An upcoming five-part documentary celebrating the history of horror gaming has added Eternal Darkness director Denis Dyack and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories designer Sam Barlow to its growing list of industry experts.
TerrorBytes: The Evolution of Horror Gaming will contain five hour-long episodes delving into the storied history of horror in gaming, from the genesis of the Survival Horror genre to the growing popularity of indie hits like Five Nights at Freddy's.
Dyack and Barlow join an already healthy line-up of interviewees, including the likes of Hifumi Kono (Clock Tower), Jeremy Blaustein (Silent Hill 2 - 4), Thomas Grip (Amnesia, SOMA), Roberta Williams (Phantasmagoria), Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill composer), and many more.
While the documentary itself won't be ready until around March 2025, you can pre-order it now via the official website. Multiple tiers are available, including a physical Blu-Ray deluxe edition and a rather hefty Associate Producer tier.
Here's a peek at what each episode will entail:
Episode 1 - Enter The Survival Horror: We explore the survival horror genre, examining the early titles like 3D Monster Maze and Project Firestart, its explosive popularity in the 90s - where titles like Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil, and Silent Hill captured the imagination of the masses - and its legacy and enduring popularity today.
Episode 2 - Lethal Licences: We explore the good, the bad, and the ugly, including early Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre games, bizarre obscurities like Ringu: Infinity, and successes like the brilliant Alien: Isolation, as well as the growing popularity of licensed characters in games like Dead by Daylight.
Episode 3 - Narrative Nightmares: From the surreal and unique to the kitsch and campy, we celebrate and explore cinematic horror games and the now-obscure world of full motion video horror games, exploring “so-bad-it's-good” games like Night Trap, Sierra Online classics like Phantasmagoria, and the unusual use of CG tech in titles like D, among many others.
Episode 4 - The Indie Revolution: We shine a light on indie development in horror gaming, from breakout hits like Five Nights at Freddy’s and Amnesia to the many unique and one-of-a-kind experiences like Yume Nikki, Papa Sangre, and FAITH: The Unholy Trinity.
Episode 5 - Cursed and Controversial: We dive down the rabbit hole of controversy and explore the games - like Doom, Manhunt, and Saw - that people wanted banned. Along the way, we’ll also take a look at the unusual world of “cursed” games, including urban legends like Polybius, Petscop, and Crow 64.
While March 2025 might feel like a bit of a lengthy wait, there will also be a year-long celebration of horror gaming for backers who pre-order before 3 March, 2024. This will include 15+ hours of exclusive online content, including live Q&As with industry legends, vidcasts, and live backer update events.
Are you up for a deep dive into the history of horror? Let us know your thoughts on TerrorBytes with a comment down below.
Comments 12
I'm a sucker for watching horror games (playing them....not so much XD) so I'll probably love this myself!
One small thing though: calling DOOM and Castlevania 'horror' games is a bit of a stretch imo XD
@Fizza
i agree, that ive never thought of doom and castlevania as "horror games."
OTOH, if these games were movies instead of games, what genre of film would they be? 🤔
@-wc- Even though they're not actually scary, I would absolutely consider Castlevania horror games, or at least horror themed. They are after all inspired by the classic Universal monster movies, as well as the Hammer horror films.
Doom I think also falls into horror action. It involves an oppressive sense of isolation, and blasting hordes of zombies and hell demons. Doom 3 in particular really leans into the horror elements.
@OldManHermit
i was posing it as a hypothetical before, but i actually agree. 👍 i dont think in any other medium, one must make a distinction between "horror" and "horror themed."
OTOH, if they made a dracula racing game, would that be a "horror" game? 😂 i guess in gaming, the distinction between "theme" and "genre" is a bit more complex than non interactive media.
its interesting to think about! 👍
EDIT - in the case of DOOM, i would consider them horror games for sure. at least, i personally have always found them to be scary, especially when i was a kid.
@-wc- Haha, horror game or not I would be all over a Dracula themed kart racer.
@-wc- I actually don't think horror is a theme, I think horror needs to be attempting to scare you. For instance what's more a horror film, Silence of the Lambs, or The Adams Family? But which is more horror themed? When I organize things, I usually avoid this by making a folder for "Horror & Gothic". Also I agree that doom was pretty freaky as a kid.
I wish they were gong more in their order though, that seems better. It would really show the evolution with things like Sweet Home.
@Poodlestargenerica
"For instance what's more a horror film, Silence of the Lambs, or The Adams Family? But which is more horror themed?"
such a good point! i like your take on this and i hadnt thought of it like that. 👍
do you think castlevania, in its own time, was trying to scare the player at all? or is it more "addams family?"
personally, i didnt find it scary per se, but i definitely felt it had "a mood."
@-wc- Yeah I agree, it's definitely more in the Gothic side of things, not really trying to scare people, but the aesthetic is influential.
I would definitely say that Castlevania from the late 90s up to the Lords of Shadows reboot was actively tryng to be scary and play the horror tropes. I for one remember playing Castlevania 64 as a child and was definitely terrified a few moments...but again, so I was with some parts of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
In the end I believe the 3D generational leap means everything here. Just look at those episodes, the beginning of the horror game was not in the same place as most other game genres, it needed the early polygonal models from RE, Silent Hill, Alone in the Dark, etc to explode and reach the average public. Save very few niche and barely available games like Clock Tower on the SNES, games from the 2D era could be gory, and bloody, far more than Castlevania, (Splatter House anyone), but scary? Hardly.
Just want to say Eternal Darkness was one of the most thrilling experiences I had on GameCube. Such an amazing game!
@-wc- I actually never thought about that.
@TCKuma
If you mean "if these games were movies instead of games, what genre of film would they be," I hadn't either! 😊👍
btw love your avatar 🤣
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