Reply To: Could A Tabletop Game be genuinely scary?

[chaingunParticipant 1939xp 0]

Can a game be scary?

Have I genuinely been scared playing a game?

The answer to these questions is no, but @robsaunders you ask an interesting question which has got me thinking.

You mention the films, books etc you like and some games that gives you tension while playing. You have to ask yourself what makes the films / books scary for you, after all it’s only fiction.

This is is where I think it’s not been done in gaming as set of mechanics for a game, as our brains know that it’s only fiction and we are only playing a game and I think it’s that, that stops us from having that scary feeling.

Now, as others have pointed out RPG games are your best bet by having an excellent DM who creates the tension with low lights, ambient music / sound effects and if you can have a projector project images around the room. These ideas could work for board games and miniatures games but I really think not though.

So I think the bottom line in this is definitely no, based on game mechanics alone, however visual aid with sound effects will give a better experience. But again it’s all about tricking our minds.