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    Silent Hills

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    What was to be a new entry in the Silent Hill franchise for the PS4 involving Hideo Kojima, Guillermo Del Toro, and Norman Reedus, was officially cancelled on April 27, 2015. The 'PT' demo of the game has also been taken off PSN.

    Jump Scare Elitism

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    lou_chou

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    Edited By lou_chou
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    Silent Hills recently saw an interactive teaser release on PSN under the code name P.T. As is the case with anything released in this age of outrage, gamer reactions were split into two distinct camps. One half featured a fairly positive and optimistic populous, happy to give themselves over to the playthrough and enjoy it for whatever it was. This camp, I have little beef with. Good on them for letting the experience wash over them, and just enjoying themselves. My issue lies with the other camp, let’s call them the navel-gazing horror hounds.

    This group were quick to jump on the game and label it monster closet horror, lambasting anyone who claimed to be scared by it as either actors or idiots. Apparently this camp caught about 40 seconds of the game, more or less around the time of one of the game’s few actual jump scares, and decided on the spot they knew exactly what the entire demo had to offer.

    I don’t mind opinions being formed on little or no material. Fuck, the internet revolves around it! The reaction of these uppity scumbags got under my skin, though. Especially when you consider that a majority of P.T. hinged on a successful blend of ingenuity and atmosphere. There’s not many points to give up for the plot, but the environment goes above and beyond the call of duty informing a fantastic amount of detail – it’s borderline Gone Home-ish in its use of the space. And the randomly-generated, caught in purgatory-vibe of repetition with slightly different results definitely fed off the idea of Silent Hill itself; a place people end up to face personal demons. So all boxes ticked, right? Apparently not.

    Jump scares are not the horror equivalent of fart jokes, and as such do not instantly cheapen an experience. Some amazing directors have applied the method to their projects, and it’s done nothing but enhance the mood. You build and build tension, and I agree, ultimately this is the unsettling factor, but the odd jolt to a person; that spike in heart rate, that has its merit and mechanic too. It gives the player/viewer that glimpse into the abyss. The shower scene from Psycho is iconic, but it’s also one of the earlier examples of a jump scare. Do we all just turn around and call Hitchcock a cheap-shot auteur? I dare anyone to try. Truly cheap horror relies on jump scares in the absence of tension or atmosphere, not as a supplement to it. And I think that’s the key factor these navel-gazing horror hounds are forgetting to appreciate. But hey, such is the internet. I’ll be down here with the rest of the uncultured actually enjoying myself, if anyone needs me.

    @louchourocket

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    Shortbreadtom

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    Completely agree. People are so quick to criticise jump scares as if they're cheap scares - in a lot of bad horror they are, but in the best horror it's a culmination of the tension building ending with an explosive release. P.T had a lot of jump scares, but they were only successful because the atmosphere was tense and unsettling

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    Ungodly

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    #2  Edited By Ungodly

    People just get mad when jump scares get them, and then want to brush it off as being an easy cop out. I always thought the early Resident Evil had some clever jump scares myself. Regardless it really depends on a person to person basis, some like and some don't.

    I always thought that the atmospheric shtick of the Silent Hill series was over the top, and groan enducing. God that series has always been up its ass, and I was never scared or startled. Just kept walking forward, and rolling my eyes.

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    Oldirtybearon

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    #3  Edited By Oldirtybearon

    Jump Scares are sudden with no buildup. It's straight sex without foreplay.

    PT had plenty, and I do mean plenty of foreplay. You can't call the climax to built up suspense a jump scare. Sorry, you just can't. To even try to say this about a horror movie (or PT) is being reductive. It makes me question if the individual espousing such claims just wants to be a contrarian or does in fact have their head screwed on backwards.

    basically the logic behind "it's all Jump Scares!" is complete bullshit.

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    BeachThunder

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    Fart jokes can be funny too, given the right circumstances.

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    splodge

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    #5  Edited By splodge

    Excuse me? Fart jokes are ALWAYS funny. It is the universal language. If an alien landed in my yard tomorrow, I am pretty sure a well timed, scuttery fart will forge a new era of intergalactic humour and cooperation.

