The brains, guts and secrets of your favourite Horror games…

 What is it about Horror games that we love so much? 

Maybe we don’t know?

“Maybe it’s not love!?”

But something possessed us to play Amnesia: The Dark Descent in pitch black with our headphones cranked up. Something compelled us to experience Resident Evil VII in Virtual Reality or to bash our way through Silent Hill 2 using only a steel pipe. 

Whether you like it or not, Horror games have us by the jugular on an evolutionary level and games designers know just what (heart) strings to pull. From the genre’s haunting origins to its finest specimens - The pages of this book are splattered with tried and tested terror techniques, haunting psychological secrets and enough horrific nostalgia to keep us up at night.

Dead. Good.

About Me

It was the summer of 1996.

Wannabe by the Spice Girls was top of the UK charts, a 99 flake ice cream actually cost 99 pence and the sun was shining! Me, your regular young lady of the 90s… Was sat inside… In the dark… playing Resident Evil. And that zombie infested mansion, changed EVERYTHING.

Fast forward fifteen years (ouch!) and I am studying a Masters in Computer Game Software Development. Thing is, I still haven’t let Resident Evil die. In fact - With the then imminent release of Resident Evil VII in Virtual Reality - My dissertation was focussed on how the mechanics of Virtual Reality can leverage a Horror game experience.

And this dissertation awoke a BEAST in me…

To satisfy its hunger, I sought to share the secrets that I had unearthed through my research. I wrote articles based on the research of my dissertation. These included, the application of Virtual Reality technology in Horror games, terrifying predictions for the future of the medium and reviews of Horror experiences. I also had the unique opportunity to give technical talks on Virtual Reality all over the world and for diverse audiences.

To quench its thirst, I continued my quest to attain more Horror game knowledge! And so I began collaborating with experts in this field, such as Assistant Professor of Communication Technology Teresa Lynch and game development studios such as Supermassive Games. And as this wonderful network grew, enriched with each new insight and such incredible talent - I knew that we were were creating something much bigger…

With the unique opportunity to combine my own experiences with those of my extended network, we had the power to create a new tome of terror - The handbook of Horror games - Scare Tactics.

My Tactical Tool Belt…

Details of my publications and talks can be found here.

I’d recommend Horror Games & VR: A New Level Of Terror Or A Dead End? as an indicator of the tone of my writing.

A career highlight of mine was the opportunity to talk at the prestigious Game Developers Conference 2017, in San Francisco.

Details of my professional experience can be found on my CV.