All work
Game Design
/
2024
Beast Files
An immersive horror simulation that plays on the sensation of being watched, claustrophobia and immersive sound — descend into the Belly of the Beast.
Client
Parsons Design & Technology — Thesis
Role
Developer & Designer
Timeline
2024
(01)
Overview
Descend into the Belly of the Beast and uncover why an ever expanding cave system seems to be losing more and more people to its endless maw.
The Beast Files is an interactive horror game experience in which players undergo a perilous journey in the depths of an unraveling cave system that is slowly swallowing you whole. The sentience of the structure is quickly evident in the labyrinth of corridors and structures found deep beneath the surface.
Players view their gameplay from behind the nostalgic lens of a VHS tape which embellishes a sense of retrospection that lulls us into a sense of both nostalgia and dread upon the realization that we are looking into our own past.
(02)
Concept
A persisting theme throughout my studies has always focused primarily on ambiance, environmental design and instilling psychologically stimulating experiences for end users. For my thesis, I’ve created a horror video game that encompasses these vitally important aspects into one experience that players can anticipate to feel thrilled, terrified but thoroughly engaged. My game aims to tackle the notion that our senses can pick up on nuanced details in our surroundings resulting in enhanced feelings of doubt, dread and that prickly feeling of being watched.
Through my examination of fight or flight instincts in games, I aim to instill these feelings by utilizing sound design, composition, environmental lighting, texturization, rendering and a harmonious visual aesthetic that reinforces both intrigue as well as disgust.
In-game screenshots, including the VHS-lens view
(03)
Designing Fear
There is a level of detachment that occurs in horror as individuals know to anticipate uncomfortable or shocking moments. A disconnect from the characters or the scenario that occurs as they slowly become unstable or unreliable, results in a comfort space that audiences enter and can easily become disinterested in the media.
In order to evade this conundrum, my goal was to create a game that does not rely on cheap tactics but to utilize subtle sounds or shadows in the dark to imitate the age old sensation of fear of the unknown. Fear is the most ancient feeling humans have and playing into it by making an uncertainty about the storylines or purpose of the game itself was key in building anticipation.
(04)
Level Design
By utilizing level design that forces players to squeeze into dark places in-game, this enhances the in-person physical feelings of distress by perpetuating a consistent theme throughout. The players become entangled deeper into the experience with nowhere to go but forwards.
Pop up show play-testers
(05)
Inspiration
I was very inspired by many artists over the years but here are a few artworks that propelled me into creating Beast Files.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Nope by Jordan Peele
The Blood of a Poet by Jean Cocteau
The Rolling Giant by Kane Pixels
Junji Ito’s Uzumaki, Spiral and The Enigma of Amigara Fault
(06)
The Pop-Up Show
I also wanted to create a physical space for the pop-up show that also resembled a fully immersive experience by surrounding players with elements of the game in-person as they sit in the dark with headphones on.
Games are unique and let us enact sensations onto others very directly — this was my design and intention as a developer, but also to test the bandwidth of the human perception.
Set-up mock-up for the pop-up show
Play the Game
Beast Files is available to download for Windows on itch.io. Download and unzip the package, then open the file labeled BEAST_FILES to play. A macOS version is a work in progress.
Genre: Simulation · Tags: Horror, Immersive, Singleplayer