    Jump scares and body horror are my least favourite parts of any horror movie. Not a big fan of horror genre because of this. I remember being scared shitless while playing Silent Hill 2 though.... man....that game....

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    Corvak

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    The jump scare is like sudden drums in a piece of classical music, used to break up an otherwise boring piece of music and make it interesting. By the same token, using it too often has the opposite effect. But it's really hard to judge if it's been done too much without hearing the whole piece.

    Constant jump scares aren't inherently bad, but I think you have to make a call at some point, to go down the jump scare path and build a horror-action game (Dead Space 2) or to stick with traditional survival horror and put more of your time into the buildup and atmosphere. (Amnesia)

    P.T. certainly has enough there to form an opinion based on what we've got. But you have to keep your mind open to the knowledge that it may not represent the final product. After all, the intent here is to get people talking about it, and anticipate further information about the game.

    Long time horror fans tend to need an ever increasing level of quality and innovation, as there's not much replay in the genre - once you've seen a scare, you learn to anticipate it even in other games. This can mean new games are too much for those new to the genre, or they'll come into it with higher expectations, and be let down when exploring older games.

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    deactivated-5e49e9175da37

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    You guys don't understand, they're just better at enjoying horror than you are. Maybe if you l2watch you can enjoy horror as good as they do.

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    Rafaelfc

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    P.T. is easily one of the best interactive experiences I've had with the horror genre.

    People complaining about it are just seeking attention

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    damodar

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    I would say that jump scares may actually exactly be the horror equivalent of a fart joke. You have to use them with craft and care.

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    syz

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    #10  Edited By syz

    There's at least some tact here.

    Walking to the closed door and being taunted by the radio to turn around as you hear a single footstep behind you in your headphones... a footstep that may or may not lead to anything in my experience.

    If it were Outlast, you'd bump into the closed door, spin around, and get blasted in the face with a full orchestral string and brass section all playing their loudest note simultaneously.

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    penfold01

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    Jump scares are cheap because our brains are wired to react to them. You may be startled by them but that doesn't mean they did anything especially noteworthy. In my opinion, the only value of jump scares is in communicating that the environment you are in can't be trusted...that taking no action is just as unsafe as taking action. I thought this teaser did a pretty great job at being horror, though. The most affecting part to me was the recurrent and incremental nature of it. In order to progress you had to keep going down the same hallway, but you always had to do so with the knowledge that you were probably going to end up back where you started and the state of the world was going to change (probably for the worse). Each time down the hallway is basically a decision between staying in the oppressing but known world you are currently in, or advancing to a new iteration that will probably be slightly different but possibly worse. I think the only thing they need to work on would be in letting you know the rules of the world better...you get into situations where you don't know what to do because you need to do something you didn't know you could do. Overall, thought, I think the horror of this game is pretty effective.

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    lou_chou

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    As a child of Nickelodeon, I'm as big a fan of fart jokes as anyone. So please don't misconstrue my analogy as an attack on fart humour. I will always defend fart humour, god dammit!

    As a few of you have pointed out, and something I attempted to say myself in the blog post, a jump scare in the right context is absolutely at home in a good horror experience. @syz mentions Outlast, and I couldn't help but think the same thing playing P.T. - the jump scares that do exist don't punch you in the face while screaming, things feel a lot more restrained; and to better effect.

    Plus, man. that use of environment. Fantastic vision. Plus (again, as I mentioned in the post) it taps in to the Silent Hill legend really nice.

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    moondogg

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    No such thing as a cheap scare. If it gets you, it gets you.

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    charlie_victor_bravo

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    "Horror" in most jump scare fests is not the actual feeling, but similar feeling that is produced by the anticipation of the next jump scare. I felt that P.T was terrifying until the first jump scare happened and after that there was only a tension of waiting it to happen again.

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    Cirdain

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    PT had plenty, and I do mean plenty of foreplay.

    I'm hyped for this game.

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    GERALTITUDE

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    Jump Scare.

    Sometimes it is just a jump. When your brother sneaks up and pokes you on the shoulder while you're folding clothes and you turn around mad fast and back hand slap him, it's because you were surprised, not scared.

