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Survival horror

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File:Silenthilloriginsxx.JPG
Silent Hill: Origins, a forthcoming survival horror title by Konami.

Survival horror is a prominent video game genre in which the player has to survive an onslaught of opponents, often undead or otherwise supernatural, typically in claustrophobic environments in a third-person perspective. Horror movie elements are used liberally. The player is typically armed, but not nearly as well-armed as the player in a first-person shooter. The player's goal is generally to escape from an isolated house or town that is inhabited mostly by zombies and/or monsters through fighting and puzzle solving. Isolation is generally one of the most recurrent themes within this genre.

Survival horror is possibly the only video game genre that is defined as much by theme as gameplay style. Though most commonly associated with the Resident Evil mechanics described above, games where the player is made to feel underpowered, generally fighting alone for the bulk of the game, with limited supplies (especially ammunition and health - hence "survival"). They also deal with dark, violent and supernatural themes typical of horror movies. This helps to define the genre more than any specific gameplay mechanic.

Because of this, the genre is also home to beat 'em ups (Nightmare Creatures), role playing games (Sweet Home), first-person shooters (Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Condemned, Hungry Ghosts). Other games such as the Doom and Alien versus Predator series include horror elements, but give the player a sense of being very powerful. Such games are not typically considered survival horror because horror is not the defining game play characteristic. However, the subjective nature of such discrepancies can make survival horror a difficult genre to classify.

History

The term Survival horror was first coined by Resident Evil (1996) which creator Shinji Mikami actively credits Capcom's earlier title Sweet Home (1989) for his inspiration. The Japanese version of Resident Evil (Biohazard) was marketed under the previously non-existent Survival horror genre on the game's cover. A line of text also displayed the phrase "Enter the world of survival horror..." while the game was loading. Although the survival horror genre was popularized by Resident Evil, it was heavily influenced by earlier works such as Capcom's Sweet Home (1989), Clock Tower: The First Fear (1995), and Infogrames' Alone in the Dark (1992).

Clock Tower (1997) and Silent Hill (1999) created a group of survival horror games that focus on psychological terror rather than violence and gore. This category deemphasizes combat in order to increase the vulnerability of the protagonist and consequently build tension. Similar titles include Fatal Frame and Siren.

D (1996) is perhaps the best known of a group of point-and-click horror games produced in Japan in the mid 1990s.

A number of earlier horror-themed games Halloween (1983) on the Atari 2600, Friday the 13th (1985), Ghost Hunters (1986) on the C64, Transylvania (1986), on the Apple II and Splatterhouse (1988 on the Turbografx-16) may have also helped form the genre.

Examples

Adaptations

A number of survival horror games have spawned adaptations in media outside of video games. Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Alone in the Dark have been made into feature films. Silent Hill and Resident Evil comic books are also available.

External links

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