If you ask Frictional Games' developers, horror games haven't evolved much since the genre's late 1990s/early 2000s heyday where Silent Hill and Fatal Frame showed off just how scary a video game experience could be. Sure, titles like Dead Space and Frictional's own Amnesia capture new glory for the horror category but other former heavyweight franchises like Resident Evil seem to have lost their way.

What's the way forward for horror in video games? A new post on the Frictional blog outlines ten ways that games aiming to terrify the player can do it better. Among the concepts put forth about improving video game horror are the ideas that a slower ramp-up and less fighting would make the overall experience more effective:

2) Long Build-up
Most games want to kick off the action as soon as possible. Even games with a drawn-out introduction, like Silent Hill 2, introduce the horror elements very early on. The problem is that sustaining a really high level of terror is only possible shorter bursts and the more the audience has to contrast to, the greater the peaks intensity will feel. Ring (Japanese version) is a prime example of this. While it does kick off the horror early on, the whole movie is basically one long build-up to a final scare moment. Horror video-games need to embrace this sort of thing more, but in order to do so a two common traits need to let go. First of all, the game must rely a lot less on a repeatable core mechanic, since we want the player to deal with actual horror elements as little as possible. Secondly, we must perhaps revise the game length and be satisfied with an experience lasting three hours or less, so that all focus can be on establishing a single (or just few) peaks of terror.

4) Minimal Combat
I have talked plenty about this before (see here and here for instance), but it is worth stating again. The worst thing about combat is that it makes the player focus on all the wrong things, and makes them miss many of the subtle cues that are so important to an effective atmosphere. It also establishes a core game system that makes the player so much more comfortable in the game's world. And comfort is not something we want when our goal is to induce intense feelings of terror.

Still, combat is not a bad thing and one could use it in ways that evokes helplessness instead. For instance, by giving the player weapons that are ineffective the desperation of the situation is further heightened. This is a slippery slope though as once you show a weapon to the player it instantly puts them in an action game mindset. That does not mean weapons and combat should be abolished, but that one should thread very carefully, and finding the right balance is a big challenge for future horror games.

The post describes 10 elements in total and is well worth a read for anyone looking for clues for creating a foreboding atmosphere in interactive entertainment. It'll be interesting to see how many of these ideas get implemented in Frictional's future games.

10 Ways to Evolve Horror Games [In the Games of Madness]

One of the scariest games in recent memory came in the form of Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Dark Descent. And while there's a sequel underway—titled Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs—the indie developer's not the one making it.

Instead, Frictional has handed the reins to the next Amnesia period piece scarefest to TheChineseRoom, makers of interactive story piece Dear Esther. An interview at Gamasutra quotes TheChineseRoom's Dan Pinchbeck on the challenging of following up such a success:

"The thing is, if we don't frighten people as much as the original, then we've failed. But now we have to frighten people that know what to expect," Pinchbeck said. "The big design challenge is: How do we protect the things that make Amnesia great, and how do we evolve everything else to make a really fresh experience?"

The concept art for A Machine for Pigs looks beautiful so far and the lush design's part of a particular tension that will be key to the in-development game's experience:

"With this new game, we want to create a world that is so rich and dramatic and beautiful that the player is constantly torn between wanting to go around the corner to see what's there and not wanting to go around the corner because they're frightened of what's there," said Pinchbeck.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about The Chinese Room handling the next Amnesia will be just how different it will be from Dear Esther, which was criticized for not feeling enough like a game. Look for Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs to make you pee your pants this fall.

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs: A collaboration of indie horror [Gamasutra]

You guys all played Amnesia: The Dark Descent, right? That whole game "happened" before I came onboard at Kotaku, but I hope that everyone here had a chance to play it and talk about it to the extent that it deserved. Because seriously: scary, rad game.

Thomas Grip, the founder of Frictional Games, the studio behind Amnesia, has posted a lengthy blog post in honor of the game's one-year anniversary. "Everybody in the company has gotten raised salaries," reads the post, "and we have more than enough money to complete our next game… Reactions to the game are still pouring in, and it feels extremely good and humbling to be able to have that kind of impact on people."

(I'm guessing that by "that kind of effect" Grip means "Making thousands of people post hilarious videos of themselves pissing their pants in fear.")

After post-morteming a bunch of things regarding the launch and reception of the game, Grip moves to the question "What's next?" He starts with consoles:

Another big change for the future will be consoles. The main reason for choosing consoles is purely financial. Right now our main income comes from very few channels, and we need to spread out the risk somehow. The other reason is that we feel we are missing out on exposure by not being on a console and not reaching as many players as we should be able to.

And while Grip notes that console tech is "really old compared to the PC right now," he assures readers that "Our current thinking is to make the console get a lower end version and make sure console specs influence the PC version as little as possible." If I had to guess, I'd say that the time is right for a downloadable console port of Amnesia, much like Crytek recently announced with the original Crysis.

Lastly, Grip discusses Frictional's next game:

Finally, in regards to what our next project is about, the basic idea is to use lessons learned from Amnesia and then take it to the next level. We have mentioned before that the next game will not be as horror focused as our past ones, but still have a scary atmosphere. Our intention this time is to dig into deeper and more intellectually demanding subjects. Another goal for us is to get past having classical puzzles that break the flow, but without making the game into a spoon-fed type of experience.

