My medium : RPG

I have chosen role playing games as my

medium for this task because I have
grown up closest to videogames the
most, I know more about videogames
than other sorts of media, and
therefore will have more experience in
analysing it. In this essay I will be
focusing on psychological horror and how it effects and audience.
Which genre have I chosen: A role-playing game
The game I have chosen: Undertale, and five nights at freddys to represent the rpg
genre
What is the typical structure of a psychological horror?
Psychological horror aims to create discomfort by exposing common or universal
psychological and emotional vulnerabilities/fears and revealing the darker parts of the
human psyche that most people may repress or deny. This idea is referred to
in Jungian psychology as
the archetypal shadow characteristics: suspicion, distrust, self-doubt and paranoia of
others, themselves and the world. Thus, elements of psychological horror focus on
mental conflict. These become important as the characters face perverse situations,
sometimes involving the supernatural, immorality and conspiracies. While other horror
media emphasize fantastical situations such as attacks by monsters, psychological
horror tends to keep the monsters hidden and to involve situations more grounded
in artistic realism. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_horror
Who plays roleplaying games?

Codes and conventions of RPGS

The style, aside from being traditional RPG, The most common scenario is fantasy, in
which the player embarks on a journey usually involving magic and non-human creatures,
and is involved with stories and quests that stray from a realistic environment. Often
the world they are in is not a real place or is even based off a real place. A roleplaying game (RPG and sometimes roleplaying game) is a game in which players assume
the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out
these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of
structured decision-making or character development.) taken within many games
succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. The topics of this
essay will present RPGs, their content, and how they could effect the audience
positively or negatively. Does Five nights at Freddys cause numbing to sudden jump-

scares? Does Undertale bring out the hidden homicide in gamers? Are audiences
changed by these games as a whole?

http://undertale.com/about.htm
http://scottgames.com/
Developer for undertale: tobyfox Publisher: tobyfox
Genre: Indie, RPG
Languages: English
Tags: Great Soundtrack (1582), Story Rich (1321), Choices
Matter (1298), Funny (1290),RPG (1263), Bullet Hell (1014), Multiple
Endings (999), Indie (987), Singleplayer (918),Pixel Graphics (886), Comedy (844), Replay
Value (782), Cute (738), Psychological Horror(588), 2D (563), Memes (525), Dark (514), Dating
Sim (489), Retro (487), Horror (322)
Category: Single-player, Steam Trading Cards, Partial Controller Support
Release date: Sep 15, 2015
Price: $9.99
Score rank: 98% Userscore: 97% Metascore: 92%
Owners: 842,887 20,218
Players in the last 2 weeks: 371,340 13,431 (44.06%)
Players total: 710,639 18,569 (84.31%)
Peak concurrent players yesterday: 8,242
YouTube stats: 2,012,605 views and 43,567 comments for videos uploaded last week,
over 50 new videos uploaded yesterday
Playtime in the last 2 weeks: 04:54 (average) 02:16 (median)
Playtime total: 11:05 (average) 06:58 (median)

What is it? Undertale and five nights at Freddys are both role-playing video games
(RPG) developed and published by indie developer tobyfox and scott cawthon

respectively. Undertale was written, designed, and composed for by creator Toby Fox,
with additional artwork by Temmie Chang, And five nights was created entirely by scott
Cawthon.
Undertale:
My previous research into target audience
suggests that Videogames of any kind are
aimed at a straight, middle class male
demographic, as seen here on my website.
However the developer of this game has
sprinkled in some obscure concepts that
may point towards the fact that he is not
aiming for just that demographic with Undertale. Modern Mario is a videogame that is
aimed at middleclass straight males, and we can tell this from his character because his
love interest is peach, he has a very manual job being a plumber, and happens to be
male. None of the other characters in the various games have any defining qualities
that step outside of this average. Undertale has characters who are involved in
homosexual relationships, prominent female characters, and transsexual characters.
The game has a progressive attitude and is broadening itself to more than one
audience, Such as women and people of multiple sexualities or different gender
assignments. The main playable character does not have a confirmed gender

Undertale is an obscure RPG because the style of the

game changes based on certain stories played
throughout the game. Emphasis on humour, character
dialogue and player choice, The best category is to
call it a multiple choice game, where several outcomes
are possible. Average playtime: 6 hours. However the
style can stem into psychological horror if you let it, which I will be covering as a major
theme in this essay.

