After my topic "Video Game Characters That Scare You." O noticed something, alot of people were scared of underwater enemies. So, here's a premise for a horror game. You play a member of a very large team of scientists who were sent in many different submarines to investigate strange energy readings under the sea. When you arrive on the site, the subs begin malfunctioning, a mangled tentacle shoots through the front windshield and you black out. When you come to you're trying to get out of the sub which is filling with water, you don a diving suit, and head out. The rest of the game would be getting oxygen to stay alive, and finding parts to fix a sub, along with saving survivors and finding out what made the scary creatures down here. I think it would be scary because most of the game would be underwater. Tell me what you think and if you would be scared.

Hmmm... That actually sounds like a good game if somebody could do it right!

Well, I personally don't enjoy playing games that play on all of my fears at once. A game involving monsters underwater is definitely something I will pass up. Even if it is one of the best games of our time.

So, yeah I'd be scared, scared to the point I won't even pick it up. So that would hurt its sales I think. But thats just me.

At lot of horror games work (or don't) based on immersion, which is composed of so many variable it is impossible to pin down why one iteration of a series works but another doesn't beyond simple technical comparison. It sounds like an interesting and edgy premise, very claustrophobic undoubtedly, but I can see a couple of issues:

How pressing would the oxygen issue be? Would movement speed in-game relate to underwater movement in reality (which is painfully slow, for those who haven't dived before)? And more importantly, would it suffer from "mystical cult syndrome", I only ask as strange tentacled creatures are one of the many heralds of the condition.

Underwater is a scary place for humans to be in danger, but there's more to horror than the setting...

sounds pretty fucking scary. i can't stand the though of being stuck underwater. the only thing that can make it even more scary is chuck norris.

The problem is being underwater has never really worked well in video games before. I can't think of a single game. Were underwater levels haven been at all frustrating.

Other than that this sounds like a great game if you can get down the atmosphere right. Just have the character stumble on to the ruins of Atlantis which has been entirely taken over by sea monsters and would go out and bye it.

Isn't that just a cross between Dead Space and Bioshock?

Mostly Harmless:
The problem is being underwater has never really worked well in video games before. I can't think of a single game. Were underwater levels haven been at all frustrating.

Endless Ocean?

It could be scary, but would definatly be in the resi 'shock horror' genre. Would be very interesting to see how the horror and tension could be kept throughout the game.

Would your idea make the game linear or free roaming with restrictions, much like the resi games? Or would it be completely free roaming?

Much like Genta8 said, it could be scary if done right.

Probably a game in which you spend half the time waist-deep in water just barely too brackish to see through would get the job done better than being in a diving suit and fully submerged.

Perhaps base it in the underground sewer of some Gothic city, where you're submerging into the depth to fix a drain but end up being trapped and finding your way out. Your twin sister disappeared somewhere down here when you were 4. You hear a young girl's giggle echoing from the darkness over the filthy water you're slogging waist-deep through, strangely twisted and otherworldly.

Just then, a tentacle of Cthulu pops lazily out of the water in front of you, and the water level begins to rise.

Dahemo:
At lot of horror games work (or don't) based on immersion, which is composed of so many variable it is impossible to pin down why one iteration of a series works but another doesn't beyond simple technical comparison. It sounds like an interesting and edgy premise, very claustrophobic undoubtedly, but I can see a couple of issues:

How pressing would the oxygen issue be? Would movement speed in-game relate to underwater movement in reality (which is painfully slow, for those who haven't dived before)? And more importantly, would it suffer from "mystical cult syndrome", I only ask as strange tentacled creatures are one of the many heralds of the condition.

Underwater is a scary place for humans to be in danger, but there's more to horror than the setting...

