Horror theme? Not even close. Please try again.

[Draccus]

As my interest in DDO is waning, I just got around to playing the new quests. Let me start by saying that I'm one of Turbine's biggest fans in the area of quest design. I've posted many times on this forum in the last three years that the turbine devs are the best quest makers in the business. Yes, better than Bioware, Obsidian, SOE, and Blizzard. Turbine's quest design is what kept me playing DDO all these years.

So when I heard that Update 9 would include a horror-based quest series, I couldn't have been more excited. I LOVE scary, spooky, atmospheric, immersive quests. The Thief series of games were scary. Some FPS games were scary. Parts of Dragon Age were scary. So if ANYONE can do scary, surely Turbine can.

Unfortunately, the Horror themed quests didn't deliver. Don't get me wrong, they were GOOD QUESTS. But they weren't scary, spooky or immersive. In fact, it seems like Turbine started with a horror theme and ended with a comedy theme.

Comedy themed quests are fine. But Turbine seems to have gone a bit overboard with them lately and almost every new quest series is light comedy. Quests like Delerium, I Dream of Jeets, Brawnpits, Snitch, Big Top, Partycrashers, etc. are all great quests but the comedy theme with the game-show-host narrator gets old.

The "horror" themed series ended up with the same light-hearted comedy that most of Turbine's new quests contain. Again, great quests, just not horror. It could have been great...the mind flayer's voice in your head could have been a quiet hiss not Ryan Seacrest. The rooms could have been dark gray and black, not neon pink and purple. The music could have been chanting and moaning, not Journey-style guitar.

So I'm hoping Turbine takes another shot at horror. I still think the potential for a great, scary, immersive, atmospheric quest is there. The quest in the series where you had to get evidence against Mr. Smyth was close...more of that and less game show stuff!

[mindlessdrone1991]

I'm going to have to disagree on this one. Yes, the quests after the first in the series are less "horror-themed," but I think calling them light comedy is a bit overboard.

Did you listen to the Yaulthoon (sp?) voice over in the last quest? It might *sound* like a game show host voice, but listen to what he actually says. He is a truly evil villain, and I took great delight in finally being able to kill him.

Also, it's Xoriat-themed. It would be very difficult to construct a quest centered around the realm of madness without it seeming funny at certain points.

Just my thoughts.

[brian14]

I am puzzled. What comedy do you see?

So far I did "Missing" and "Fear Factory". "Fear Factory" was not terribly scary, but neither was it funny. Actually, I would say its immersion factor is on par with most F2P underground quests -- something like Waterworks chain upped to level 15. Whereas "Missing" definitely had appropriate mood IMO -- at least if you play it solo at night, as I did. It has funny moments, such as Smythe's guard demanding three pieces of evidence "because I read somewhere that makes it legal", but they are few and far between. Maybe that quest is not SCARY, but lighting and music make it spooky.

It also helps if you solo it with an underleveled character, as I did. But that can make any quest scary! :)

[Edited]

The quest in the series where you had to get evidence against Mr. Smyth was close...more of that and less game show stuff!
I did not see that at first. Seems like we actually agree!

[stille_nacht]

nothing in ddo can be truly scary for me unless it is also tough tough tough, that way i am actually afraid of the monsters that pop up. Unfortunately, with twink gear and whatnot, that doesnt happen often :O

[Memnir]

I was also hoping that the horror theme would continue to build after Missing, as it was a very atmospheric and fairly creepy quest. The bit with the **spoiler warning** school, and the creepy laughing, ranks amongst my favorite 1st time experiences in DDO **end spoiler warning**

Sadly, that was the pinnacle of the classic horror feel to the new chain. Yes, the rest of it had some creepy moments, and In the Flesh is now one of only a handful of quests I will turn DM Voice on for... but I would hesitate to call the rest of the chain a horror themed one. None of the rest of them recaptured the vibe of Missing - and had the horror gradually drain from the quests instead of build to a crescendo at the end. It became more Xoriat and less horror. Not that this is a bad thing at all - I love the new quests more then most of the recent ones. But... I have to agree that the ratio of horror seemed to be inverse. It should have only increased as the chain progresses - not lessen.


