I want to say this. And I know this is a WIP Project.
I think alot of people and devs are getting horror genre wrong.
Almost all the horror footages i see from indie-devs has been of a very dark room and a flash light with loud noise in the background.
That isn’t horror. I’m not speaking specifically to you or your project.
Just trying to point out some fallacies going around in the horror indie community.
And hoping my two cents could help further your development in any way.
Horror isn’t about darkness. It has nothing to do with it.
A dark level isn’t what makes people scared or react to events in the game.
Infact if you condition someone with a dark room, they wouldn’t be scared of it later on in your game.
Just look at all the successful horror games from AAA and indie- alike.
None of them portray this overly dark room with flash light mantra.
That doesn’t mean they don’t have dark areas. These dark areas are transitional objectives.
These are the room where you hear a gamer or movie goer say “omg i don’t want to go there, its dark”.
it won’t have that when your game is predominately dominated by the dark.
Or look at P.T for example. It wasn’t compromised of a dark hallway with a flashlight and loud noises.
It was a very clear and visible room with props that brought the story to life, contributing to it. Distant but distinct sounds like the sound of the light bulb swinging back and forth.
I heard a user saying they will be hunted by that swing sound forever (lol).
The eerie sound of the radio. vEven the sound of opening and closing door were scary. why? because it was realistically accurate and distinct.
When you have a level where a player can hear the sound of a pin dropping to the floor and respond to it in fear.
then you have true horror.
not whats being paraded around as horror nowadays.
Again you have a great game here.
I see a bright future for it.
I noticed you commented that the sound system was a priority and that you will work on it.
Fantastic.
But i also suggest that you don’t neglect research.
research research research. a hallway can be scary. its not the darkness or the noise but the small details.