Oxygen wouldn't be bad, you're going to find it on other subs you come across, but it would last as long as real life. You have a little underwater kinda jetpack thing that pushes you forward. And no there is no mystical cult, it might be a disease or it might go the route of Cloverfield with the whole prehistoric beast thing, it might even be radioactive waste that mutated some sea dwellers incredibly badly. I dunno, play the game and find out. ;)

blackcherry:
It could be scary, but would definatly be in the resi 'shock horror' genre. Would be very interesting to see how the horror and tension could be kept throughout the game.

Would your idea make the game linear or free roaming with restrictions, much like the resi games? Or would it be completely free roaming?

Much like Genta8 said, it could be scary if done right.

Free roam all the way.

Would it go the dead space route of being able to kill things, or the silent hill route of 'you can, but you're pretty screwed'.

Perhaps the second idea would work best. Silent hill mechanics with an constant undercurrent of worry. Make you actually fear meeting whats ahead as it will most probably finish you.

I would just try not to make the oxygen a constant worry. Detracts from the experience if you have this constant nagging going on. Just ask Starfox Adventures if you don't believe me.

Considering I have a severe phobia of the ocean, that game would scare the living fuck out of me. Don't know why my phobia applies to virtual water too, but damn, that would make for a seriously pants wetting experience.

Did you know that dolphin's Rape?

That's a pretty cool idea for a game. I'd probably play it.

I had my own idea for a horror game awhile ago. I was driving home from visiting my dad one night. He lives in a pretty rural area, so all around me it was pretty much just trees and wilderness. I could only see where my headlights shone, and my imagination just started running, creating lurking horrors just on the edge of the light... I'm not sure how exactly, but it would be cool to capture that same feeling in a game somehow. And you'd have to get out of the car periodically to get more gas...

I like the idea, a lot. You get the feeling of loneliness (Metroid, Dead Space) and the intimidating deep ocean environment (Bioshock), all under an impending time limit (Dead Rising.) It sounds like a great formula for a horror game, just as long as it's not all about fighting sharks with chainsaws.

Sounds better then most games available now but it would need a fleshed out story and characters to compel anyone. The only design mechanic that I would change is you never find out where the monster came from because once you explain it, it is no longer a source of dread.

You know what this game needs....

ZOMBIE SHARKS!!!

This idea would totally rule, if the sound design totally ruled. If you think about it, almost all good horror games have amazing sound design. e.g. Dead Space, F.E.A.R, etc.
other horror games have a pretty good sound design (Doom 3) but I believe those 2 games to have the best, and therefore, in my opinion, they played the best with excellent immersion.

The_Deleted:
You know what this game needs....

ZOMBIE SHARKS!!!

and mutated zombie Squids

Meatstorm:

The_Deleted:
You know what this game needs....

ZOMBIE SHARKS!!!

and mutated zombie Squids

They might not be sea animals, they might just have tentacles cause they're freaky, or maybe it was a disease that mutated sea animals, I haven't really decided.

I was recently thinking of the same. then I thought why not mix the idea in with Atlantis (I miss Atlantis as a cliche). The game would feature Shadow of the Colossus style underwater bosses and play like Resident Evil. Seeing as everyone hates the underwater, the idea would be you need to run (or swim) away from underwater monsters. My premise is that you are a marine who has been told to come to the recently discovered Atlantis to test out new scuba gear, and to protect the founders of Atlantis in case something happens. Obviously something does happen. The original residents of Atlantis, who evolved into underwater dwelling people, start awakening. Why? I haven't thought of a reason yet this is still all new. The end boss would be a three parter in which you fight the King of Atlantis, The King's Pet (a Glow Fish) and The King's Son (a giant lobster like creature which you fight on land).

During bosses you would change from fixed camera style to an over-the-shoulder style, in which you would lock-on to the enemy, shoot it, and attempt to dodge it's attack. Another premise of the game is that you're normally in the dark (Atlantis fell to the Deepest part of the ocean so there's no light entering the windows). Until you find a flashlight you will find enemies by looking for glowing dots. Then you lock on to the enemy and fire. You cannot always be in the lock on position because when you are you cannot move (this is to ensure the player keeps a keen eye). While underwater you will fight huge bosses and you will just have to dodge them by hitting on the D-pad (this idea isn't completely developed though).