    Sometimes it is the real deal. Jump and Scare. For me, Psycho still is a perfect example of that. Yes, you are surprised by the suddenness of the action (the sound goes a long way too). But what is happening is also disturbing.

    So for me sometimes I do think we call a movie/game scary when we really mean surprising, but just as often there is more to the jump than surprise.

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    SirThirdFilms

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    Jump Scares are fine to me as long as they are appropriate. When something just is inserted contextually for no real reason, it feels pointless. It's as scary as someone coming up behind you are work and going "Ahhhh!" but in the PT thing, the mood and atmosphere along with the increasing tension made it super effective and enjoyable.

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    klragrmndfvrarg

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    #18  Edited By klragrmndfvrarg

    The suspense of a potential jump scare looming around the corner may be a legitimate way of building up tension and while I wouldn't go far as to say they were cheap scares I do think it's a lazy way to spook people because it gives you the assurance that at least a certain portion of your audience will pounce back in their seats. There are films that does it well but when you aren't restricted within the traditional story-telling formats, and can tailor the experience in such a way to put the player in the middle of it there are so many creative ways of going about scaring people. I believe it's lazy because there isn't much else to do and just walk in to it. Suspense doesn't work like that in real life and there is so much to do with an interactive medium. It's not that I think they are cheap but I just expect more from video games, to be a little bit more unpredictable. It's a tired trope to me. But all the more power to you if you enjoy it.

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    ZolRoyce

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    @lou_chou said:

    As a child of Nickelodeon, I'm as big a fan of fart jokes as anyone. So please don't misconstrue my analogy as an attack on fart humour. I will always defend fart humour, god dammit!


    Fart humor stinks! Getit? It stinks! A hah, a hah, a... haaaaah.

    Anyways, people here have reflected my opinions/arguments on the matter better then I would have. So I'll just say, so long as the jump scare is in the hands of somebody capable, then go for it. Some people would use it and abuse it and beat it like a dead horse, some would use it wisely.
    My only problem with them tends to come from over use, or, over use with no payoff.
    That is why I like Dead Space so much, there are jump scares out of the ass of that game, but when the jump happens it isn't "Boo! Haha, gotchya!" It's "Boo! Oh by the way here is a monster to accompany the boo to eat your STUPID HUMAN FACE OFF"
    But if there is a game where it is like "Here is a jump scare, you jumped! But nothing happened, now prepare for that 50 more damn times!" Then it would feel pointless and boring eventually.
    A black cat can only jump on a trash can with a screech so many times before you go "I get it already, stop."

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    SirOptimusPrime

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    You guys don't understand, they're just better at enjoying horror than you are. Maybe if you l2watch you can enjoy horror as good as they do.

    You don't get it, old man. Our time is now.

    Jump Scare.

    Sometimes it is just a jump. When your brother sneaks up and pokes you on the shoulder while you're folding clothes and you turn around mad fast and back hand slap him, it's because you were surprised, not scared.

    Sometimes it is the real deal. Jump and Scare. For me, Psycho still is a perfect example of that. Yes, you are surprised by the suddenness of the action (the sound goes a long way too). But what is happening is also disturbing.

    So for me sometimes I do think we call a movie/game scary when we really mean surprising, but just as often there is more to the jump than surprise.

    This is my real issue with Jumps. In games, most of the time it makes me feel like the protagonist of a horror game didn't realize it was his birthday and accidentally fell into a purgatory of infinitely looping surprise parties. Monsters in games make this even more egregious, partially because of the old horror trope of showing the threat way too early - there's not enough suspense in most horror game writing to allow for this anyways, so it eventually devolves into a shootfest and whatever fear I had before is gone instantly.

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    pyromagnestir

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    I think if something is relying solely on jump scares it's the problem. Jump scares are just one part of a healthy scare breakfast, but should not be the whole meal. If something's only trick is the old "nothing's happening, nothing's happening, nothing's happeni...BOOOOOOOO!" the whole time it's probably not gonna be particularly good.

