Environmental Horror Design
Unanswered questions are what creates tension in games.
When it comes to encounter design in horror games I think about this image a lot.
Horror games require really intentional environmental encounters in order to build tension. If this was Moldvay Basic I’d replace tricks on the dungeon stocking table with “environmental horror.”
This is huge and it’s easy to forget. But if you put monsters or other people into all your horror encounters, then 9/10 times you’re releasing more tension than you’re building.
Environmental encounters are questions. In Mothership we call these encounters “omens.” They signal that something is coming. The question is, what?
It’s the players who ask these questions. And their imaginations fill in the holes. Asking the question gives negative space to the horror. But when you finally reveal it the tension is gone. The shape is solidified.
These omens are a way of sculpting your horror until you finally reveal it, releasing the tension you’ve built over the entire session.
So, next time you’re building a horror scenario for your game, remember that the environment is always asking a question. What happened here? Who did this? Where is everyone? Sitting with those questions unanswered is what creates tension and horror.
Really good article. I tend to think about horror like noise. If everything is loud, it can be a lot, but you know what’s going on, a least a bit. When things are quiet your mind can wander, and explore all those unpleasant possibilities. The other metaphor is that horror is like gardening. You’ve got to plant your flowers, nurture them and let them grow at a gentle pace. Then when they suddenly blossom everyone is surprised and confused 😂
Do you find that these environmental horror moments work best when sprinkled in on an improvisational basis based on the needs of the session or do you find a ratio of dread, dread, payoff in how you layout how information is being given to players?
I tend to work heavily in improv at the table and am trying to reassess how much work I do in planning to keep my stories tight while maintaining the narrative punch that can come from tailoring a situation to what’s happening at the table.