(For the author, continued from Part 1) If Apocalypse is supposed to be thrilling, or at least somewhat "scary," well, does it achieve this?

The main issue with Apocalypse that makes it miss the mark on the whole horror concept is that there's not much done to mess with the player. Aside from the moon shelter concept, which only works for so long, there's no mind games, or any sense of imminent danger. Periodically there are “surprise” boss battles, but those also only work the first time around. What compounds onto this is that for the most part the player is well equipped to handle the dangers faced. Let's take a look at some of the more successful horror games out there for a moment. Silent Hill is well known for not only the subtleties behind the monsters you face, but also the helplessness that the player feels being pitted against things that are greater than him. What if the player is well equipped though, how would one make it so things can actually be a threat?

Well one thing I remember well regarding this issue comes from the Dead Space games. More specifically the chase scenarios regarding the Hunter in Dead Space 1, and the Immortal in Dead Space 2. Despite having different names and appearances, both these “bosses” in the games serve one purpose, and that is to keep the player on edge all the time. The player should be well equipped, stocked with ammo and armor, and yet, this one monster makes all of that seem pointless, because no matter what you do, you can't kill it. You can slice off the limbs, but they grow back, meaning that more unconventional methods of killing are required, and that for the majority of their appearance in the games you can only keep running and not look back, and if possible slow it down when you get the chance. It's a real predator/prey situation, as despite the fact that the player should have been on top of things before, now all that can be done is run, and to make matters worse the Hunter/Immortal is not bound to any room, and can follow you almost anywhere. It's not a fast monster, it's slower than you, but it's out there waiting to get you, and unless you keep moving it will get you.

I bring this up because it's a prime example of creating a thrilling situation in an environment where the player has total control over what's going on. Whereas the having to hide in the safe vicinity of the moon shelters works for a temporary fix, not being able to escape the danger at all when well armed keeps that thrilling feeling going and going, until it is somehow ended.

In the long run, the best way to achieve the horror effect is not not make the player capable of directly tackling the danger head-on. Instead focus should be placed on the use of wit and cunning, or even simply running until the time is right to strike, if the time ever appears. Apocalypse doesn't really do this, maybe being a Doom map has something to do with it, but it's an odd cross between action and horror. It's not fast paced enough to be really good at the action part, but aside from atmosphere there's nothing really thrilling about it either. You're perfectly well equipped to handle everything that's thrown at you head on.

“You see, there are three kinds of horror games. First there's the kind where you're in a dark room and a guy in a spooky mask jumps out of a cup board going 'abloogy woogy woo.' That would be your Doom 3. Then there's the kind where a guy in a spooky mask isn't in a cup board but standing right behind you and you just know he's going to go 'abloogy woogy woo' at some point but he doesn't and it's getting more and more tense and you don't want to turn around because he might [kill you]. That would be your Silent Hill 2. And there are the kind of horror games where the guy in a spooky mask goes 'abloogy woogy woo' while standing on the far side of a brightly lit room before walking slowly over to you, plucking a violin, and then slapping you in the face with a T-Bone steak. That would be your Dead Space.”
- Ben “Yahtzee” Crowshaw, Zero Punctuation

If I were to place Apocalypse within these categories I'd have to put in in between Doom 3 and Dead Space. To note, the second one is best because your imagination is doing all the work, and even if there's nothing there to thrill or scare the player, tension is created nonetheless.

It seems that Apocalypse tries to fall in the middle of an action packed FPS and a survival horror map. The problem is that the action is rather slow, and the horror aspect is just not convincing. Conclusion should focus on becoming more action oriented in a horror environment like "Unloved," or focus on developing a much stronger foundation in survival horror/thriller gameplay.

Gameplay		Design
Heavenly	Good Atmosphere, limits the player somewhat, good use of surprise encounters
Damned	Predictable general monster placement, low replayability, player given too much power