GROSS OUT
It gets its tension by juxtaposingor ruining the “attractive.”
It’s often misogynistic.
ABOUT AS INTERESTING AS FAKE POOP / VOMIT
GROSS OUT GAMES
1. Terror2. Horror
3. Grossed Out
NES gametorture using light gun
HIERARCHY OF FEAR / DISCOMFORT
1. Terror
2. Horror3. Grossed Out
HIERARCHY OF FEAR / DISCOMFORT
1. Terror
2. Horror3. Grossed Out
HORROR
Fear based on EVIDENCE SHOWS you what to be scared of Cause is EXPLAINED or easily inferred
HIERARCHY OF FEAR / DISCOMFORT
1. Terror2. Horror3. Grossed Out
HIERARCHY OF FEAR / DISCOMFORT
1. Terror
2. Horror3. Grossed Out
HIERARCHY OF FEAR / DISCOMFORT
1. Terror
2. Horror3. Grossed Out
HIERARCHY OF FEAR / DISCOMFORT
1. Terror2. Horror3. Grossed Out
HORROR VS. TERROR (STEPHEN KING)
Horror:the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it's when the lights go out and something with claws grabs you by the arm
Terror:when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute. It's when the lights go out and you feel something behind you, you hear it, you feel its breath against your ear, but when you turn around, there's nothing there...
HIERARCHY OF FEAR / DISCOMFORT
1. Terror2. Horror3. Grossed Out
HIERARCHY OF FEAR / DISCOMFORT
1. Terror2. Horror3. Grossed Out
HIERARCHY OF FEAR / DISCOMFORT
1. Terror2. Horror3. Grossed Out
STEPHEN KING’S HIERARCHY OF EMOTION
“I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud”
—Stephen King
HIERARCHY OF EMOTION
1. Surrealist Horror2. Terror3. Horror4. Grossed-Out
SURREALIST HORROR
Reality itself becomes warped but it is NOT EXPLAINED. Can only be interpreted.
There is a concrete cause (underlying logic) but it can’t be easily explained.
Emotional or paranoid logic rather than rational logic.
HIERARCHY OF EMOTION
1. Surrealist Horror2. Terror3. Horror4. Grossed-Out
HIERARCHY OF EMOTION
1. Surrealist Horror2. Terror3. Horror4. Grossed-Out
HIERARCHY OF EMOTION
1. Surrealist Horror Games2. Terror3. Horror4. Grossed-Out
YOUR GOAL IS TO DELIVER AN *EXPERIENCE*
A high quality experience trumps what we traditionally consider “good gameplay.”
Break familiar tropes and conventions to achieve a powerful experiential effect.