My own opinion only - your mileage may vary.

[AcesWylde]

I thought they were going for delightfully disturbing rather than horrific, there are younger players in the F2P crowd after all.

Next quest line needs to take place in a distant secluded changeling village that is being afflicted by a mysterious magical curse that takes over the villager's bodies creating living vampire werewolves that are remotely controlled by a dracolich. The villagers beg you to help them free themselves of the curse as they are trying to kill you, and you have to weigh having to kill innocent lives vs trying to solve the mystery of the curse while they keep attacking you. At the end the entire party gets swallowed alive by the dracolich and has to fight their way to it's heartstone to kill it ending the curse.

(Sorry, that's the best I could come up with under 2 minutes)

[Memnir]

If we're going for a younger audiance - these vampiric werewolves would sparkle, yes?

:D

[AcesWylde]

If we're going for a younger audiance - these vampiric werewolves would sparkle, yes?

:D

And have neon mohawks

[Memnir]

And have neon mohawksI'm liking the sound of this!

[chodelord]

Missing was really good except the boss was just stupid

They missed an opportunity in Fear Factory....it needed a half transformed civilian reaching out from a cocoon whispering a desperate plea "kiiiiilllll mmmmeeeee"

Or the Taken could be aware of their state and say stuff like "save yourself" "run" "im sorry" "join us" "we see you"

yes I know both these ideas are not original but they are an awesome way of adding to the atmosphere

also for a true horror game play system shock 2, the graphics are dated but you will never be able to hear a monkey screech again without tensing up

[suszterpatt]

I'm not sure a high level quest chain is really suited for horror. I mean, what's gonna scare 6 people who can bend reality to their will and punch out Cthulhu? Even if the quest kicks your collective behinds, it's only going to be hard, not scary.


If there is any place for horror themed quests, it's at the low levels when your resources and powers are very limited, so that you can genuinely feel helpless against the big scary evil. The Catacombs chain is sort of on the right track with this.

[Missing_Minds]

Missing was really good except the boss was just stupid

*sniff... sniff... walks away hurt*


Or the Taken could be aware of their state and say stuff like "save yourself" "run" "im sorry" "join us" "we see you"

Actually... I think they do say something. But it is so mumbled and blocked with the rest of the sound effects from battle and other Taken screaches, I haven't been able to make it out yet.

[donfilibuster]

Agree that at some point it changes to the pink xoriat theme as in delirium.
I won't mind since that's how DDO was depicting the realm of madness, tho keeping the dark theme would have been nice.

Not sure if xoriat qualify for horror style, at least the way PnP presented it in books like Heroes of Horror.
In HoH you have themes of dread, fear, insanity, taint, the sort of which reminds me of Ravenloft.

But in other books they were passing abominations and alien looks for horror, such as with the pseudonatural template and related stuff.
From this i gather that makes aberrations the native dwellers of the far realm, ruled by the illithid.
This is fine as it is, coming from the theme of chaos of Xoriat in Eberron, it's just different, colorful even, compared to a dark theme one would expect.

HoH also describe the dreams and nightmares, but in DDO the plane of nightmares is more alien looking than scary themed.
That is be appropiate to the Quori theme in Eberron, so that stage is already set as well.

Still, i liked the boss fight in the new pack, mostly because i like frantic battles, but i can see if it looks a bit odd, and of course not a bit scary.
It was still a nice boss fight, made a small warzone, and even if you know what to do still have to struggle a bit to get it done.

