'arghdfdf!!11' Dead bird in face: or why games are scarier than film

Saw saw 3 yesterday ( tee hee! saw saw! like a inverted see-saw or rather ) wow what a silly film, horror films always brings out the sceptic in me and this one was a doozy, full of 'arrghhhh yes look in the cupoard when theres obviously someone behind you' or 'How 'bout using that fork lift truck you've been suspended from for the past half hour to i dunno maybe break down that flimsy chain link fence and uh escape?'

But apart from me clearly being head smarts when it comes to a horror situation, the other thing that washed straight over my head was the gore, im not saying im some kind of gore fanatic and truth be told i get a lot more scared at more mundane things in life 'oh crap my keys are inside how am i going to get back in?' sending more chills down my spine at recollection than any horror scene. In fact the scariest thing was the dawning that Jigsaw the films anti hero bares an uncanny resemblance to Gary Glitter

But i just ended up mentaling counting each grisly scene and mentally ticking it off where i've seen it in a game, point blank shotgun to face? Soldier of fortune 2, Acid burns? Prey Dismembrement by ways of fancy saw blades? Quake 4. Being bathed in fetid pig guts? Again Quake 4 and damnit we went all the way and used people.
Apart from the chain bit which again they just ripped off the original hell raiser and the rib bit which they heavily borrowed from the 'blood angel' the vikings used to do to the pesky Christians there was nothing i had'nt seen before.

Theres only so many things you can do to a body before it comes boring or worse comic, thats why i think games certainly in the horror genre are finally moving away from film. Its our oldest emotion and one that games have always been damn good at raising, pretty much every game, ok not sports one and no not that driving one your holding, use horror in one way or another. Developers have to learn to pace themselves otherwise you end up with just a closet jumper like Doom3 a typical film is an hour and a half long a typical first person shooter lasts for around 8 hours this presents much more oppurtunity for the developers to suggest horror or something ajar instead of jumping straight into the blood and guts routine.

The scariest piece of media i ever experienced was the Cradle level in Thief3 good god, that made me forget what century it was let alone i was staring at a screen. A huge labyrinth level set in a partly destroyed orphanage/insane asylum. Relying upon the player to piece together the clues and create the monsters in there own imagination, its not until almost the very end you even see a monster but theres always the anticipation that just around this corner is that monster your imagining.

Im gonna explore games as horror devices later in alot more detail, me thinks got the ol' noggin a turnin