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Why is horror games so popular on this site?

A topic by That's Great Studio created Jan 14, 2020 Views: 3,198 Replies: 17

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That's Great Studio4 years ago(+8)

Browse games > popular games. And most of them are hororr games.

And that surprised me.

Does anybody know why horror games are so popular on this site? Is it because that Youtubers like to play and make videos with this genre so most of Youtubers like to seek horror games in the site and so these titles become popular on itch.io?

Roast: I just filed a feedback for the function to exclude tags I dont want to see(in this case, horror). I really dont want to browse games with my heart shocking. Too coward to watch horror stuffs, haha.

Halloween Astronaut4 years ago(+2)

Yeah, that is true.

Nothing wrong with that though to myself.

I mean, life is kind of a horror, is it not? It has mystery to it, there is an element of terror, there is a sense of metaphysical wonder, there is also an invisible monster and a lot of dying.

That's Great Studio4 years ago(+6)

Life is a horror, thats why I escape to the internet world.

But what I mean is, I really dont want so much horror games full of my itch page. I dont want these stuffs scaring me when I am browsing the internet

Jeroen P. Broks4 years ago

I've seen the same on Game Jolt....

Probably just a hype or something...

That's Great Studio4 years ago

Really? I go to Game Jolt, too. But its better there, at least not like Itch, 7 out of 10 in the popular list are horror games

Jeroen P. Broks4 years ago

I've seen tons of horror games, and especially when I served the place as a mod and was thus tasked with checking if games were stolen or not or were malware or not, well you get the picture. So I've seen a lot of titles there. Of course, there is a high load of fan games there based on Five Nights With Freddy's and Bendy and the Ink Machine, and since the originals are horror games, so are the fan games, and people have been whining like crazy for a horror genre, but that request was never followed as horror is not a genre in pure gaming sense but rather a theme. The 7th guest is a horror themed puzzle game, and Phantasmagoria a horror themed point and click adventure to name two famous commercial horror games. Now that Game Jolt has basically removed the genre system and replaced it all with tags, the disucssion about it has died out a bit. Now I must note that Game Jolt has a front page where games featured are picked by the administration, and thus more variety was bound to happen. If the community solely did influence the stats, things would have been entirely different and I think then we would also see the horror games most. Of course, I've never really sorted this out fully on Itch, but I also know that Game Jolt does make recommendations on games you've visited, downloaded and given a like or dislike, and if you only like games that are not horror themed, the recommendation system is also less likely to recommend them.... The number of horror games is still very high there, trust me on that one.

X2Sたr4 years ago(+1)

Youtubers, Its the youtubers. Quick and easy jumpscares = perfect for both youtubers and the developer.

I don't like #### horror games but hey, there always fun to poke at :3

Jeroen P. Broks4 years ago

If that's true the level has gone down the drain.
It's not that jumpscares make a bad horror game, but really good horror titles mostly rely on other kinds of creepiness and ways to people scared.... If just some simple jumpscares is all it takes now... Oh well, I was not a true horror lover anyway, but still...

Laukaus Games4 years ago(+1)

I guess youtubers and viral popularity potential plays a big role. I also think many developers might think that horror games are easier to develop than some other genres. No idea, I haven't developed any horror games, so it's hard to say what I think about it. However I think it could be a reason.

Halloween Astronaut4 years ago(+2)

Good horror, is quite like good science-fiction. Both are very hard.

Viral popularity works best with what is spontaneous. Now, how do you 'make' things spontaneous.

I think horror is ultimately about the quest for understanding the unknown, which finally turns out to be our own hidden potential. There is nothing else to be afraid of than oneself. It is the problem of attachment. Long story.

Laukaus Games4 years ago(+1)

extremely well put and I agree with you 100%. I should have probably added that a simple horror game that mostly relies in dark lighting and jump scares is technically - as in development wise - probably easier to realise than some other game genres. Narrative wise horror is extremely difficult genre and great horror games are very tricky to pull off from that perspective. Thanks for bringing that up!

technicat4 years ago

I can't speak for everyone else making horror games, but just from my own experience, one of my first little games/apps was just an experiment in procedurally generating mazes, and once that was working I thought hey, I could put in a first person controller that just walks, keep it dark except for a flashlight, leave it quiet except for footstep sounds and occasional suspense music (stock suspense sound I later heard used a lot in movies) while you try to find your way out. Not quite horror and not quite a full game, but still it was kind of popular and by going that route it simplified development and asset requirements.

Halloween Astronaut4 years ago

Why are horror games so popular on this site - perhaps it is because there is no 'real place' without 'real people' and the 'real people' in this place are apparently those interested in the horror genre.

Otherwise, you cannot tell, it is just some weird kind of gravity.

Halloween Astronaut4 years ago

Horror genre has to involve in the supernatural themes - the extradimensional, one would say - which is an artistic take at what our minds were not designed to properly seize in the current structure of things. That is why, it always remains a question without answer, the supernatural. Horror needs to end with mystery, while the mystery itself, is enough of a dread in proper respect. Horrors that eventually turn out to be all explainable and rational, are called 'thrillers'.

Deleted post4 years ago

Deleted 4 years ago

Halloween Astronaut4 years ago(+1)

You bet.

id04 years ago(+16)

Exclude tag would be great, yes.

Imitate Fire4 years ago(+1)

Free adrenaline rush. Not many free games can do it, but EVERY horror game does it and I bet most devs/players don't even know it's being done and that it's an addiction. #darksideofgaming

Halloween Astronaut4 years ago

Another mystery is the persistent spam of 'ketogenic diet' propaganda on itch.

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