Scary, Hopeless, Lonely Atmosphere

wolffeguard

One of the main reasons I got into early NS1 was the fact that the music, maps and gameplay made you feel alone, helpless and scared. Looking down a long corridor after you just opened a blast door not knowing if a skulk was waiting there for you was intense. The lack of this feeling in NS2 and its orientation more around tournament play turned me off completely.

There are plenty of opportunities in Subnautica to recapture the feeling of being very small, very lonely and creepy. That is not to say I think the game should be all scary all dark, but I definitely hope there are areas or moments when you are scared of the unknown.

tl;dr I hope Subnautica is not just bright pastel colors & atmosphere.

Maxx11_v2.0

wolffeguard wrote: »

One of the main reasons I got into early NS1 was the fact that the music, maps and gameplay made you feel alone, helpless and scared.

And then you got better, started moving in groups and those feelings went away?

Seldkam

This isn't NS1. The last thing I want is for ANYTHING from the NS series coming to this game, actually CoD would be worse. But you get the idea suppose

Easter eggs are, of course, encouraged...

SteveRock

Scared of the unknown? I think definitely

joohoo_n3d

@SteveRock
real sss shader? i pray definitely

dragonmith

Well, if the ending of the terrain test trailer is ANYTHING to go by, I am prepared to consider buying UNW's new foray into laxatives.

tohrbogen

i think when you play with the light around a bit and make your enemies smart enough it can be pretty scary. Thinking of predators sitting in the dark, so that you barely see them and then they stalk you. Some maybe even so big that your submarine will not be a safe place and you must flee.
Gosh i am looking forward to this game

_mod

Yeah it'd be cool to get that dark void section of agoraphobic/hydrophobic dread in this game.
I'm sure/hoping the enemies in this game will be fairly cryptic. At least some like the dreaded tentacle beast in Sir, You are being Hunted!

Or the creatures in the upcoming SOMA.
But I'd hate for anyone to think I'm saying straight up "try to be like those games" : x

coolitic

All the glossiness you devs put on everything kind of detracts from a deep and scary approach and puts more of a lighter mood.

Benson

coolitic wrote: »

All the glossiness you devs put on everything kind of detracts from a deep and scary approach and puts more of a lighter mood.

Perhaps thats the idea. Most of the over-glossy parts that Ive seen are only very early (shallow). The concepts for the lava zone and some of the deeper areas dont seem as bright and shiny

Maybe it's designed to get darker and more intense the deeper you go? That'd be cool.

Squeal_Like_A_Pig

coolitic wrote: »

All the glossiness you devs put on everything kind of detracts from a deep and scary approach and puts more of a lighter mood.

Yes, that is deliberate. We aren't making a scary horror game. We chose a more colorful, stylistic approach, to make a game that is friendlier and more accessible that (we hope) everyone can enjoy playing. The game is about exploring a beautiful and appealing alien world, not about having to swim around with your flashlight out in pitch blackness, waiting for the sharp fanged creatures to burst out and rip you apart.

That said, there certainly will some be pitch black areas, and some giant, dangerous creatures as well, and adrenaline filled moments of trying to escape a hungry creature or put out fires on your damaged sub and keep it from flooding from pressure damage. What we've shown so far has just been a small glimpse of the full game. Just the shallow, brightly lit areas, at the start of the game, filled mainly with friendly fish.

--Cory

_mod

I do really like the colourful aesthetic too. It's good you guys are avoiding the wasted potential of making the entire ocean grimdark.

Roobubba

"When NS1 came out it was so scary and atmospheric"

Yeah and you were 10 years younger and far more impressionable, and now you're older, have real life experience, have experience from NS1 (ie you're familiar with all the dangers that could be lurking around the next corner), and yet you STILL blame the fact that you don't find it scary on NS2?

C'mon seriously.

re: subnautica - I will be supporting it no matter what, and from what I've seen so far it looks very pretty and accessible. That's not a bad thing, either. Whatever treats Charlie, Cory and the team put in will undoubtedly be impressive both visually and in gameplay terms. I'm not concerned

ellnic

Well the way Cory puts it, I am looking forward to these encounters