When it comes to horror, my 最喜爱的 thing about it are the monsters. They make something so much 更多 creepy. It could be 糖果 Land of all things. If a Silent Hill-like creature was put in there, it would make it so much 更多 disturbing. These monsters can be anything from aliens that traverse space, demonic hellspawns, manifestations of human atrocities and selfish emotions, and more. But, what is it about monsters in horror that makes them scary. Why do people find things like the Alien franchise scary, 或者 consider Silent 爬坡道, 小山 as one of the best horror games ever? Well, let’s take a look at, what I think, makes a creative monster.
1: Designs
If you’re going to make a monster, 你 need to think of a way that it will look. This is the most important part. Monsters must look creative, and disturbing, 或者 just something that could get under a person's skin. A great idea of monster designs are the Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. They walk so slowly, with their black slender bodies and their emotionless faces. It’s hard to describe just what these things are, which I think make them so much 更多 interesting. Another good example is Pyramid Head from Silent 爬坡道, 小山 2. Looking at him, we can already tell that he is threatening, what with the large cleaver. Pyramid Head is not a monster that can just come to mind with the snap of the finger. It takes time to think of a monster that looks like this. That’s what designing a monster needs. It needs to have time put into it. A bad example of a monster 设计 is the alien from Robot Monster. It’s just a man in a gorilla suit and a helmet. It’s far from being scary. It’s just silly. 你 can’t just put someone in a suit, especially a very cheap one like that, and consider it scary. Designs for a good monster take time. If you’re gonna make a 蜘蛛 monster, don’t just make it a normal spider. Sure, some people may be scared of spiders, but 你 need to be 更多 creative. Why not have the spider’s legs be human arms and put a mouth with teeth on it’s abdomen that screams in agony when it opens. That would be disturbing, but also 显示 the effort 你 put into creating it. Never just make a quick 设计 with monsters. Always think about how they look first.
2: Sound
If 你 want to scare someone without even 展示 the monster, a good thing to do is to create a sound that is unique 或者 even a trademark of the monster 你 are showing. Monsters that have a sound makes them so much 更多 disturbing, as 你 wonder what is making that sound, where is the sound coming from, when will they pop up, and what will happen to the people involved when that creature pops up. A monster’s sound gives 你 a lot of things to work with, and allows 你 to slowly build up to the creature that 你 have hidden and only 显示 with the sound. One of the best examples is the Behemoth from The Mist. Most of it is blocked out 由 the fog, so seeing it is a little difficult, but when 你 hear it, it’s incredible. It shows how large this creature really is without really 展示 the creature itself. Another great example are the Hybrids from System Shock 2. Hearing their screams may be scary enough, but it’s scarier to hear them beg for 你 to kill them, since they are still alive with the parasite controlling their brain. It’s a disturbing thought, really. Sound can create many unnerving things, which is a shame to see it used so rarely.
3: Movement
It may seem odd as to how a creature can have terrifying moment, but I assure you, a creature's movement can be very disturbing, if 你 do it right. It is best to have the person the monster is attacking be in a place that leaves them helpless, especially if the monster happens to be rather slow. There are two ways this can be scary. The first is if the monster happens to be slow and lumbering, slowly inching their way towards the person. A good example are the zombies from Resident Evil. Being trapped in a small corner as a zombie slowly makes their way toward you, ready to devour 你 whole is a pretty disturbing thought when 你 think about it. The 秒 way for movement to be scary is if the monster is moving very fast, running 或者 even going at inhuman speed toward their target. 你 must be careful with these, as these could be a jump scare, a thing that most horror 粉丝 are, and I assure you, NOT a 粉丝 of. A perfect example of a monster that moves fast without being a jumpscare are the Twitchers from Dead Space. Completely different from how other Necromorphs move, they will run at 你 while twitching in a disturbing way, making 你 shoot your gun 或者 run in a panic. But, if 你 want to create a fast creature that is also rather fast, than the perfect example is the Leech Man from Resident Evil Zero. It manages to lumber and 移动 around slowly, but can also run at 你 very fast. It takes a lot to manage to be both slow and lumbering but fast and surprising.
4. Threatening
This one is pretty common knowledge. The best thing to do to make the monster scary is that they have to be a threat to people, they must be a danger to humans, and they cannot be reasoned with 或者 can escape from, and the only way to defeat them is for either it to die 或者 the person it’s after to die first. The reason why people do not find Pokemon to be the scariest game ever is because they are not a threat to people… Most of the time. 皮卡丘 is just a little 鼠, 大鼠 monster. That isn’t very scary. But Pokemon like Lampent wait in hospitals for people to die so that they can take their souls. Suddenly, Pokemon isn’t so happy anymore once they are a threat to people. Same thing goes for all monster collector games and shows. They are not scary because the monsters in them are not a threat to the people. Some people can even find games like Legend of Zelda scary, because some of the monsters are a threat to a young child. And when one of therm actually lives underground and tries to eat 你 alive, it’s pretty easy to see why.