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    Dogma

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    I actually had this discussion with a bunch of friends for the exact same reason. Some people are being pretentious snobs about horror and I really don't think it's fair to label P.T. as a jump scare game. It's not an out of context supprise. You walked slowly around that damn corner every time in fear of something lurking there. The game sets everything up for you to be extremely aware of the potential that something horrible will happen (a jump scare) but as it's in context with extremely good build up I think it's not fair to criticise the game for being cheap when it's quite the opposite. What's the point of build-up and tension without release?

    P.T. was one of the most intense and well built horror experiences I've had in years.

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    patrickklepek

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    Jump scares, in a vacuum, aren't a problem. My issue is with the over reliance on them. It's a cheap tactic that can be used incredibly effectively, but it's often used by media that doesn't have the faintest idea how to actually scare you.

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    azrailx

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    also given the fact that while SH as a series has had jump scares, but it has always been a game that focuses on physiological horror

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    lou_chou

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    I'm glad this has stirred a bit of a debate, I will admit I was slightly worried there'd be a majority of people who were against me on this, but I'm glad to see so many people agree that, like @patrickklepek said, in a vacuum and with considered use, it's a decent tool.

    Honestly, it's the absolute worst when you're watching/playing something that has put little or no effort into creating atmosphere, and then tries in vain to hit a jump scare as a substitute for it.

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    SethPhotopoulos

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    P.T had a lot of atmosphere before the actual jump scare so it felt earned. It takes its damn time and that's what makes it terrifying.

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    icicle7x3

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    I'm fine with one or two of them in a game if used properly. The dog hallway is one I always look back to fondly and that was basically just a jump scare, but I thought it worked well. The rest of Resident Evil didn't rely on window jumping dogs, but the initial glass hating hounds made me stay on my toes for the rest of the game, it was quite effective. The right jump scare at the right time can be amazing, but just don't over do it.

    Games that just repeatedly use the same tactic over and over, no matter what it is, will get stale over time. Horror games NEED to change it up over the course of the game.

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    lou_chou

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    I'm fine with one or two of them in a game if used properly. The dog hallway is one I always look back to fondly and that was basically just a jump scare, but I thought it worked well. The rest of Resident Evil didn't rely on window jumping dogs, but the initial glass hating hounds made me stay on my toes for the rest of the game, it was quite effective. The right jump scare at the right time can be amazing, but just don't over do it.

    Games that just repeatedly use the same tactic over and over, no matter what it is, will get stale over time. Horror games NEED to change it up over the course of the game.

    That's a great example. Similarly, the scene where a Licker jumps through the one-way glass at the police station in RE2 absolutely had me shook. Then there's the T-Rex through the window in Dino Crisis... Man, Capcom sure loves windows.

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    SethPhotopoulos

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    @lou_chou said:

    @icicle7x3 said:

    I'm fine with one or two of them in a game if used properly. The dog hallway is one I always look back to fondly and that was basically just a jump scare, but I thought it worked well. The rest of Resident Evil didn't rely on window jumping dogs, but the initial glass hating hounds made me stay on my toes for the rest of the game, it was quite effective. The right jump scare at the right time can be amazing, but just don't over do it.

    Games that just repeatedly use the same tactic over and over, no matter what it is, will get stale over time. Horror games NEED to change it up over the course of the game.

    That's a great example. Similarly, the scene where a Licker jumps through the one-way glass at the police station in RE2 absolutely had me shook. Then there's the T-Rex through the window in Dino Crisis... Man, Capcom sure loves windows.

    Or hates them.

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    Branthog

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    It's not jump scares I have a problem with. It's the limitation of horror in games being "aliens, ghosts, or monsters". It's awfully hard to put yourself in a mindset where you can be scared by make-believe. It's like expecting an adult to take a threat of Santa not visiting your house seriously. It has no impact; no bite. No matter what you do, no scare tactics will work, because of the subject you're using to frighten your target with.

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    GaspoweR

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    #32  Edited By GaspoweR

    Here's the weird thing, the first early jump scare for example with the door being slightly open and there's a very worrying and scary sound of a baby crying, I KNEW something was going to happen you just don't know when its going to happen. It's not a scare that just literally comes out of nowhere.

