Aye, it sucks in most games when players ditch out to avoid taking the loss. That's why I like it in games when you can see the disconnect value and can avoid playing players that have high disconnect/DNF values.
Guys, feeling scared or threatened, or the evocation of any emotional response at all, is not atmosphere. Atmosphere is about mood, evoking a sense of place, and contributes to immersion.
Atmosphere leads to the evocation of an emotional response. Think about it, its like when people may remark at a party "Yeah, theres a good atmosphere here" for example, they're most likely referring to the mood and general emotion of everyone there. Feeling scared due to the atmosphere is pretty logical, and I wouldn't be so quick to tell people they're wrong for thinking so. By arguing that the two aren't linked would be kind of like saying the comfort you feel when driving a car has nothing to do with the car (poor analogy possibly but I think you get what I mean).
If a games atmosphere fails to move you in anyway emotionally then its not done a good job at all! The dictionary definition of atmosphere in literature as follows:
A dominant intellectual or emotional environment or attitude: an atmosphere of distrust among the electorate.
To that end, I'd say Amnesia: The Dark Descent - a title that manages to make walking down an empty corridor a daunting task through clever atmospheric sounds, lighting and tension. Having recently played through it again, I'd say Vampire Bloodlines deserves a nod for doing a good job of re-creating the World of Darkness atmosphere for its time. The best example within the game itself would of course be the haunted waterfront mansion - those who've played it Im sure will agree with me on that one!
Hi, Im Fasc, a 27 year old Scottish geek, gamer and ice hockey player from the UK. Ive been a gamer since I was about 5 when I got the NES and haven't stopped since. Ive done a lot of community management stuff (most noteable would be the Pure Pwnage forums and the World Garage forums) which has seen me invited to three EA offices around the world yet manage to not burn any of them down. :p
Found this site through a link from Escapist, seems pretty cool and Im a sucker for the Quests.
Lol, be good for a few missions or so but I imagine after a few hours of play you would be starting to grimace everytime your character opened his or her mouth!
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