Horror / Backrooms
Last updated
Last updated
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Horror games revolve around a tense, creepy, and/or horrifying atmosphere. Prepare for jump scares!
Backrooms games are a type of horror game that come from the creepypasta story which consists of an infinite maze of a windowless office painted in yellow in which unseen creatures can be found.
Escape!
Find a way to get out... if you can survive.
HIGH ALERT TENSION
🎨 Immersive art & light
✨ Camera, VFX & sound
PROBLEM SOLVE
🔍 Find clues to unfold a mysterious narrative
🧩 Solve puzzles to escape
Everyone Can Play - Explore the space, solve puzzles
Immersive - Revolves around generating fear and tension
Play for Long - Endless replay value through random mazes, monster AI, cooperative play, etc.
NEED TO HAVE
Mood: sound, light, VFX, scenery, and enemies to put players on edge
Narrative mystery/puzzle to unfold
Survival equipment & consumables
NICE TO HAVE
Jump scares timed when players feel relatively safe or distracted
Finding physical evidence that unravels the narrative (audio, documents, etc)
Below is a general game loop diagram for this genre. Your game's loops may vary.
Survival Horror: Emphasis on survival, limited resources, and atmospheric tension.
Psychological Horror: Focuses on psychological fear and mind-bending scenarios (e.g, Backrooms)
Action Horror: Blends horror elements with fast-paced action and combat.
GAME MAKER TEMPLATE
LOGIC TO EXPLORE
Consumables/effects
Life meter on HUD
Object interactions
Consider ways to add to or change the core structure of this game type to challenge and motivate players differently.
MAIN OBJECTIVE
⚰️ Kill count
🐣 Find easter eggs
RAMP OF DIFFICULTY
🧠 Sanity metric
⏳ Time limited actions 🍏 Resource scarcity
CORE DECISIONS
🚫 Using a resource may block branching options
🧩 Simple ciphers, codes
PRACTICE: Modify The Backrooms template to increase the fun:
Open the Game Maker Backrooms Template for logic included in the tutorials below.
View Backrooms Game Jam entries in the Game Maker Gallery for examples of this genre.
