Sensory Engagement in Fatal Frame II

Joanne made a previous post about sound in horror games and inspired me. Typically, engagement with the senses in horror games is used as a method of immersion. Flickering lights, pounding heartbeats, controller rumble are all aimed towards a fear-inducing sensory response. The horror atmosphere depends on these cues. The moaning cry of the witch in Left 4 Dead immediately changes the mood of the game (Kent's example in his comments about players going into "witch" mode). The hand-buzzing shake of the controller as a meth-head pummels you mercilessly in Condemned 2 brings reality to the on-screen actions. While suspending disbelief is usually considered a requisite for playing supernatural horror games (saying there's no such thing as ghosts when one strangles you to death doesn't really work), there is no lying to your senses. Sensory engagement makes fear real.

Yet for Fatal Frame II, the sensory cues have a more practical use than just scaring the "bejesus" out of you. FF2 uses conventional horror genre sensory engagements and incorporates them into its combat system. Cues from sight, touch and sound, which normally would be used to scare players, are now used as a method to defeat the game's enemies. Take for example, Mayu's heartbeat. Enemy ghosts are often incredibly difficult to target. They hide inside walls, they constantly shift directions and sometimes they even make decoys of themselves to trick you into attacking the wrong spirit. The sound of Mayu's pounding heart offers a counter-strategy to ghost attack patterns. Mayu's heartbeat works along similar lines as the game "hotter and colder." With each step towards the ghost, the school girl's cardiovascular system goes deeper into overdrive. It also works even when Mayu has her back turned to the ghost. The game uses a filament that turns red whenever Mayu is directly facing a ghost, however because ghosts will often teleport right behind you, the filament isn't always an accurate indicator of an enemy's proximity.

Once you have the direction and location of a ghost, it's time to use the "camera obscura," introducing even more sensory involvement into the combat apparatus. In camera vision, sight, sound and touch become essential to the exorcismal process. Shooting ghosts is all about waiting for the most opportune moment to strike. Knowing exactly when to pull the trigger is a function of the on-screen sensory cues. The capture ring, a circle that gets progressively brighter as Mayu approaches the apparitions, dominates the screen. Intensity builds as you and the ghost in towards each other; light moves clockwise around the ring as it charges attack power. As you move closer and the capture circle starts to charge, the controller shakes in spasms and the screen starts to hum in a menacing purr. When the capture ring reaches full power it will flash reddish-purple in what the game calls a "shutter chance," giving the player an opportunity damage the ghost. While all of this might not sound that scary, the gameplay experience is an entirely different story. Facing the spirits of FF2 is a chilling feat. Your senses are overwhelmed with tension building cues.

But it would make sense that so much of the combat system depends on this sensory overload considering its overall attitude towards fighting style. Combat in FF2 rewards players who are willing to scare themselves silly. The most damage is given to shots called "fatal frames," pictures taken in a split-second where the player can go no closer without getting attacked. Fatal Frame 2 allows sensory engaging horror conventions to exist as part of both gameplay and atmosphere.