215 - Design of Haunted Houses

Developer diaries about creating Neverending Nightmares.
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matt
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Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2013 10:48 am

215 - Design of Haunted Houses

Post by matt »

Haunted house design is a bit like game design. After going to the Halloween Horror Nights, I decided to reflect on it and think about lessons horror games can learn from the Halloween attractions!

-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
ranger_lennier
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Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:37 pm

Re: 215 - Design of Haunted Houses

Post by ranger_lennier »

Yeah, most haunted houses are short and pretty cheap if you really look at them, which makes jump scares pretty important. Some of the very best can really impress with makeup and set design. Probably the best I've been to myself is Land Of Illusion in Middletown, Ohio. It had some TV quality zombie makeup in the haunted hospital. I remember the clown attraction as being a well put together carnival as well. But I don't remember anything extremely scary.

http://www.landofillusion.com/


Games are at a real advantage in that they can portray horrible things happening to the player character that you would never want actually happening to yourself. Of course there is actually a market for "extreme" haunted houses, where people basically sign a waiver letting them physically and psychologically abuse them. Not my idea of a good time, to say the least.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-insane-mo ... ted-house/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/weird ... 16650.html
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matt
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Re: 215 - Design of Haunted Houses

Post by matt »

Wow, I thought I'd be into an extreme haunted house, but that doesn't sound very good or even scary... The Universal Studios ones are usually quite good with makeup, props, and masks. I've been to some other ones in the LA area (like Knotts Scary Farm) that are not nearly as good.

I would say the one advantage that a haunted house has over a game is that it is real, so you can get lost in the world a bit easier I think. That's why I pushed so hard for immersion in Neverending Nightmares. Not being reminded you are just in a game (just like not being reminded you are in a fake amusement park) is important - at least to me.
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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