User:Hadowz/sandbox

Survival Horror - Benefits of Resource Conservation

The brutality of Survival horror in horror video games, is resource conservation. To establish a core survival experience, horror video games needed a way for the player feel vulnerable where ever they go. To explain, resource conservation is where the player has little to no resources and finds it difficult to locate anymore resources in whatever instance they are in. This is a core gameplay mechanic to establish a survival experience and to further convey to the player that their character is human. [1] With resource conservation always on the player's mind, it hugely changes how the player plays the game and may need multiple attempts at progressing through a certain checkpoint as well as focusing on evading hostilities rather than aggressively fighting their way through so that they can conserve their limited resources for any future encounters. [2] This type of gameplay also emphasise on the use of key items. Many survival horror games feature puzzles and the player must locate key items and solve puzzles. However, hoarding loads of items in the player's inventory is not ideal as most survival horror games require inventory management and complex decision making when finding a weapon with limited ammo, deciding if the player should waste the weapon or save it for later. In the end, this gives the player a sense of helplessness when organizing and managing what they have. [3]

Some Examples

Resident Evil - 1996

A prime example is Capcom's Resident Evil that pioneered the survival horror genre in video games. Resident Evil was the first video game to introduce resource conservation in survival horror. The game features zombies that are infested in a mansion and the player has to find a way to escape. The finite resources can be healing items and ammo but there is another item that is very limited and that is the ink ribbons. The ink ribbons were used to access the typewriters within the game so that the player could save their progress. Having a limited resource to access a save point is generally not normal for any game and can be a very frustrating gameplay mechanic. In a way, it builds horror and tension and again, requires complex decision making whether the player wants to weather the storm and continue without saving or to be safe and just save their progress. This provides a different experience because the gameplay mechanic helps create a different atmosphere and helps build fear rather than just relying on the game's aesthetic.[4]

Silent Hill - 1999

Konami's Silent Hill is another prime example of featuring limited resources. It features similar items to Resident Evil such as keys, ammo and other items to solve puzzles. However, the difference is that Silent Hill features a layered narrative with the embodiment of body horror and questions what is real or not. The manifestations of Silent Hill's enemies are designed to be horrendous but still have what we interpret to be 'human' intact. Silent Hill was built upon the idea of featuring a narrative of cults and demons within a mysterious town. With the addition of these terrifying monsters, having limited resources further instills tension, fear and relief to the player as they combat the mysterious town's demons from a safe place, their homes. [5] The resources in Silent Hill are randomly placed in unusual places such as ammo in classrooms and toasters in the middle of the street. Again, the main focus would be inventory management so the player cannot just pick up everything they see but pick up items that they deem to have a purpose.

Dead Space - 2008

Dead Space, made by Visceral Games, is a game that many found to be too scary. The game features different type of body horror and an environment that many players feel to be tense and claustrophobic.[6] The use of limited resources in Dead Space is the same feeling as Silent Hill but it is set on a spaceship with terrifying monsters known as necromorphs. The user interface was attached to the character's 'RIG' which makes the game feel more immersive as well as because of the lack of the player's heads up display 'HUD'. Accessing inventory to maps are all in real time, meaning that the player has to be at a safe place for them to access anything. The inventory system also has limited space and has to be organized carefully as taking too much resources can result in missing a lot more important resources such as blueprints and taking too little will result in disadvantages against future enemies. [7] Even though the game is slow paced, the necromorphs comes at the player from different corners and they also run at the player, meaning that the player has to be on their toes at all times. Because of the limited resource, players are incentivised to run away and look for different routes for their desired destinations especially because of the fear the necromorphs brings.

The use and design for limited resources brings many elements to the survival horror genre in video games. Anxiety is a major part because it is the anticipation of what comes next so in terms of gameplay, solving a puzzle could instigate a reaction to the player that something is bound to happen after. With limited resources, not having the right items to defend themselves will result in the player to feel anxiety. This also gives the feeling of helplessness because having no means of self-defence is strong trigger to loss of control, leading to fear and anxiety.[8]