Overall I've written a research document of 51 pages with over 11,000 words and I'm quiet chuffed with it, the only problem being that I need to get on with the design as quickly as possible.

Media

I've looked at games such as:


Penumbra: Overture/Black Plague/Requim

Resident Evil Series

Silent Hill Series

 I broke these down by assessing what was scary about them and why they were popular such as:

·         Lighting & visual,  Anticipation, Alone, Sound,Story, Characters effects and Game Events

I then looked at films such as:

The Thing

Alien Series

I also broke these down the same way, trying to pull out the best features such as The Things mystery and trust between the characters as they don't know who the thing is. Also the actual Aliens design for the Alien series is iconic as its well designed and frightening just to look at and how it works.

I then also looked fears within the real world such as abandoned towns, ghost houses and events such as Halloween.



Gunkanjima, Japan

This was an abandoned coal mining facility with living apartments and was separated from the rest of japan as it lay on the coast on a small island. It was left alone after the demand for Coal dropped and being left and never entered again for 20 years, the public are now allowed to go on tours there. From this picture it almost looks like something from Resident Evil.

Borley Rectory, England

The Borley Rectory in Essex England is classed as one of the most haunted places in the entire world, and the most haunted in England. This old manor has since been damaged from a fire and doesn't stand the same as it used to, but was believed to be haunted from the start after being built over a graveyard.


Halloween

Halloween is celebrated over various parts of the world, this is where people dress up as monsters, ghosts and other scary things as they try to dress up as things that scare themselves or other people and have fun with it.

Common phobia’s 

It was also important for me to bring up fears and phobias that people get, so I went through a list of them and picked out ones I believed I might be able to use to good effect within my level.

Here is a list of phobia’s that I could try to work upon within my horror level

Claustrophobia

Fear of confined spaces

·         Feeling trapped within an enclosed space, or simple a room

Acrophobia

 Fear of heights

·         This fear can lead to anxiety attacks and avoidance of high places.

Agoraphobia

The fear of situations in which escape is difficult, or a fear of leaving what they already know
This may include crowded areas, open spaces, or situations that are likely to trigger a panic attack. People will begin avoiding these trigger events, sometimes to the point that they cease leaving their home.
Approximately one third of people with panic disorder develop agoraphobia.

Astraphobia

The fear of thunder and lightning

·         Also known as Brontophobia, Tonitrophobia, or Ceraunophobia.

Achluophobia

The fear of the dark

·         One of the more natural fears that can become a phobia

Autophobia

 Fear of being alone or of oneself.