paladin181: Five Nights at Freddy's, FNaF2, and FNaF3 all have a little bit of atmosphere, but the real fear is that a jump scare is coming out of nowhere. The game uses jump scares nearly exclusively and is exceptionally effective because every jump scare in (FNaF and FNaF 2) is fatal. There is no partial fail state, or survival state (except a glitch that allows you to ride-through Chica's kill animation in FNaF). The games make good on the intensity because you have to focus on many aspects to keep the killer enemies at bay, from flashing lights, looking at them on the camera to slow them down, or playing audio bites to distract them and lure to another location away from you (we'll not even mention keeping the music box wound up to prevent an otherwise unstoppable fail state). The games are pretty intense even three or four play throughs in, and are absolutely terrifying on your first time. Even if you've seen someone else play, it can get you by surprise.

Jump scares in traditional games are weak and cheap. They pop up and are usually quite harmless except for the intense startle that you get. Games like Outlast, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, etc. all use a jump scare or two in their make up, but they are never fatal, and are almost never even harmful. In a game like FNaF, a jump scare represents a failure and can be prevented.

Jump scares are effective if they are used sparingly in typical games, but even a game built around them can be pretty good.

Fenixp: Now I should start off by saying that I'm very susceptible to jump scares - I'm not particularily proud of it, but as much as I expect it and as much as I'm prepared for it, a thing jumping at my screen and going "HABLABLABLABLA" always makes me jump when executed at least semi-competently. I'm not horrified by it, I'm not scared of it - it just triggers an automatic reaction in my brain which makes my heart pump and my muscles instantly ready for action, something that I have to then compose myself from for a couple of minutes.

Fenixp: So, I have finished Resident Evil 4 for the first time in my life this week and now I'm in the process of replaying FEAR. The massive difference in how they approach horror just astounds me - Resident Evil 4, while basically using zombies altho they were not zombies, often managed to keep me on the edge. I was never really terrified or anything like that, more like unnerved whenever I have anticipated encounter of something new and always put just a bit unbalanced by how ... 'Off' many of the things in that game felt. It was a good feeling. Good kind of horror. Enjoyable, and kept me curious troughout - and, more importantly, it didn't need jup scares to achieve this effect, it rather managed it by creating locations which were just a tad implausible, dialogues which were unsettlingly unbelievable, by keeping the effect of "Something is not right" troughout the entire experience. Well done, Resident Evil 4 - I wouldn't call it the scariest horror game I have ever played, but it certainly is the most recent.

And now I'm playing FEAR. And it's ALL the jumpscares. Now I should start off by saying that I'm very susceptible to jump scares - I'm not particularily proud of it, but as much as I expect it and as much as I'm prepared for it, a thing jumping at my screen and going "HABLABLABLABLA" always makes me jump when executed at least semi-competently. I'm not horrified by it, I'm not scared of it - it just triggers an automatic reaction in my brain which makes my heart pump and my muscles instantly ready for action, something that I have to then compose myself from for a couple of minutes. Turning down volume when expecting jump scares helps as it's motly audio, but that instantly takes me out of a game. The point is - jump scares are certainly effective in keeping me nervous, but that's not necessarily because I'm scared of an unknown horror the game is going to present to me, it's because I'm really, really not looking forward to the next time some annoying SOB jumps at my screen during next few minutes and I'll have to shrug it off again. I don't feel terrified of what the game is presenting to me - all I'm nervous about is reaction of my own brain, a sort of meta-fear if you will, and the worst thing is that the moment a jumpscare happens, all the delicious suspense is lost, even if it's executed very well (I'm looking at you, Dead Space.)

However, they do say that horror is a very subjective sensation, and everybody is scared of something else. So how do you experience jump scares? Are they effective at keeping the horror of the experience going, or are they just effective at triggering a reaction (or do you just ignore them completely?) Have you seen jump scares used for good effect which would not bring you out of the experience, and if so, where?

Gilozard: Jump scares incite killing rage. I avoid those games to keep my monitor intact.

Fenixp: However, they do say that horror is a very subjective sensation, and everybody is scared of something else. So how do you experience jump scares? Are they effective at keeping the horror of the experience going, or are they just effective at triggering a reaction (or do you just ignore them completely?) Have you seen jump scares used for good effect which would not bring you out of the experience, and if so, where?