It's always cool to see an indie have enough financial success with a first project to really stretch out with a follow-up—kinda like what Jonathan Blow is doing with his phenomenal-looking Braid follow-up The Witness.

Very much looking forward to learning more about Grip and his team's next project which, toned-down horror elements or no, should prove to be a creepy good time.

Amnesia - One Year Later [Frictional Games via Game Informer]

Ordinarily, you toss a video like this on YouTube, and every comment shouts it down as fake. But anyone who's played indie horror hit Amnesia: The Dark Descent knows this guy's skin-crawling, pupil-dilating, sphincter-clenching, headphone-grabbing reactions are on the level.

Yesterday, Minecraft brought to you the Lockout map from Halo 2. Today, it's the first two rooms of the PC survival horror title Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Minecraftized. Minecraftizied? Minecraftified? Minecraftufactured? Whatever, here's the video.

The mapmaker, the user GamerDuality on YouTube, says it took roughly 20 hours to build. Half of that was spent in resource extraction to build the thing. "I had to level half a hill, mine copious amounts of cobblestone, cut down dozens of trees, and punch many a sheep and pick many a rose to complete this," he writes.

Let's Minecraft - Amnesia: The Dark Descent [YouTube]

The Independent Games Festival has released its list of finalists for its 2011 awards, with Mojang's world-building Minecraft and Frictional's Amnesia: The Dark Descent duking it out with three other competitors for the $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize.

It's a testament to the growing power and prestige of the independent development scene that this year's IGF finalist list is populated by games that are well-known by more than just the gaming press. Titles like Notch's wildly popular Minecraft and the astoundingly atmospheric first-person horror game Amnesia: The Dark Descent are on the mouths and minds of gamers everywhere, gaining the recognition they so richly deserve.

"From scrappy single person start-ups to more robust indies, and from surprising debuts to surprise successes, this year's finalist line-up is a perfect showcase of the breadth and diversity of what it means to be 'independent'," said IGF Chairman Brandon Boyer. "I'm excited to see all the developers represented gaining more recognition from a wider audience for what they've worked so hard to create, as the importance of the independent games community grows even further."

Minecraft is up for three awards, including the grand prize, Technical Excellence, and Excellence in Design. Amnesia is competing with it for the grand prize and Technical Excellence, while receiving a nod for Excellence in Audio as well.

Other big names making a showing include the WiiWare version of Nicalis' Cave Story for Excellence in Visual Art, and Gaijin Games' Bit.Trip series, which has two different titles up for awards: Bit.Trip Beat for Excellence in Audio and Bit.Trip Runner for Excellence in Visual Art.

If you're new to the indie gaming scene, don't think of the following as a list of nominations. Think of it as a list of games you absolutely have to experience. Then you'll know which to root for when the awards are held at the 25th annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco late next month.

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Frictional Games)

Desktop Dungeons (QCF Design)

Minecraft (Mojang)

Nidhogg (Messhof)

SpyParty (Chris Hecker)

Honorable mentions:

Bit.Trip Runner (Gaijin Games); Neptune's Pride (Iron Helmet Games); Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale (Carpe Fulgur); Retro City Rampage (Vblank Entertainment); Super Crate Box (Vlambeer)

Excellence In Visual Art

Bastion (Supergiant Games)

Bit.Trip Runner (Gaijin Games)

Cave Story (2010 Edition) (Nicalis)

The Dream Machine (Cockroach)

Hohokum (Honeyslug & Richard Hogg)

Honorable mentions:

Cobalt (Oxeye Game Studio); Faraway (Steph Thirion); Flotilla (Blendo Games); Helsing's Fire (Ratloop); Retro City Rampage (Vblank Entertainment)

Technical Excellence

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Frictional Games)

Confetti Carnival (SpikySnail Games)

Miegakure (Marc ten Bosch)

Minecraft (Mojang)

Neverdaunt:8Bit (Robot Loves Kitty)

Honorable mentions:

Achron (Hazardous Software); Cobalt (Oxeye Game Studio); Hazard: The Journey Of Life (Demruth); Overgrowth (Wolfire Games); Swimming Under Clouds (Piece of Pie Studios)

Excellence In Design

Desktop Dungeons (QCF Design)

Faraway (Steph Thirion)

Minecraft (Mojang)

Nidhogg (Messhof)

Super Crate Box (Vlambeer)

Honorable mentions:

Bo (Mahdi Bahrami); Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally OK Now [B.U.T.T.O.N.] (Copenhagen Game Collective); Flotilla (Blendo Games); Helsing's Fire (Ratloop); Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale (Carpe Fulgur)

Excellence In Audio

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Frictional Games)

Bastion (Supergiant Games)

Bit.Trip Beat (Gaijin Games)

Cobalt (Oxeye Game Studio)

Retro City Rampage (Vblank Entertainment)

Honorable mentions:

Bit.Trip Runner (Gaijin Games); Cave Story (2010 Edition) (Nicalis); Jamestown (Final Form Games); NightSky (Nicalis); Planck (Shadegrown Games)

Best Mobile Game

Colorblind (Nonverbal)

Halcyon (Stfj)

Helsing's Fire (Ratloop)

Shot Shot Shoot (Erik Svedang)

Solipskier (Mikengreg)

Honorable mentions:

Flick Kick Football (PikPok); Shibuya (Nevercenter); Spirits (Spaces Of Play); Tentacles (Press Play); Trainyard (Matt Rix)