[Rian]

I've always enjoyed Xorian comedy :D

[SaneDitto]

I remember getting the bright idea to make my solo (as in zero hireling run solo) Missing run in FPS mode. It was also my first time as well, so it made for some fun times :D

[chodelord]

*sniff... sniff... walks away hurt*

I guess I should be more constructive with the criticism....the boss didn't fit the rest of the atmosphere. It should have been a normal person where the beholder busts its way out of his chest, or a normal person whose head tears itself off and starts flying and at 1/2 life the illusion drops and it is a beholder.

Maybe the animation isn't there for these but text description works fine.

[AcesWylde]

What they need to do is make quests to where if you're killed by a vampire, you become a vampire yourself (retaining all your other abilities plus your vampire ones), become immune to raise dead and resurrection (you're living dead, after all, lol), and you're given the option of recalling out, failing the quest, but allowing the group to finish the quest and get xp, or kill all the other players, making them fail the quest, but you get a huge xp bonus for doing so. ;>

[AcesWylde]

I guess I should be more constructive with the criticism....the boss didn't fit the rest of the atmosphere. It should have been a normal person where the beholder busts its way out of his chest, or a normal person whose head tears itself off and starts flying and at 1/2 life the illusion drops and it is a beholder.

Maybe the animation isn't there for these but text description works fine.

I disagree, I think that after the beholder detached itself, and eye should have also opened up in the body's chest, and should have fought you along with the beholder as a rednamed taken

[Draccus]

I'm not sure a high level quest chain is really suited for horror. I mean, what's gonna scare 6 people who can bend reality to their will and punch out Cthulhu? Even if the quest kicks your collective behinds, it's only going to be hard, not scary.


If there is any place for horror themed quests, it's at the low levels when your resources and powers are very limited, so that you can genuinely feel helpless against the big scary evil. The Catacombs chain is sort of on the right track with this.

I think it's possible regardless of player level or power.

I'm not talking about scaring the character, I'm talking about scaring the player. Some games do it extremely well.

There is a scene in Thief 2 that still gives me chills. I wanted to be scared like I am in a horror movie -- I am personally and physically not capable of being harmed but the movie still creeps me out. Games can do that, too, and Turbine has the talent to do it...they just didn't in what Fernando called their "horror themed quest series."

[chodelord]

I wanted to be scared like I am in a horror movie

They should have used human centipede models for the Taken...that would have been horrifying, and fit the theme.

[QuantumFX]

OP: The only problem is that if Turbine went through all the trouble of coding a proper horror themed quest all of us power gamers would simply burn the book (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jbfIRh8kP8).

[Rydin_Dirtay]

The Thief series of games were scary. Some FPS games were scary.

Thief was awesome. I remember playing Half-Life. The first Half-Life. It was SCARY to me.


So I'm hoping Turbine takes another shot at horror. I still think the potential for a great, scary, immersive, atmospheric quest is there. The quest in the series where you had to get evidence against Mr. Smyth was close...more of that and less game show stuff!

I think they should do something like the original Ravenloft module from the 1980's. The living tower, nasty worgs, fog and mist in the Svalich Woods, etc. Remember how Half-Life 1 was, you'd hear strange sounds around you, but you could not quite tell where it was coming from...

[Diib]

I disagree with the OP only in as far as the first quest is concerned. "Missing" is really about as horror themed and spooky as you can expect from this game engine, and it was done well. It almost makes me feel guilty just casting invis and running it in 6 mins on repeated attempts.

Sinister Storage is in no way scary or creepy. But what do you expect from a short fight in a pit. It might as well have been a gladiator arena.

The last two make their attempt in developing the story of the Taken, but at this point its more tragic than horrifiying because there is no chance the PLAYER will ever become a Taken. In a novel, that would be the protagonists main worry. Instead, its more about undoing the wrong that has been done and (of course) beating down the big bads.

[MartinusWyllt]

How could an MMO quest ever hit being true to horror?

Wouldn't you need to have risk to actually feel a bit scared?

