(I want to clarify that I am not trying to disrespect the creators of some of the games I mentioned here. What I am about to say is not intended to cause harm, so please don't take it the wrong way.)

Nowadays, terror/horror doesn't feel very natural, or it's just plain exaggerated.

From making creepy and hyper-realistic animatronics in a place that is supposed to be a FAMILY RESTAURANT!!!

To putting in G0r3 or satanic things for shock value and not to cause genuine fear

1- Forced Horror

I think DevilRabbitStudio's games serve as a example

Are their games scary? Yes, but they have a problem.

The way they do it is so absurdly exaggerated, or I even feel like it's forced, as if it has to be scary by force.

Especially their latest games, like FNaJr, which also includes that ransomware theme that, at this point, is already tiresome because of how exaggerated it has become. Now, can using that font be scary?

I think even Honey Bee felt a little more natural in causing fear.

(I know that's his style, if that exaggerated horror is intentional, I think it's fine, but if that's not the intention and he's trying to be scary in some way and doesn't know how, well, I've already stated my problem with this).

2- Senseless creepy designs

And I insist again that horrible designs in a children's venue make no sense. Let's be realistic for a moment. In real life, a place like this would surely have closed down due to complaints.

It's like the meme:

“You think I scared the kids?”

“The kids? It'll give the parents nightmares.”

When I see something like this, the designs can be scary, but it becomes silly when you know the context.

Designs like this only work if the game takes place in a horror attraction or a dream.

You can make scary designs, but at the same time say, “This could be in a restaurant” Even in real life

There are many examples: the designs of Jollibee's Phase 2, Poppe and Buddies, Chuck E. Cheese R, Forgotten Nights at Fredbear's, BCE, and of course, The UnWithereds

Or you can also create adorable designs that aren't scary at all but can still have that spooky side. There are also examples such as: Jollibee's, Benny Circus World, The Angel's Horror Show, FNaF 2 rewritten 87

Although this isn't very effective in making it look scary, at least you can feel its nature and it doesn't seem like it has to be scary.

3- G0r3 misused

It's okay to use it, they're horror games, it's normal, it's fine as long as it's used well and not abused, but

I feel like some people use it in the same way as terrifier movies, “cause shock factor and that's it.” For me, this is a problem, because they think that just because it's gory, it's scary, when it's not. it's just disgusting, and this happens a lot with movies. Putting in too much G0r3 and abusing it reaches a point where people are no longer scared, but rather disgusted or want to vomit, or are left with a look on their face that says, “That's exaggerated, this can't really happen.”

And no, shocking and scaring are not the same thing.

And unfortunately, this phenomenon has crept into some fangames. Jolly 4 is a perfect example. Thanks to leaked scripts, we know that it was basically a festival of extreme violence, but was that important to the story?

NO

It really seemed like they only put in gore to scare people, but there was so much of it that it was absurd, as if they forced it in.

I guess Weshek thought that putting G0r3 in would make the game seem “mature.” And no, it doesn't

and the story in that game was not a good ending for Jolly's story. Almost the entire script was a terrifier 1, in a nutshell, and the same thing I said in the first point: is forced horror.

This could be said to be using G0r3 in a blatantly bad way

4- LUCIFER, OMG

What I'm about to say is based on what I've seen, since I haven't played many games of this type, and the only game with this theme that I've played was The Lost Ones R. Even so, I'm not really convinced by this resource, and I find horror movies that feature Satan repetitive or predictable. I think watching The Conjuring movies is enough to realize that the others follow the same demonic theme, but my question is, what's the point of putting satanic rituals in a RESTAURANT?

I mean, I don't understand the point of involving rituals or cults with animatronics. Look, TLO R performs a ritual on a mackerel in the middle of the forest and demons come out. I think that makes a little more sense than doing it in a restaurant or having ghost robots that look like Lucifer for some reason.

But what I'm getting at is, I don't see the need for this to scare people. I guess TLO R was okay because at least it takes place in a mackerel. I think in a lonely place like that, you can perform those rituals.

But I've seen games like Duke's Funhouse, which involves a cult, and another 2D game that involves G0r3, which is very explicit and also has satanic elements, but it seemed so exaggerated that I no longer understand if they do it because they really want to incorporate those ideas into the story and make them important, or just so people will say, “This is scary,” even though it feels forced

I guess they do this so that children don't play it or say “these FNAF fangames are for kids,” but please, putting g0r3 in there for no reason, as if it were TRTF, doesn't make the game “mature.” It's just morbid and edgy nonsense. I'm not saying you can't use g0r3, of course you can, but you have to learn how to use it properly and not make the same mistakes that franchises like Terrifier make

(and even if it has things that are considered strong for children, children will play it anyway. I mean, even as a kid I wanted to play Jolly 4 even though I knew it was going to have g0r3)

Someone will probably say to me, “Aran, don't think you're an expert. Your games aren't scary. What do you know about horror?”

Look, I never said my games were scary. Objectively speaking, I don't think they are (yes, I'm not afraid to admit it).

But even so, I've seen several horror movies from various subgenres and learned more about this genre and the context of terror and horror to realize how it works.

And even though my games aren't particularly scary, or some of them aren't scary at all, at least I try to do it in a natural and less forced way

Using these resources that I consider important:

-Atmosphere (the most important)

-Ambient music or intense sounds

-Some things in the story that could be considered horror

-Jumpscares should be intense, in animation and sound for greater impact.

-The gameplay should be fast or challenging, this can make the player nervous (like Froggy's games).

And anyone who tells me that's not enough, don't you remember the genuine horror of FNAF 1 and 4??

And to conclude, despite what I have said, there are things that can be done to make it work, and that is not to take the game too seriously.

Marco Antonio's FNAF 1 Remake has an exaggerated style to scare people, but I think it works well as a joke game

But hey, if in the end everything I said, like exaggerating the game, is done on purpose or that's the developers' main intention, then I have no complaints, that's fine. But if that's not the intention and you do it with the intention of scaring people, resorting to every possible means such as adding the Ranwsoware or VHS filter and hyperrealistic designs, then there's a problem, especially if it happens in a family restaurant.

What I'm saying is, if you want to make your game scary, first take something into account. Think logically, and at the same time, don't overuse the resource by forcing the game to be scary

Well, that was my point of view on those four ways of scaring people that I don't like very much, but it's more because of the way they do it.

By the way, I'm not saying that developers should change their style or anything like that. If that's your own style of game design and you want it to be that exaggerated, then that's fine. We all have our own style and ways of scaring people in this type of game, but I'm saying this mainly to those who want their games to be scary and don't know how to do it well. If you're one of those people and want to improve in that area, I hope this has helped you.

I don't consider what I said to be the absolute truth, but I think more than one person has the same problem as me (come on, I can't be the only one).

If you disagree with something or have a different point of view and want to tell me, I'll read it.

Oh, by the way, I don't want to sound hypocritical, I admit it, I also want to make a game like that with exaggerated horror, but I would do it as a joke or just on purpose because I want to do something different