Symbolism within the story relating to psychological horror:

The game runs along multiple timelines, and each timeline will end the game in a
different way. You can play two different main playthroughs, and an almost unlimited
amount of mixed endings. The two main playthroughs however are labelled as pacifist
and genocide. During the pacifist route, you play to save the kindom of monsters
trapped underground and your job is to help them escape, a human soul is what is
required to help the monsters surpass the barrier, a magical gate keeping monsters
trapped below by the humans. You make friends with multiple characters, known as
sans, papyrus, undyne, alphys, mettaton, Toriel and
Asgore who is the king, together them, and countless
others make up the humble and damaged society of the
underground, you see their struggle, and as the hero
you are able to set them free. However in genocide
mode, this story unlike pacifist doesnt end up with
everyone living happily ever after. Instead, you end up
killing these characters in order to gain experience points, levels and attack points (
which is a reference to games like pokemon where you battle to gain similar rewards) .
Your goal is to gain total power and destroy everyone in the underground, despite their
genuine pleas of mercy and the pain you put them and their innocent families through,
monsters are significantly weaker than humans, so they cannot stop you however hard
they to. The point is that either ending of the game can bring out the best or worst
parts in everyone. And the game encourages both and neither endings at the same time.
Its not about following the game to its exact instructions, because there isnt anything
telling you that what your doing is right or wrong at the start. Its a social experiment
to see the base instincts of gamers as they are given the choice to be the hero of the
story, or a relentless killer. This is directly referenced to by Gerson the turtle, as he
describes their nations emblem known as the delta rune to the character when asked
about it. The delta run is an emblem that represents the royal family, it shows an

orb between two wings and three triangles, beneath it; the bottom middle
triangle being inverted. The delta rune is said to symbolise the prophecy of an
angel. (the main character) the triangles represent monsters of the
underground, although many believe the winged circle to represent the angel. A
message on the wall in the game says that there is a prophecy, the angel, the
one who has seen the surface, they will return, and the underground will go
empty which can either be interpreted as the human setting them free, or, the
other way, the human killing them all. Gerson the turtle in the picture above
mentions that the angel cannot be determined as good or evil, and can either be
an angel from above to release them from the underground, or it could be an
angel of death, who will set them free from this mortal coil by killing them all.
Which is for the audience to interpret as they decide which one they will be .
pictures of the delta run can be seen all over the game. Constantly remind the
player:

How does this effect the player?

It can be agreed that Undertale does not cause the player to change. No
records have been shown in which someone has re-enacted the scenarios in the
real world. However giving the player to choose between a world of piece, and
one where they kill without remorse can be seen to show us that a typically
peaceful person can have the capability to harm. Although the game never
displays any on screen gore. It is the character development over the course of
the game which is scarier. In most games you do not have many choices in terms
of what your character accomplishes. A set narrative is created by the game
developer, however the psychological horror in this game is that you could be
the villain if you chose. Characters that had cared about you in an alternate
timeline are now afraid of you. In the following example, at the begning of the

game, players are somewhat afraid of being a killer, however as the game
continues, towards the end of the video they start getting used to it. Perhaps
they had finally become numb to the effects of the game, and dont see it as
killing anymore, more getting points, and getting money. And most of all,
progressing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnhugktXjb8

How was the game distributed? The game was developed by and indie game
developer, known as toby fox. The game was then issued out primarily on
Steam, a software designed for sharing and playing games that holds thousands
of games and millions of players, linked through one hub, and are able to
interact with each other through their private messages, community hubs and
group chats. The game is purchasable simply by copying and pasting the link,
which will provide you with the means to purchase it straight away, this will
make purchasing less of a hassle for customers. And is easier to share.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/391540/ What is important to note about
steam that word gets out about new content fast, through the featured and
new items located in the shop. Once new content is approved by steam, it will be
put into the new section of the games, where members of the community will
be able to see it quickly. Chances are Undertale was picked up as a new, and upand-coming indie game, members of the site communicated its unique gameplay
and story through threads and chats. Word-of mouth is very important for indie
games, and this is a clever tactic to promote a game without spending any extra
money.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Undertale/comments/3qei98/undertale_has_now_sold_mor
e_than_200000_copies/

Eventually if a game becomes popular enough. YouTube will become involved. Where there is
steam, there is YouTube often enough. The YouTube community in gaming is often linked with
steam accounts. If a popular youtuber is recommended to play a game, they will. And them being
popular, the gameplay will be seen by fans who may not have heard of the game before, and may
consider playing it after seeing their favourite YouTube stars play it first. This is another
clever promotional tactic, ising the internet and its extensive fan community to spread word of a
new game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjUPWvcv7xs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJrs_2vjF98

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNV2TOF2PC0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVUcNZZIJPQ Some stats from

http://steamspy.com/app/391540 can show us how this mysterious game, mixed with
disturbing endings and multiple timelines for people to explore, mixed with coverage
and chatter on steam, Reddit, all the way to video game youtube content creators
covering the same game can effect the sales.

Five nights at Freddys

The game centers on the fictional pizza restaurant called "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza",
where the player must act as a night security guard, defending themselves from the
animatronic animal characters by tracking their movement through the facility using
security cameras.