That's all I really have though, so what does anyone think about it?

Edit: And yes I thought this would be better as a B-game. Not brilliant, and having plenty of cliches, but I do want it to have a good story.

Executed properly, this could very well be among the best horror games to date.
But then again, it's almost impossible to make a "good horror"...

Though, if a game company actually made something like this, I would totally buy/rent it.

Really now, never share your really great game ideas on the internet. Someday someone might just rip it off and you can never prove a damn thing. Wouldn't that just piss you off? Keep them secret, keep them safe. That goes for all really great ideas really of any kind. Sharing them is for fools.

Good idea though. Mmmmmmm......

What would there be to stop you swimming to the surface?

Would you have it like you would never be able to carry enough oxygen to decompress safely?

Also how deep (read how dark) would it be? The dark murky depths are a good excuse for poor draw distance, allowing you to focus the graphical power on other things.

It seems like a good idea for a horror game, even a game where you're just in the open see without any monsters or whatnot, is pretty scary IMO, especially at night.

Even a FPS version of X-Com: Terror from the Deep, done like Fallout 3, would be pretty good.

The problem with that would be the size of the Submarine. If it's in today's time you have this submarine that would be ripped to shreds by a creature of that size. If you place it in the future you have a Dead Space wannabe with a Gigantic submarine. Underwater creatures scare me like most people.(Like the Sewer boss in Star Wars Shadow of the Empire. I got so scared I didn't finish the game) If you're going for today's time I'd recommend a Aquatic base, with some "new found species of aquatic life". And if you planned on having the player go outside the base he might want a futuristic wet suit that allowed him to go into high pressured areas

What about Bioshock?

Oh, and I already soooo called this with my idea for the exploding tentacle-zombie whale boss idea.

Lukeje:
Isn't that just a cross between Dead Space and Bioshock?

Mostly Harmless:
The problem is being underwater has never really worked well in video games before. I can't think of a single game. Were underwater levels haven been at all frustrating.

Endless Ocean?

Ecco the Dolphin?

If you add a little science fiction to allow you to survive the crushing pressures, there's plenty in the deep sea that are plain scary without having to delve too much into hideous mutated monsters. Why do so when nature is already so generous? Angler fish, large vampire squids and regular giant squids are just some of the enemies that can make you have a very bad day. Imagine just walking steadily on the ocean floor when a hidden monkfish decides to close around you like a venus flytrap with its sharp teeth all angled inward....

HOTEL MARIO for the cdi

fedpayne:

Lukeje:
Isn't that just a cross between Dead Space and Bioshock?

Mostly Harmless:
The problem is being underwater has never really worked well in video games before. I can't think of a single game. Were underwater levels haven been at all frustrating.

Endless Ocean?

Ecco the Dolphin?

Ecco the Dolphin 2?

It has already been done.

http://www.cryostasis-game.com/html/overview.php

I was watching X play last night when they reviewed it (don't judge I was eating dinner and there was nothing else on). It isn't all underwater but there are some segments that are. And it does look good judging from what they showed of it.

Magnaflame:
After my topic "Video Game Characters That Scare You." O noticed something, alot of people were scared of underwater enemies. So, here's a premise for a horror game. You play a member of a very large team of scientists who were sent in many different submarines to investigate strange energy readings under the sea. When you arrive on the site, the subs begin malfunctioning, a mangled tentacle shoots through the front windshield and you black out. When you come to you're trying to get out of the sub which is filling with water, you don a diving suit, and head out. The rest of the game would be getting oxygen to stay alive, and finding parts to fix a sub, along with saving survivors and finding out what made the scary creatures down here. I think it would be scary because most of the game would be underwater. Tell me what you think and if you would be scared.

Sort of reminds me of the ichthyasaur sections in Half life 1 those things were scary if you have a fear of dark water and creatures underneath.