As mentioned FPS games can hit this...for me it was VTM:Bloodlines (Vampire the Masquerade) because if the scary things killed you you were killed until you reloaded, hopefully you saved often. You're alone. Things are jumping out at you and can end your game. (In VTM I found...hm...lots of horror and horror-themed action, the hospital was good as was the zombie encounter...esp. as a "ranged build" where you didn't have tons of ammo.) Oh, and Resident Evil...IV I think on the Wii, the first time you hit the village and see the guy with the chainsaw coming for you.

Anyway not sure how you could really hit "horror" in this kind of game.

I enjoy this chain and accept that they call it horror and a risk of being "taken" where you see yourself transforming and you lose control of your character would be a lot of fun...so long as you're not grinding the chain for gear.

[dragonmane]

Maybe have a monster with a chainsaw that has vorpal, that way you have a chance to end it all in one sweep. Or have traps that have vorpal ability that cant be detected lol. Vorpal is as close to instant death that I can get.

[brian14]

How would you KNOW it is vorpal before it does kill you?

From what I heard, end boss of Missing has insta-kill ability which Deathward and Deathblock do not stop -- Prismatic Spray. But I did not know it when I fought him.

[MartinusWyllt]

How would you KNOW it is vorpal before it does kill you?

From what I heard, end boss of Missing has insta-kill ability which Deathward and Deathblock do not stop -- Prismatic Spray. But I did not know it when I fought him.

some kind of "plane shift" ability, I think? ...instant death in any event, yeah.

[dingal]

I was also hoping that the horror theme would continue to build after Missing, as it was a very atmospheric and fairly creepy quest. The bit with the **spoiler warning** school, and the creepy laughing, ranks amongst my favorite 1st time experiences in DDO **end spoiler warning**

Sadly, that was the pinnacle of the classic horror feel to the new chain. Yes, the rest of it had some creepy moments, and In the Flesh is now one of only a handful of quests I will turn DM Voice on for... but I would hesitate to call the rest of the chain a horror themed one. None of the rest of them recaptured the vibe of Missing - and had the horror gradually drain from the quests instead of build to a crescendo at the end. It became more Xoriat and less horror. Not that this is a bad thing at all - I love the new quests more then most of the recent ones. But... I have to agree that the ratio of horror seemed to be inverse. It should have only increased as the chain progresses - not lessen.


My own opinion only - your mileage may vary.

That's about where I stand. The first one was atmospheric and the music was really appropriate and creepy. Not "scary" per se but definitely creepy.

I'd love a quest that was as scary as Doom3 was but I don't see that happening any time soon.

[Kourier]

That's about where I stand. The first one was atmospheric and the music was really appropriate and creepy. Not "scary" per se but definitely creepy.

I'd love a quest that was as scary as Doom3 was but I don't see that happening any time soon.

You hear that? More quests like Missing, please. When I tested it on Lama (gonna buy it soon on live) that was by far the most atmospheric quest.

[dingal]

also for a true horror game play system shock 2, the graphics are dated but you will never be able to hear a monkey screech again without tensing up

System Shock 2 was definitely scary and psychologically so i.e it didn't use cheap scares a la Doom3 (Which was scary enough from that perspective I could only take it in small doses without getting rattled). It's definitely one of the best games I've ever played and stands the test of time even if the graphics are dated.

[dingal]

I wanted to be scared like I am in a horror movie -- I am personally and physically not capable of being harmed but the movie still creeps me out. Games can do that, too, and Turbine has the talent to do it...they just didn't in what Fernando called their "horror themed quest series."

Very few games have ever been able to re-create that but I agree it can be done.

Bioshock had great creep factor, System Shock 2 was downright scary, Doom3 was terrifying and even the original Half Life had some scary moments (for some reason the big mutant fish things that chased you in certain underwater areas scared me to no end. Something about being chased while in water gets me, Resident Evil 2 did the same thing with the mutant sharks). The Resident Evil series (early on) had some great scary moments and Silent Hill while baffling and incomprehensible created a creep factor and scary environment unlike any other game I've ever played. There's something special about giggling shadow children coming at me with a butcher knife that I just can't quite describe.

