Survival horror

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Three enemies from Silent Hill 4: The Room, a survival horror title released by Konami in 2004.

Survival horror is a video game genre in which the player has to survive against often undead or otherwise supernatural enemies, typically in claustrophobic environments in a third-person perspective. Western and Japanese horror film elements are used liberally. The term Survival horror was first used as a genre for the original Japanese release of Resident Evil (1996), known as Biohazard. The term has since been used often to describe games of a similar nature.

Themes of survival horror games

Survival horror is possibly the only video game genre that is defined as much by theme as gameplay style. Though most commonly associated with the Resident Evil mechanics described above, games where the player is made to feel underpowered, generally fighting alone for the bulk of the game, with limited supplies (especially ammunition and health - hence "survival"). They also deal with dark, violent and supernatural themes typical of horror movies. This helps to define the genre more than any specific gameplay mechanic.

The player is typically armed, but not nearly as well-armed as a player in a first-person shooter would be. The player's goal is generally to escape from an isolated house or town that is inhabited mostly by zombies and/or monsters through fighting and puzzle solving. Isolation is one of the most recurrent themes within this genre.

One detail a player may notice is the character always has a reason for being there, and more often than not the character does not originate from the said area. This makes as if the character has no real association with the area, or does not know the area. This way the character seemingly doesn't know his way around. Perfect examples can be found in any game, such as the Silent Hill series, the Resident Evil series (except Resident Evil 3 and the Outbreak series), and even the Doom series, although the list is not limited to these.

Because of this, the genre is also home to beat 'em ups (Nightmare Creatures, Grabbed by the Ghoulies), point-and-click adventures (Clock Tower, D), role playing games (Sweet Home), first-person shooters (Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Condemned). Other games such as the Doom and Legacy of Kain series include horror elements, but give the player a sense of being very powerful. Such games are not typically considered survival horror because they do not inspire fear in the player. However, the subjective nature of such discrepancies can make survival horror a difficult genre to classify.

History

A number of earlier horror-themed games which existed before the term Survival horror had been used may have had some influence in the creation of the genre. Amongst others these titles include Halloween (1983), Friday the 13th (1985), Ghost Hunters (1986), Transylvania (1986), Splatterhouse (1988) and Sweet Home (1989).

The 1990s saw the introduction of gameplay mechanics found regularly in more modern examples of the genre, as the capabilities of computers and consoles steadily increased. Although the survival horror genre was popularized by Resident Evil, it was predated by earlier works such as Capcom's Clock Tower: The First Fear (1995) and Infogrames' Alone in the Dark (1992).

The term Survival horror was first coined by Resident Evil (1996) whose creator Shinji Mikami actively credits Capcom's earlier title Sweet Home (1989) for his inspiration. The original Japanese version of Resident Evil (known as Biohazard) was marketed under the previously non-existent Survival horror genre on the game's cover. A line of text also displayed the phrase "Enter the world of survival horror..." while the game was loading.

Clock Tower (1997) and Silent Hill (1999) created a group of survival horror games that focus on psychological horror rather than violence and gore. This category deemphasizes combat in order to increase the vulnerability of the protagonist and build tension. Similar titles include the Fatal Frame series and Siren.

D (1996) is one of a group of point-and-click horror games produced in Japan in the mid 1990s.

Further examples of the genre

• American McGee's Alice by Rogue Entertainment
• Anchorhead by Michael S. Gentry
• ASYLUM (in progress) by Specter Studios
• Black Dahlia by Take-Two Interactive
• Bioshock by Irrational Games
• The Blair Witch Project by Gathering of Developers
• Blue Stinger by Activision
• Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth by Bethesda Softworks
• Clive Barker's Undying by DreamWorks Interactive
• Condemned: Criminal Origins by Monolith Productions
• Cold Fear by Ubisoft
• Curse: The Eye of Isis by DreamCatcher Interactive
• Dead Rising by Capcom
• Dino Crisis series by Capcom
• Doom 3, by id Software
• Ecstatica series by Psygnosis
• Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem by Silicon Knights
• Forbidden Siren by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
• Ghoul School by Electrobrain
• Haunting Ground by Capcom
• Hungry Ghosts by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
• John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles: An Adventure in Terror by Legend Entertainment
• Kamaitachi no Yoru by Chunsoft
• Koudelka by Sacnoth
• Luigi's Mansion by Nintendo(parody)
• The Lurking Horror by Infocom
• Manhunt by Rockstar Games
• Maniac Mansion by LucasArts
• Martian Gothic: Unification by Creative Reality
• Michigan by Grasshopper Manufacture
• Nocturne by Terminal Reality
• ObsCure by Hydravision
• Parasite Eve series by SquareSoft
• Rule of Rose by Punchline
• Sadness (in progress) by Nibris
• Silent Hill series by Konami
• System Shock 2 by Irrational Games
• The Thing by Vivendi Universal Games
• Urban Dead by Kevan
• The Suffering by Surreal Software

External links

• History of Survival Horror by game up to (2002)
• Survival Horror category from the Open Directory Project
• Chris' Survival Horror Quest - A database of survival horror games
• The Bitter End - Survival Horror news and reviews
• Survival Horror Lives - News on survival horror, focusing on Silent Hill and Resident Evil.
• Black Sanctuary - Survival Horror site directory
• Frightening - play your fears - large Survival Horror page in German