Why Are Horror Games Appealing?

This book tries to explore why so many people actively seek out and enjoy horror as a form of entertainment. Why some find pleasure in horror is a question that many have asked before, but never fully answered. This book does not claim to deliver a general answer to that question, but rather offers an overview of the most popular theories and hypothesis, as well as a study focusing on the player affect. The explanations and solutions offered include mostly psychological, emotional or general approaches. Every approach presented has its benefits and flaws and will be discussed accordingly. How these come into play individually, as well as in connection to each other, will constitute a major part of this study. After having provided the general theoretical basis of horror and why it might be so appealing to some people, this study goes on discussing the medium game, and in a further step, tries to explore if the unique characteristics of the medium game change the overall horror experience one might have. Different aspects and properties of the medium in question are discussed in detail - how immersion affects us as consumers, what the role of interactivity is and how they both relate to one another in-game, how this understanding comes into play in a game design context and how it can create a whole different experience for the player, and lastly, how certain game design elements can be utilized to further improve the emotional response.

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The Video Game:
In this chapter I will attempt to discuss the medium game and its characteristics. I will be discussing the importance of aspects such as interactivity and immersion to the video game as a form of entertainment, as well as, in a later step, point out in what unique ways horror games differ from more common games. Ultimately, my goal is to find out if the affect of horror entertainment on the consumer or player is stronger or more intense when experienced in an interactive video game environment. Or in other words, if horror games could theoretically provide an even more intense and horrifying experience then other mediums, due to their immersive properties.
Immersion:
DI Michael Großauer, professor and head of department at the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg, AT, writes in his paper "Wirklichkeit.Fiktion.Immersion. Wirklichkeitskonstruktion im Computerspiel" about video games as a form of entertainment and explains what the unique properties of games are, as well as why they might be the most powerful medium yet.
The key aspect which lets video games stand out so much in comparison to other media is immersion. Immersion is a phenomenon which lets us completely focus on a specific task, plunging into a fictional world. Großauer even goes as far as to write of a detachment of the real world in order to completely accept the virtual reality we put ourselves into. Yet, another definition of the word immersion refers to it as a "Deep mental involvement in something" (Definition of immersion, n.d.). Immersion can of course also occur in other media (i.e. movies, books, storytelling etc.) but nowhere as effectively as in games. "Immersion ist ein wirklichkeitsgenerierender Vorgang, bei dem die Fiktion für die Zeit der Rezeption zu unserer Wirklichkeit wird" (Großauer, 2000, p.60). Our sense for time and space gets suspended, so that we can literally immerse into the virtual space. The detachment of our real world space is crucial yet it is not the only component to strong immersion. Realistic visualization of the fictional world in question is also essential. This does not only include how we perceive the environment visually but also the acoustic experience. Interactivity, though, is undoubtably the most important aspect to successful immersion in video games. Großauer states that even the most photorealistic graphical visualization cannot counter bad interactivity. The player, in order to immerse herself or himself successfully, is supposed to identify herself or himself with the controllable avatar or game character. As soon as the interaction between the player and the game seizes the immersion breaks (Großauer, 2000).
Interactivity:
What interactivity basically means is the interaction between human or player and the computer or system. It is an ongoing communication between the two just mentioned parties. This two-way process is what makes games so interesting. In no other medium can you experience this sort of dialogue between subject and medium. This dialogue lets the player change the course of her or his experience, individually guiding and directing the action and therefore truly interact with the medium game. This ability to provide the player with the power to decide for herself or himself how and in what ways he or she wants to advance the experience, is what makes games such a powerful medium. It makes interactivity the most important component of every good game, yet also the hardest to achieve well. How interactivity works within each game obviously varies from genre to genre, but often, developers try to hide poor interactivity behind amazing visuals, stunning sound effects and epic cut-scenes. They do this, trying to compensate for bad interactivity, but in most cases the quality of immersion suffers anyhow since its quality is directly related to the quality of the interaction. Movies and books only allow us to spectate and observe, the outcome and especially t