[Stormanne]

http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww342/Quagmire313/Quagmire.png

[SolarDawning]

The scariest MMO experience I've had is The Old Forest in Lord of the Rings Online.

Creepy atmosphere, chilling music, and then... the trees stand up and proceed to beat the stuffing out of you.

[Sirea]

I actually found the bit in The Missing with the schoolchildren pretty creepy, maybe that's just me being a Mom, but that was some dark stuff. Though the mindflayer in In The Flesh made me giggle uncontrollably, so there was a good balance there, IMO. Seems like that should be the theme of a Xoriat-based quest chain, creepy with a dash of in-a-weird-way funny.

[dingal]

I actually found the bit in The Missing with the schoolchildren pretty creepy, maybe that's just me being a Mom, but that was some dark stuff. Though the mindflayer in In The Flesh made me giggle uncontrollably, so there was a good balance there, IMO. Seems like that should be the theme of a Xoriat-based quest chain, creepy with a dash of in-a-weird-way funny.

Yeah I've got to agree on both counts except I was running In the Flesh with a buddy and we laughed out loud at the pimp hats and dancing.

[Draccus]

One of the best scary sequences in a game that I've played was in the original Unreal. I can try to paint the picture, but it won't do it justice.

it was early in the game and you've only encountered a few monsters. You're in some sort of laboratory and making your way down a very looooong, straight hallway. There is a light fixture in the middle of the ceiling every 10 feet or so. The music turns ominous and you KNOW something nasty is at the end of the hallway.

You continue to creep down the hallway, waiting to trigger a trap...step...wait...step...wait...nothing. You make your way to the end of the hallway and there's nothing there. Dead end. You turn to face the way you came and with a loud, electric click, the furthest light clicks off, leaving the last 10 feet of the hallway dark. Then then next light clicks off. Then the next. The darkness is getting closer...

THUNK...

THUNK...

THUNK...

THUNK...

5 more lights and you'll be in complete darkness.

THUNK...

THUNK...

THUNK...

THUNK...

Here it comes...

THUNK!

As soon as the last light leaves you in complete darkness, all hell breaks loose. The lights turn into bright strobes and the game's toughest monster, a skaarj, comes roaring out of a secret door and charges at you.

Superbly done!

[TheRealest]

As my interest in DDO is waning, I just got around to playing the new quests. Let me start by saying that I'm one of Turbine's biggest fans in the area of quest design. I've posted many times on this forum in the last three years that the turbine devs are the best quest makers in the business. Yes, better than Bioware, Obsidian, SOE, and Blizzard. Turbine's quest design is what kept me playing DDO all these years.

So when I heard that Update 9 would include a horror-based quest series, I couldn't have been more excited. I LOVE scary, spooky, atmospheric, immersive quests. The Thief series of games were scary. Some FPS games were scary. Parts of Dragon Age were scary. So if ANYONE can do scary, surely Turbine can.

Unfortunately, the Horror themed quests didn't deliver. Don't get me wrong, they were GOOD QUESTS. But they weren't scary, spooky or immersive. In fact, it seems like Turbine started with a horror theme and ended with a comedy theme.

Comedy themed quests are fine. But Turbine seems to have gone a bit overboard with them lately and almost every new quest series is light comedy. Quests like Delerium, I Dream of Jeets, Brawnpits, Snitch, Big Top, Partycrashers, etc. are all great quests but the comedy theme with the game-show-host narrator gets old.

The "horror" themed series ended up with the same light-hearted comedy that most of Turbine's new quests contain. Again, great quests, just not horror. It could have been great...the mind flayer's voice in your head could have been a quiet hiss not Ryan Seacrest. The rooms could have been dark gray and black, not neon pink and purple. The music could have been chanting and moaning, not Journey-style guitar.

