Opinion: Horror ain’t so scary without the sound

Clive Thompson had an excellent editorial yesterday on the Wired blog about horror videogames delivering better thrills than recent horror films. His argument touched on the fact that games are inherently subjective (ie. you are the one in danger, as opposed to vicariously watching a character on a screen be in danger) along with Hollywood’s recent propensity for gore over suspense (Saw, Hostel, etc. aren’t very big on subtlety).

It’s a great read but Thompson only touches briefly on one of the most crucial elements of creating a successful horror experience in either a game or a film – sound design. Sound is everything when it comes to…