More research

After a discussion with my group, we decided that I would be talking about the how Japanese horror has made an influence on American games. From this I started looking at F.E.A.R and also stereotypical Japanese horror traits.


The link from Olive will be the use of young girls as aspects of horror in Japan and how this has influenced American horror. 


Me: This links to how Japanese horror has influenced American games. FEAR is an American psychological horror game released in 2005. The story revolves around a special forces team uncovering the secrets of a paranormal force taking the form of a little girl. 

This already shows a strong link to Japanese horror through the use of a young girl to create horror. Japan first used this to create fear in the audience as young girls are stereotypically associated with innocence and this challenges and destroys that stereotype completely.  Replacing it with a feeling of fear and creating a strong icon of horror. Japan have been using 'yuurei' (angry spirits who can't rest), as young girls ever since Japanese theatre whose actors played them with long black hair and white skin. Well known uses of this in Japanese horror are Ju-on, The Grudge, Ringu, Ring, and also films such as Battle Royale use this as well.

Ju-on is the Grudge, and was made by the same director as 'The Ring'. 

Ringu is The Ring, and is the original film.

Battle Royale is a survival horror story of a class of school children.

The use of young girls as aspects of horror as well as child like objects has spread throughout American horror as they are objects of innocence used in a way that scares the viewer. Evidence of this is American media includes films such as Insidious and The sixth sense as well as programs such as The Walking Dead.

Insidious uses a young boy to create a horror atmosphere.

The Sixth Sense also uses a young boy to create fear.

The Walking Dead uses a young girl to symbolise how the innocence is now lost in the world.

A game that also uses children as a horror aspect is Alan Wake. The use of the rocking horse moving by itself and the sound it makes in the darkness creates a horrific atmosphere.

This links back to what Stacey says about Stephen King. Alan Wake was directly inspired by Stephen King, even using a direct quote of his. The game uses aspects of horror created by Stephen in his various books and films. 

This is a direct influence from The Shining by Stephen King, with the use of the Axe through the door creating terror and suspense in the viewer. There are also many other aspects of a horror atmosphere created in Alan Wake which are similar to those used by Stephen King. Fog and Mist are another major element used to create horror, as they can hide things lurking in the darkness.

Fog is used throughout in the game in the darkest and most dense woodland areas as well as in the opening dream sequence. The fog adds much more to the darkness in the game, creating suspense and tension in the player as they venture forwards. Stephen King first said that fog was a key aspect in creating an atmosphere of horror, and games such as Silent Hill also use it.

Example Script:

This links to how Japanese horror has influenced American games. FEAR is an American psychological horror game released in 2005. The story revolves around a special forces team uncovering the secrets of a paranormal force taking the form of a little girl. This already shows a strong link to Japanese horror through the use of a young girl to create horror. Japan first used this to create fear in the audience as young girls are stereotypically associated with innocence and this challenges and destroys that stereotype completely. Replacing it with a feeling of fear and creating a strong icon of horror. Japan have been using 'yuurei' (angry spirits who can't rest), as young girls ever since Japanese theatre whose actors played them with long black hair and white skin. Well known uses of this in Japanese horror are Ju-on, The Grudge, Ringu, Ring, and also films such as Battle Royale use this as well.

The use of young girls as aspects of horror as well as child like objects has spread throughout American horror as they are objects of innocence used in a way that scares the viewer. Evidence of this is American media includes films such as Insidious and The sixth sense as well as programs such as The Walking Dead.

A game that also uses children as a horror aspect is Alan Wake. The use of the rocking horse moving by itself and the sound it makes in the darkness creates a horrific atmosphere.

This links back to what Stacey was saying about Stephen King. Alan Wake was directly inspired by Stephen King, even using a direct quote of his. The game uses aspects of horror created by Stephen in his various books and films.

This is a direct influence from The Shining by Stephen King, with the use of the Axe through the door creating terror and suspense in the viewer. There are also many other aspects of a horror atmosphere created in Alan Wake which are similar to those used by Stephen King. Fog and Mist are another major element used to create horror, as they can hide things lurking in the darkness.
Fog is used throughout in the game in the darkest and most dense woodland areas as well as in the opening dream sequence. The fog adds much more to the darkness in the game, creating suspense and tension in the player as they venture forwards. Stephen King first said that fog was a key aspect in creating an atmosphere of horror, and games such as Silent Hill also use it.

The game itself is based around darkness, and how darkness hides enemies. In the daylight, all is calm and safe, but the darkness is connoted as dangerous and gives a very ominous atmosphere. Darkness has always been stereotypically frightening and this game uses that to its advantage. The mixture of the darkness and the desolate woodland areas also helps creates a frightening atmosphere.

Another aspect of horror used in Alan Wake is the use of environments, as I touched on briefly before, this game is based mainly is empty woodland areas, however there are also other areas such as the maze and the mental home which are used regularly in American and Japanese horror to create terror. The maze is also most famously used by Stephen King in his film The Shining. Nightmares are also used in the game, at the very beginning Alan has a nightmare which then becomes reality. Nightmares are also a very strong form of terror, being a very real aspect of peoples everyday lives. This also could be said to be influenced by the film, The Nightmare on Elm Street, in which people can die in their nightmares by being killed by the main antagonist.