5. Be Mysterious
This may be going back to when I was talking about sound, but keeping your monster a secret is a very important thing to do. 你 should never, and I mean NEVER, introduce your creature right away. Sometimes, it works, but if 你 want to enhance the fear, 你 should add some mystery to it and make people wonder what it was first. A good example is the first Licker from Resident Evil 2. When you're walking down the hall, and 你 come to a window, you’ll see this… thing crawl along it for a 分裂, 拆分 second. Before that, there gone, and 你 can only wonder what that was and if it will return again. And when the Licker does return, it manages to make people a little 更多 scared than what they thought it was. The Hunter from Resident Evil was a good example too, 展示 你 sprinting towards 你 in a first person perspective. Just wondering what that thing is and how it can 移动 so fast is a very scary thought on it’s own, and when 你 see it, it definitely lives up to being a major threat, since they are one of the most challenging enemies in the game. However, 你 don’t need to be vague with just the appearance. Being vague with your story is also a good idea. Which brings us to, and I can’t believe I’m putting them here…. The animatronics from Five Nights at Freddy’s. As much as I don’t like this game (Like… at all), I 爱情 the story behind it, and the animatronics have some very great backstory, yet they tell 你 nothing. All 你 know is that you're working in a pizzeria that just so happens to be the place where a murder occurred some time ago, and these animatronics are involved in the murder mystery some how. Being mysterious with your monsters won’t only scare your audience, but it will also intrigue them, making them want to know 更多 about them, whether it be to see what they truly look like 或者 to find out what their history is. Being vague with your monster is the best way to create a good one.
6: Be Original
Everywhere 你 look, 你 can see the same kind of horror movie. Whenever there’s a new horror movie that comes out, it’s just the same thing. It’s either gonna be a movie about a serial killer that breaks in the house, 或者 a movie about a girl being possessed 由 the devil because Exorcist was such a success, 或者 god forbid it be another ghost 或者 zombie 或者 poorly made cash grab sequel to a franchise that should just end already. Do 你 know why people are sick of seeing horror 电影院 and games about killers, ghosts, and possession? Because it’s the same thing over and over and over again. 你 may get something new and unique like The Conjuring, but rarely do we get to see those new ideas used. The reason is because horror is so subjective, that anyone can be scared, so Hollywood keeps throwing these 电影院 out to 你 in hopes that you’ll watch it and give them money. Nobody wants to see a movie that’s been done over and over and over again. We still get a lot, and I mean a LOT, of those 电影院 today. But thankfully, there are 电影院 today that are trying to be unique, like Don’t Breathe, which I recommend watching. Seriously, it manages to do way 更多 than any of the million Paranormal Activity movies. Just follow everything I did, and 你 can create a great monster. Hopefully better than Hollywood ever could. Take care.
1: Designs
If you’re going to make a monster, 你 need to think of a way that it will look. This is the most important part. Monsters must look creative, and disturbing, 或者 just something that could get under a person's skin. A great idea of monster designs are the Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. They walk so slowly, with their black slender bodies and their emotionless faces. It’s hard to describe just what these things are, which I think make them so much 更多 interesting. Another good example is Pyramid Head from Silent 爬坡道, 小山 2. Looking at him, we can already tell that he is threatening, what with the large cleaver. Pyramid Head is not a monster that can just come to mind with the snap of the finger. It takes time to think of a monster that looks like this. That’s what designing a monster needs. It needs to have time put into it. A bad example of a monster 设计 is the alien from Robot Monster. It’s just a man in a gorilla suit and a helmet. It’s far from being scary. It’s just silly. 你 can’t just put someone in a suit, especially a very cheap one like that, and consider it scary. Designs for a good monster take time. If you’re gonna make a 蜘蛛 monster, don’t just make it a normal spider. Sure, some people may be scared of spiders, but 你 need to be 更多 creative. Why not have the spider’s legs be human arms and put a mouth with teeth on it’s abdomen that screams in agony when it opens. That would be disturbing, but also 显示 the effort 你 put into creating it. Never just make a quick 设计 with monsters. Always think about how they look first.
2: Sound
If 你 want to scare someone without even 展示 the monster, a good thing to do is to create a sound that is unique 或者 even a trademark of the monster 你 are showing. Monsters that have a sound makes them so much 更多 disturbing, as 你 wonder what is making that sound, where is the sound coming from, when will they pop up, and what will happen to the people involved when that creature pops up. A monster’s sound gives 你 a lot of things to work with, and allows 你 to slowly build up to the creature that 你 have hidden and only 显示 with the sound. One of the best examples is the Behemoth from The Mist. Most of it is blocked out 由 the fog, so seeing it is a little difficult, but when 你 hear it, it’s incredible. It shows how large this creature really is without really 展示 the creature itself. Another great example are the Hybrids from System Shock 2. Hearing their screams may be scary enough, but it’s scarier to hear them beg for 你 to kill them, since they are still alive with the parasite controlling their brain. It’s a disturbing thought, really. Sound can create many unnerving things, which is a shame to see it used so rarely.