Horror as a genre is often portrayed as

gore, and disgusting. When five nights at
Freddys was first released in 2014, it re
invented the horror genre. Using
psychological horror and immense suspense
to target unsuspecting players. The selling
points for this game were that you could
not move. You were stuck in the same place
throughout the entire game, the only way
that you could protect yourself was by
looking through the security cameras, and
closing doors that allowed the animatronics not to enter your office. The doors
however are electronic and use up power when used. And the game also revolves around
lasting from 12-6 am, without dying, and also checking the power at the same time.
Once the power reaches 0%. Your protection was gone. players are never fully sure if
they are safe or, not as the animatronics do not move when looked at, and simply move

when the cameras are not pointed at them, creating ghost-like movement. As the
nights progress from 1-5 the challenge of course becomes harder, putting the player on
edge more. If the animatronics made it to your office, you are greeted by a not so
friendly jump scare. What is a jump scare? A jump scare is a technique often used in
horror films and video games, intended to scare the audience by surprising them with
an abrupt change in image or event, usually co-occurring with a loud, frightening sound.
The jump scare has been described as "one of the most basic building blocks of horror
movies.

Warning: an example of these jumpscares can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOztnsBPrAA

the suspense of FNAF ( five nights at freddys) Is the silent killer. Using the silence
to allow players to begin to worry. Checking everything at the same time in this game is
duifficulat and provides unique challenge due to the sheer amount of multi tasking you
have to do. The games that come after, such as five nights at freddys 2,3 and 4 all
provide their own unique system with different systems and danger the player has to
look out for. No two games have the same interface, however the one thing that
remains the same is the suspense. Because the horror in this game is when nothing is
happening. The actual scare itself isnt horrible. And you get over it quickly, however
the Time leading up to that, the uncertainty and sense of not knowing what is
happening next (particularly in FNAF4) is what makes the games so successful, and this
franchise was the most successful of its kind when the game came out.

How was the game distributed?

Much like Undertale, FNAF was an indie game. However this time around it was
developed by a near-quitting developer who was giving game developing one last go
before abandoning game developing after having no successful games prior to this. ,

The game was then issued out primarily on Steam, a software designed for
sharing and playing games that holds thousands of games and millions of players,
linked through one hub, and are able to interact with each other through their
private messages, community hubs and group chats. The game is purchasable
simply by copying and pasting the link, which will provide you with the means to
purchase it straight away, this will make purchasing less of a hassle for
customers. And is easier to share. http://store.steampowered.com/app/319510/
What is important to note about steam
that word gets out about new content
fast, through the featured and new
items located in the shop. Once new
content is approved by steam, it will be
put into the new section of the
games, where members of the
community will be able to see it quickly. Chances are FNAF was picked up as a
new, and up-and-coming indie game, members of the site communicated its
unique gameplay and story through threads and chats. Word-of mouth is very

important for indie games, and this is a clever tactic to promote a game without
spending any extra money.
Eventually if a game becomes popular enough. YouTube will become involved. Where there is
steam, there is YouTube often enough. The YouTube community in gaming is often linked with
steam accounts. If a popular youtuber is recommended to play a game, they will. And them being
popular, the gameplay will be seen by fans who may not have heard of the game before, and may
consider playing it after seeing their favourite YouTube stars play it first. This is another
clever promotional tactic, using the internet and its extensive fan community to spread word of
a new game.

How has psychological horror changed over time? What can we see through these games?
In the last few years, the psychological horror of videogames has increased, with other titles such as
until dawn being released, who heavily rely on the butterfly effect. All of these game I have listed
are based on not knowing the future, different timelines and suspense. These games are a lot newer
than older psychological horror games such as clock tower, because these games are more up to
date in terms of graphics, and theirs stories are more appropriate to modern society, characters are
more down to earth in undertale, and animatronics from FNAF are referenced to when chuck-echeese first opened. These new psychological horror indie games are set in non- horror
environments such as a restaurant and feature non horrific characters. In classical psychological
horror it would involve a murderer wielding a weapon, and it was established that they were scary
from the spooky non- diegetic music that followed them around. in FNAF there are no spooky
theme songs, and in undertale the scary music only happens if you kill enough targets. I9t doesnt
come with the base of the game, hiding it away in a different timeline, as if it wasnt meant to be
found by the player. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Clock_Tower_games

In calssical psycological horror, suspense and emotional trauma to characters is seen throughout.
And this is seen in five nights at freddys 4. The anticipation that leads up to kill or be killed is a
classic sign of psycological horror. The choice to live or die is in the palyers hands and they must be
responsible for their own life. Both games have retracted back to simple graphics ( only in a few
parts for FNAF 4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibCoLMjwJ1g

However this is an interesting motief for newer games

like this, going back to simpler graphics rather than try
for new graphics, it might not help the game. This is because these games arent about impressive
graphics. Modern indie games are about storytelling and different secrets being revealed.