Bursts of static, wayward pixels, frames dropping at random from a dimly lit video—in most video games, these effects are mistakes. They interrupt the immersion and so degrade the quality of the work. Sometimes they render an otherwise respectable game unplayable. Why, then, do they produce the opposite effect in horror games? How can they intrigue and electrify a player when they frustrate in every other circumstance?
Sigmund Freud describes the “uncanny” as a crossing of boundaries between the familiar and the unfamiliar. It just so happens that horror is a genre primarily concerned with the crossing of boundaries, primarily those holding our reality together. I’ve heard that the appeal of horror games is that they allow people to experience fear in a safe, controllable environment, but a good horror game seeks to undermine our reality. It reaches out to us from beyond the screen.
The Flat, for example, is a game that features a first person point-of-view filtered through a VHS-like distortion. It shakes and scrolls in strange directions as you attempt to navigate the titular flat. Whenever you move between areas, the screen flashes with static. The audio is somewhat garbled, as if it’s being played underwater. Though these effects give the impression of glitches, they’re clearly intentional. They’re so out of place, so inherently wrong. You know without being told that something terrible happened in this flat. And if the medium keeping it inside your computer is fraying, what’s to stop it from happening to you?