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    musubi

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    The reason I'm against jump scares is because Silent Hill doesn't need them to be scary. In fact the first game had like two total in the entire game if I remember rightly. Silent Hill isn't about monster closets its about the slow encroaching dispair and doom lapping at your heals. That constant sense of oppression. That is what made Silent Hill scary. So yeah, I dont like jump scares. Anyone can go "boo" and scare you it takes real craft to maintain a constant dread the entire game without actually resorting to jump scares.

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    lego_my_eggo

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    Farts are always funny!

    Loading Video...

    The only problem i have with jump scares is when they are used more for humor in a by the books horror movie, like the "we totally tried to make you think it was going to be the killer behind that door but it was obviously going to be the asshole jokester who is going to die first!" moments, or when its just a crappy horror movie in general. Like some other people said there best when there is tension or build up before, and if they just come out of nowhere they can feel kinda cheap, but even so if it works and makes me scared so what.

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    LonelySpacePanda

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    I'm not the biggest fan of Silent Hill but I enjoyed 1-3 upon release. The thing I liked about those games is how they built dread and tension through atmosphere and inventively grim environments. We don't know how much this P.T. teaser is representative of the finished product, but it is derivative and lacks the creativity that the series' best efforts are known for. I wouldn't say jump scares (turn a corner and BAM!) are always awful, but I don't like any horror game or film that depends fully on them, as P.T. does. The entire game is literally turning corners hoping not to find something awful and LOUD. It's effective but that doesn't make me like it. I'm not a real horror junkie I guess since I'm mostly in for atmosphere, which is why I like things like Dawn of the Dead and Suspria and not The Conjuring. The thing is, however, is that Silent Hill was primarily influenced by Suspiria and the paintings of Francis Bacon -- art that took the known and made it eerily alien to the human eye. P.T. seems to be shedding this aspect in favor of modern horror conventions of sickly, long haired girls screaming and hiding around corners. It's perfectly fine but don't act like "Yeah, Silent Hill is back!"

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    Dussck

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    Great write-up, totally agree. The Silent Hill games I played never had much jumpscares, it was always more of a creeping horror that slowly came your way while you couldn't move. I think a mix of the two will make for a perfect horror game.

    If the ghost was never able to grab you like it did, the PT wouldn't have a lasting feel of terror. It would be more of a 'Ah there you are again, at the end of the hallway, I'll just walk up and make you disappear'.
    So I felt it first had an introduction where you would fear the unknown, then the actual scare and after that it was the fear of the known. Making the experience as whole very unsettling.

    By the way: Kojima was talking in the interview at gamescom about how they tried to make it look like something else then Silent Hill, maybe the whole 'ghost', 'bad puzzles' and 'jumpscares' was also part of that.

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    hollitz

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    For me jump scares aren't scares, they are startles. Completely creatively bankrupt horror pornography.

    I turn off any game or movie where they first "scare" is a jump scare.

    Thankfully, the jump scares in the PT demo weren't even close to being the things that got a rise out of me the most. They were infrequent and complimentary and served to make you feel unsafe.

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    ShaggE

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    #38  Edited By ShaggE

    I am all about a good effective jump scare, just as I'm all about slow burns and general unease. Two sides to the same coin, and both can be used either well or poorly.

    I think the movie Sinister is a fantastic example: The lawnmower scene is one of the great jumpscares in recent horror. Incredible buildup, excellent payoff. The scare at the very end? One of the weakest jump scares of all time. It belongs on a student's Youtube channel, not at the end of a major motion picture.

    P.T. is definitely more of the first example than the second. Those scares are so effective that I was actually on a hair trigger watching Patrick play it, and I'm never affected by horror games when I have the buffer of somebody else playing and commentating. Better yet, the first bathroom scare and the ghost on the balcony stuck with me as I went to bed, which is what horror should always strive to do.

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    The_Ruiner

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    #39  Edited By The_Ruiner
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    civid

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    It sounds like you read through some of the comments from Gamespots Spotlight Reel of Mary's P.T. stream. Man that was disgusting and such a shame, because the video itself was highly entertaining.

