Fear is a tricky emotion to pull off in a game. Sure, the cheap jump scares may startle you, but real, true, crippling fear comes from the lingering unknown. Daylight developer Zombie Studios wants to keep players guessing in their upcoming survival horror Daylight, and one way they are doing that is with procedurally generating environments. Every time you replay a mission, the layout will be completely different.
Players take on the role of a (as of yet, unnamed) girl who wakes up in an abandoned hospital. It's dark, there are creepy sounds coming from every direction, and all you have with you is your cell phone with a flashlight app (because that's the world we live in now). As you explore the environment, you'll discover clues that will unlock the way forward and shed light on the girl's story. But as you pick up notes and really, really creepy toy dolls, you feel a presence approach. Bad things start to happen.
You don't die in Daylight, you just go insane. As things get scarier, some sort of supernatural tattoo develops on your hands and darkness starts to cloud your vision. If you don't find a safe place in time or find one of the game's curse repelling items, you'll secumb to insanity. Wandering down creepy hospital hallways that no one else has stepped foot in definitely gave us an unsettling feeling as we anxiously awaited any ghastly surprises. Daylight is still in the early stages of development, but, so far, it's a thoroughly terrifying experience.
Check out the following slides for more information and images.
Daylight will have Oculus Rift support, because you never wanted to sleep anyway.
Your cell phone provide some sort of guide, either a map or compass.
Documents give you bits and pieces of the story as you explore.
Torches provide a more reliable light source than your phone.
Road flares scare away the things that go bump in the night.