So I'm hoping Turbine takes another shot at horror. I still think the potential for a great, scary, immersive, atmospheric quest is there. The quest in the series where you had to get evidence against Mr. Smyth was close...more of that and less game show stuff!

"Oh please, do try to resist me. I find it most.......stimulating." You can't tell me that voiceover wasn't pretty boss.

[DevHead]

Wait...wait wait wait. You're suggesting that Journey-style guitar rifts aren't horror? You must be out of your mind.

[rocky0]

Whatever sccary feelings that had come up would disappear after seeing the fashion show. How does someone come up with an idea of monsters parading around on a catwalk as in a fashion show?? I remember thinking the first time I saw that. The first thought that came to mind was...."what the ____ is this ****? a fashion show?? puh-lease!!!!!

Ruined somewhat the feelings of being in a horror show for me

[knightgf]

Never take a description given by Turbine seriously, until you know for sure. They've been known to be misleading to others.

[Sarisa]

True horror would be something like Clock Tower, especially the first game.

The nature of DDO, and especially the quest level is not really conducive to true horror. That said, Missing is definitely creepy, and it would have been nice to have a bit more of that type of theme and atmosphere.

I do like In the Flesh a good bit, it's a great theme and well done. It's just seems much more humour based, though not quite as much as Delirium.

[MartinusWyllt]

I'm not the only one that hears "Kill me" from the Taken am I? Hearing that during the fashion show was a nice touch...unless it was only in my head. Nah, entertaining either way.

[Myrddinman]

I certainly enjoyed The Missing quest and definitely though it was the creepiest, but Flesh Factory took the cake when it comes to wackiness and oddball madness, which I guess is the idea :p

As far as horror games go though, does anyone remember Fatal Frame on the PS2? Hands down the scariest game for me!

[Dhalgren]

Only two games I can think of off-hand that truly had me frightened were Alone In The Dark (the original) and Doom 3. And Doom 3 I never finished as it just kind of got old after a while.

I love the new quests but didn't find them all that frightening. To be honest, the attempted humour in In The Flesh kind of took me out of the game a bit. "You see why we can't have nice things?" didn't really do it for me.

[bigolbear]

If we're going for a younger audiance - these vampiric werewolves would sparkle, yes?

:D

dude.. u just made me choke on my coffee.

for any one else that chuckled at this check out http://www.snotr.com/video/3455/Emo_Vampire_Song
(probably not safe for work. depnds on your boss realy)

[Rian]

dude.. u just made me choke on my coffee.

for any one else that chuckled at this check out http://www.snotr.com/video/3455/Emo_Vampire_Song
(probably not safe for work. depnds on your boss realy)


you sir, have earned my "Find of the Day" award and I even told you :D +1

[Kominalito]

ddo is not a game that is able to make a "horror" vibe like you want. thats why its a "horror theme" and not a complete horror layout.

this is DDO with a horror vibe. if you are looking for a game like "saw" you should play...well..."saw"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_%28video_game%29


till then, i expect DDO to do what DDO does. i dont expect a totally different game just because a new pack comes out.


and to add: silent hill was the scariest game i ever played. that and the original resident evil.

[Razcar]

There is a scene in Thief 2 that still gives me chills. I wanted to be scared like I am in a horror movie -- I am personally and physically not capable of being harmed but the movie still creeps me out. Games can do that, too, and Turbine has the talent to do it...they just didn't in what Fernando called their "horror themed quest series."
In my opinion, what Theif did so well in the scare-department was two things: Lightning and sound. It was very dark. If you cannot see where you are going, or where danger may hide, it scares you. And sound - creepy sounds and music that builds an omnious atmosphere and then suddenly hits you hard - BANG! Ever seen a horror film with the sound turned off? Not scary in the least.

So this is where the new quests could had been made scarier in my book. First they were not lighted properly - they should had been much darker, so you couldn't see what lurked in the corners. They could have used the tech from Rainbow, and made the player the main light source. And the ambient music should had been creepier. I did like the sounds of the Taken though, with their weeping and mumbling.