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    lou_chou

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    #41  Edited By lou_chou

    @civid said:

    It sounds like you read through some of the comments from Gamespots Spotlight Reel of Mary's P.T. stream. Man that was disgusting and such a shame, because the video itself was highly entertaining.

    You're exactly right. That, and responses on a handful of other sites really bothered me.

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    Crembaw

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    #42  Edited By Crembaw

    I dunno, I agree that jump scares aren't inherently bad, but speaking as someone who has a really violent and gut-wrenching response to them that is in NO WAY pleasant, the only horror games I have ever enjoyed are the ones with atmospheric, creeping dread. The good ones give me time to take in and familiarize myself with their workings, while still managing to scare the hell out of me.

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    cornbredx

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    #43  Edited By cornbredx

    The jump scares were used in PT effectively. Anyone complaining about them just because they exist at all just don't enjoy properly used horror tropes. There's been so much misuse of several of them that it's not surprising there is now a band wagon of people who consider any use of it at all to be negative in some way.

    The internet is just full of cynics, anymore. The negative people tend to be louder than the people who don't care or even people who aren't being negative.

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    Spoonman671

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    If you made a scary movie without any jump scares, you didn't make a scary movie.

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    Jazz_Lafayette

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    I barely understand the complaint. There were precisely two jump scares in the teaser, that I counted. When peeking into the bathroom, and when turning at the closed door (which doesn't happen every time!). Maybe also the shattering glass? Every other scare was based on ratcheting the player's tension to new heights.

    "Oh, shit, the radio is talking to me."

    "Oh, shit, there's something upstairs."

    "Oh, shit, the baby's crying."

    "Oh, shit, the baby's screaming."

    "Oh, shit, the baby's laughing."

    Hell, the ghost itself announced its presence with loud sobbing and an accompanying DJ. That the teaser does such a fantastic job of paralyzing players when after a certain point they basically have free reign over the game space speaks to how effective its methodology is. At least until it lets off in lame, obtuse puzzles.

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    audiosnow

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    #46  Edited By audiosnow

    A jump-scare is not a scare: it is a startle.

    In the early Silent Hill games, I knew when enemies were nearby. Heck, the developers put in a First Alert in the form of pocket radio static! Mannequins were disturbing because they were unnatural deformations of something natural, not because they popped up from nowhere.

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    soldierg654342

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    #47  Edited By soldierg654342

    Like all things, in moderation.

    The problem with jump scares is that, if over used, you stopped scared of what's on the screen and just start dreading the loud noise. If I followed you around in a haunted house randomly crashing cymbals behind your head, you won't be scared of what's going on in the house, but the loud noise that you can't control.

    Not passing judgment on PT because I haven't payed it myself, but that's just my two cents on the subject.

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    ViciousBearMauling

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    Jump Scares are sudden with no buildup. It's straight sex without foreplay.

    PT had plenty, and I do mean plenty of foreplay.

    I couldn't have put it better myself.

    I mean, look at one of the first jump scares in the PT. You hear a creak behind you. The bathroom door is cracked open, and you hear the cries of a baby. As you approach the door, cockroaches crawl from the opening. You position yourself to look into the door, peer inside and AHH FUCKING FUCK SOMEONE JUST CLOSED IT.


    That is a build up of atmosphere and eeriness up to a payoff. Not a "jump scare".

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    theanticitizen

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    #49  Edited By theanticitizen

    I agree with this post, even though I prefer the more psychological horror to jump scares. I don't feel jump scares are long lasting and as truly horrific but they are fun and effective, plus when used in combination with good psychological horror they are really powerful. People just like to be overly cynical of everything

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    Invader_DooMest

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    Let's not forget everyone had that thought of "Fuck me..." when you turn the corner and see Lisa's ghost just standing there. Not a jump scare but just such a disturbing sight. I'm not a huge fan of jump scares but this game honestly builds up to it before it does. PT seriously is a case of horror done damn right. Suspense and build up not to long and not to short, getting me taking gulps and breathing very quietly, with a pay-off of that final release of terror causing me to scream and do more laundry because I pissed my pants.

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