Horror MMOs are rare, with survival horror and narrative-driven horror being the two main categories. Survival horror involves combat and resource management, while narrative horror focuses on storylines and social interaction. Creating horror MMOs can be difficult due to the lack of control over the atmosphere in a multiplayer setting.
In the realm of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), there are very few based on the horror genre as of 2011. Of the horror MMOs available, by far the majority belong to a category known as survival horror, where players must work together to keep their characters alive in a world that is largely, if not completely, hostile. Narrative, role-playing, and story-driven horror MMOs involve players moving through a storyline marked by genre-specific archetypes such as demons, vampires, and graveyards. Horror MMOs sometimes involve standard types of MMO gameplay, such as player versus player combat, but use horror-related models for characters or have backgrounds that evoke classic horror settings.
Survival horror MMOs basically place players in a world where most computer-controlled characters are actively hostile to and, at times, actively hunt players down. These games are normally combat-based and have some kind of resource management that keeps players moving, like having to find weapon ammo or food to keep a character from dying. While zombies are a popular opponent in such games, almost anything from generic monsters to robots can be used as an enemy. Players work together in survival horror MMO to reach resources and safe areas and to defeat hordes of enemies that a single player would not be able to defeat alone.
Narrative-style horror MMOs build tension, suspense, and surprise through plots and storylines. These can be revealed through exploration, combat, or puzzles. The narrative structure lends itself more to social interaction, with players becoming engrossed in the story and potentially role-playing. One drawback to this type of horror MMO, however, is that there is no replay value once the storyline is completed, meaning players may run out of all the game’s content before the developers can release more.
Horror MMOs can be extremely difficult to create and occasionally have their status as a horror game called into question. Sometimes, this is because single player offline horror games often rely on the solitary nature of the player, character and gameplay to create scenes or environments where there is a certain amount of control or scripting. This control allows the designers of a horror game to maintain an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty and develop other genre-defining elements. Within horror MMOs, where hundreds of players talk and play together simultaneously, there is little control over the atmosphere, removing the sense of isolation or tension present in offline horror games.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