[Gulnar13]

How to make a truly scary quest?

Well, we can't be cscared of things we can easily kill. Yes, taken *are* creepy, but i feel more emotions when i butcher them than when i see them.
A real horror quest would involve a monster that you CANNOT beat. That is so **** powerful that nearly oneshot you every time it looks at you. A Abomination would be a good example. A monster that you have to run away from, to hide from. Another scary thing would be mistery and silence. I mean, ok, the mind flayer in the last quest sound like Dexter, but he's talking WAY too much to be scary. Something scary would be like the illusions in the old Tomb of Horror module; rooms where the texture and the real model of the room aren't exactly the same, hiding passages from where monsters exit, or hidden teleporters that divide the group, straining the resources.
Also, less monsters. Too many monster and the fear become adrenaline.

Also, to make a horror quest, you would have to disable all the general chats. No group chat. No guild chat. No "region" chat. Only the "say" chat. You get teleported somewhere else, far away from the group? Too bad...

[brian14]

How to make a truly scary quest?

Well, we can't be cscared of things we can easily kill. Yes, taken *are* creepy, but i feel more emotions when i butcher them than when i see them.
A real horror quest would involve a monster that you CANNOT beat. That is so **** powerful that nearly oneshot you every time it looks at you. A Abomination would be a good example. A monster that you have to run away from, to hide from.
Not exactly intentional on devs' part, but that's exactly how end boss fight in Sinister Storage went for me last night. I did this quest on Normal with my Bard 13 and a cleric 13 hireling. Trash mobs were easy -- I would charm Taken, play Song of Capering on mind flayers and hounds, then beat them down with Blade of Fury.

Then Malhurat appeared.

He cannot be charmed, fascinated, danced or stat-drained. Unlike end boss in Missing, he is NOT accompanied by a horde of Taken I could have charmed. All my advantages went out the window. Worse, he uses lightning and I did not bring a lightning resistance item. His attacks take off 50-100 hp in one shot. And I did not bring Memory Pots (actually, just assumed I had them -- and didn't).

What commenced was lots and lots of running away. I would run, cast heals on myself, turn, put a few arrows into Malhurat, run, heal, run. Every time I put a bit more distance between us frantically summon something or other, just so there would be something else to occupy him. When my SP ran out, I switched to CSW potions. Run some more, shoot more arrows. Then Taken and hounds began appearing. I am out of SP's so hit them with Succubus cookies. My hireling died three times, but res'd himself each time as I kept runnning past the shrine. End result:

http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab255/ilya187/ScreenShot00144.jpg

There was definitely a horror aspect to that!

[Zeruell]

True horror would be something like Clock Tower, especially the first game.

The nature of DDO, and especially the quest level is not really conducive to true horror. That said, Missing is definitely creepy, and it would have been nice to have a bit more of that type of theme and atmosphere.

I do like In the Flesh a good bit, it's a great theme and well done. It's just seems much more humour based, though not quite as much as Delirium.

The SNES Clock Tower needs more love.

You're right about DDO not lending itself to that sort of experience, though. The tools are there, and theoretically it would just be a matter of applying them in a way that achieves the desired effect without frustrating the player base.

Part of the horror of Clock Tower is that you're playing as a 15-year old girl. She has nothing in the way of weaponry or fighting experience. She's clumsy. She seizes up. Direct confrontation only offers temporary reprieves at best, and is far more likely to get her killed.

Trying to craft a similar experience in DDO would be difficult to do well. For one, the run-of-the-mill player-character just isn't any stranger to the immediate threat of death, which comes pretty cheaply anyway, or worse. For another, content gets run so repeatedly that it almost seems wasteful to cater to that particular play experience. Random elements can compensate for this to a (small) degree -- was that noise the shuffling of [eldritch horror A] or just another cat scare?

