That specific feeling is the basis of everything we're studying here. When the player doesn't have perfect information, the line between safety, risk and danger become blurred ( vague ) and the player can't be sure anymore about how much is the balance between safety and danger is in the situation. The balance between safety, risk and danger, between safe space and unsafe space is the core point of stealth, concealment and, in our case, fear of the unknown presence. When given perfect information in a stealth-action situation, the players are able to understand the borders that divide safety and danger, the limits of the space they can use and the amount of risk they're subjecting themselves to at any given moment. So let's see what that perfect information does for the player first, ignoring for now whatever are the Aesthetics used for providing that information. In our specific case, where our focus of study is trying to understand how the Dynamics of fear emerge from the Mechanics of imperfect information – Fear of the Unknown –, what we have to look for is how the lack of that power affects the informee's (Real) mind-state when present in a context of (Virtual) danger and (Fictional) horror. More generally it's hiding itself entirely, but it could be concealing a weapon ( unknown intention ) or disguising it's nature ( uncanny image ) and the principle is still the same: that if it's hiding something, it's up to something bad.Ĭlear light and shadow delimitations convey to the player where the binary safety and danger spaces meet each other, enemies are set up to contrast with the environment and walk in repetitive and predicting paths ( known presence), and flashlights portray the angle and range of their vision. Unknown presence goes beyond the simple spatial meaning of the word and ties closely to the notion of intention. The feeling of being hunted, being preyed upon, being conspired against. If we don't have access to that information source, we cannot reliably evaluate the situation, and our minds will try to make up for that, again, extrapolating the limited information we have. If it moves, we'll know right away and react on time.
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By looking at the source of terror we have a steady stream of information coming from it about when (imminence), if (intention) and how (nature ) it will try to do anything that puts us in danger. On the contrary, keeping our eyes on the threat makes us feel more secure about it. Sometimes it's not that we don't know what something looks like, but that we don't know where it is, and that can be a frightening experience. Presence “Panic is the sudden realization that everything around you is alive.” ― William S.