3: Movement
It may seem odd as to how a creature can have terrifying moment, but I assure you, a creature's movement can be very disturbing, if 你 do it right. It is best to have the person the monster is attacking be in a place that leaves them helpless, especially if the monster happens to be rather slow. There are two ways this can be scary. The first is if the monster happens to be slow and lumbering, slowly inching their way towards the person. A good example are the zombies from Resident Evil. Being trapped in a small corner as a zombie slowly makes their way toward you, ready to devour 你 whole is a pretty disturbing thought when 你 think about it. The 秒 way for movement to be scary is if the monster is moving very fast, running 或者 even going at inhuman speed toward their target. 你 must be careful with these, as these could be a jump scare, a thing that most horror 粉丝 are, and I assure you, NOT a 粉丝 of. A perfect example of a monster that moves fast without being a jumpscare are the Twitchers from Dead Space. Completely different from how other Necromorphs move, they will run at 你 while twitching in a disturbing way, making 你 shoot your gun 或者 run in a panic. But, if 你 want to create a fast creature that is also rather fast, than the perfect example is the Leech Man from Resident Evil Zero. It manages to lumber and 移动 around slowly, but can also run at 你 very fast. It takes a lot to manage to be both slow and lumbering but fast and surprising.
4. Threatening
This one is pretty common knowledge. The best thing to do to make the monster scary is that they have to be a threat to people, they must be a danger to humans, and they cannot be reasoned with 或者 can escape from, and the only way to defeat them is for either it to die 或者 the person it’s after to die first. The reason why people do not find Pokemon to be the scariest game ever is because they are not a threat to people… Most of the time. 皮卡丘 is just a little 鼠, 大鼠 monster. That isn’t very scary. But Pokemon like Lampent wait in hospitals for people to die so that they can take their souls. Suddenly, Pokemon isn’t so happy anymore once they are a threat to people. Same thing goes for all monster collector games and shows. They are not scary because the monsters in them are not a threat to the people. Some people can even find games like Legend of Zelda scary, because some of the monsters are a threat to a young child. And when one of therm actually lives underground and tries to eat 你 alive, it’s pretty easy to see why.
5. Be Mysterious
This may be going back to when I was talking about sound, but keeping your monster a secret is a very important thing to do. 你 should never, and I mean NEVER, introduce your creature right away. Sometimes, it works, but if 你 want to enhance the fear, 你 should add some mystery to it and make people wonder what it was first. A good example is the first Licker from Resident Evil 2. When you're walking down the hall, and 你 come to a window, you’ll see this… thing crawl along it for a 分裂, 拆分 second. Before that, there gone, and 你 can only wonder what that was and if it will return again. And when the Licker does return, it manages to make people a little 更多 scared than what they thought it was. The Hunter from Resident Evil was a good example too, 展示 你 sprinting towards 你 in a first person perspective. Just wondering what that thing is and how it can 移动 so fast is a very scary thought on it’s own, and when 你 see it, it definitely lives up to being a major threat, since they are one of the most challenging enemies in the game. However, 你 don’t need to be vague with just the appearance. Being vague with your story is also a good idea. Which brings us to, and I can’t believe I’m putting them here…. The animatronics from Five Nights at Freddy’s. As much as I don’t like this game (Like… at all), I 爱情 the story behind it, and the animatronics have some very great backstory, yet they tell 你 nothing. All 你 know is that you're working in a pizzeria that just so happens to be the place where a murder occurred some time ago, and these animatronics are involved in the murder mystery some how. Being mysterious with your monsters won’t only scare your audience, but it will also intrigue them, making them want to know 更多 about them, whether it be to see what they truly look like 或者 to find out what their history is. Being vague with your monster is the best way to create a good one.
6: Be Original
Everywhere 你 look, 你 can see the same kind of horror movie. Whenever there’s a new horror movie that comes out, it’s just the same thing. It’s either gonna be a movie about a serial killer that breaks in the house, 或者 a movie about a girl being possessed 由 the devil because Exorcist was such a success, 或者 god forbid it be another ghost 或者 zombie 或者 poorly made cash grab sequel to a franchise that should just end already. Do 你 know why people are sick of seeing horror 电影院 and games about killers, ghosts, and possession? Because it’s the same thing over and over and over again. 你 may get something new and unique like The Conjuring, but rarely do we get to see those new ideas used. The reason is because horror is so subjective, that anyone can be scared, so Hollywood keeps throwing these 电影院 out to 你 in hopes that you’ll watch it and give them money. Nobody wants to see a movie that’s been done over and over and over again. We still get a lot, and I mean a LOT, of those 电影院 today. But thankfully, there are 电影院 today that are trying to be unique, like Don’t Breathe, which I recommend watching. Seriously, it manages to do way 更多 than any of the million Paranormal Activity movies. Just follow everything I did, and 你 can create a great monster. Hopefully better than Hollywood ever could. Take care.