Fear/despair effects (ignoring immunities) combined with implaceable foes (think Marguerite Dryden or Tangleroot's Whisperdoom [to an undergeared, low level group] but with higher lethality) is one way of approaching it, but the Update 3 spell pass indicated that Turbine wants to avoid punishing players with excessive debuffs and/or general helplessness. A player that's just (re-)running the content for loot/xp/favor will view this as an annoyance, once the novelty (if any) wears off.

An enforced stealth motif is another option. Give players a choice between facing down a nigh-invulnerable monster, distracting it, or cautiously avoiding it as it prowls about? Claw of Vulkoor comes to mind.

...that went on a bit longer than I had intended for what started as a simple /agree. Shutting up, now.

[ThePrincipal]

what are talking you about?! there is nothing more terrifying than a Mr. Peanut fashion show of doom!0OOOOOO1!!!

[Hambo]

*sniff... sniff... walks away hurt*



Actually... I think they do say something. But it is so mumbled and blocked with the rest of the sound effects from battle and other Taken screaches, I haven't been able to make it out yet.

I've been able to make out several mumbled phrases... I think :D

First is the ever present "Sobbing". This either seems to be from pain or the realization that the victim is no longer human.

I seem to sometimes hear a "Help Me!" come through, and also a "Get out of Here!", although the last could also be "Get over Here!" :D

[Hambo]

Maybe have a monster with a chainsaw that has vorpal, that way you have a chance to end it all in one sweep. Or have traps that have vorpal ability that cant be detected lol. Vorpal is as close to instant death that I can get.

Chainsaws don't fit into Eberron lore well.

But on the other hand...

http://home.comcast.net/~fillet/pwpimages/demotivational-posters-chainswords.jpg

:D

[Rapthorn]

I too did not find the new quests to be scary... creepy to a degree, certainly twisted, but not scary.

What really took the fear out of them was actually the DM voice.

I mean, how can one get scared when the DM sounds like Stewie from Family Guy?

[Memnir]

But on the other hand...

http://home.comcast.net/~fillet/pwpimages/demotivational-posters-chainswords.jpg

:DI see your Chainsword, and raise with a...
.
.
.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/EnPsyane/darth-nazgul.jpg
.
.
.
:D

[Saaluta]

I was actually farming TP through favor for the vale pack, but liked this pack so much from testing on Lama that I bought it instead...and now back to farming. It did get kind of creepy at 2 A.M. soloing this content and not knowing what was going to turn up around the next corner. Also, having the named hound show up in different quests was kind of interesting(not Pale Fire, the other one). Have seen it in 3 of the 4 quests so far..only place I didn't see it was The Missing...maybe I just missed it :D (pun intended)

Saal :)

[Hambo]

I see your Chainsword, and raise with a...
.
.
.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/EnPsyane/darth-nazgul.jpg
.
.
.
:D

I see your Nerd Villans (sic) and re-raise...

http://home.comcast.net/~fillet/pwpimages/SantaTWF.jpg


:D

[Memnir]

I see your Nerd Villans (sic) and re-raise...

:DI call.
.
.
.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/EnPsyane/Santa-VS-Easter-Bunny.jpg
.
.
.

:D

[Hambo]

I call.
.
.
.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/EnPsyane/Santa-VS-Easter-Bunny.jpg
.
.
.

:D

Fold.

http://home.comcast.net/~shawlin/pwpimages/PapSciRok.png

[twix]

DDo will never have a true horror feel to any of its quests..while a couple of the new quests were a little creepy calling them horror themed was a bit of a jump...

For me horror in a video is when your heart skips a beat and your scared to go around the next bend...

As some have mentioned Doom 3 was ****ing scary....Silent hill was creepy and disturbing...Resident evil 4 ( the last one i played and beat )was pretty scary....Dragon age was gritty,dark and scary at times ( my favorite kind of fantasy)Dead space makes me want to wet myself a little...but i didnt get this feeling of foreboding or tenseness from any of these new quests..While most of them were pretty well done and fun they just arent scary..