In general, however, little has been written about the way digital games induce a sense of fear and anxiety, and the existing work has not utilized a fully operational, theoretical and empirical approach. Bernard Perron in his The World of Scary Video Games (2018) outlines a historical account of this genre, examining how digital games structurally elicit horror and feelings of fear. Nevertheless, there are some studies that investigate how new media induce fear in children (Cantor, 1994 Cantor, 2012 Cantor et al., 2010) and empirical evidence on fright experience invoked by digital games (Lynch & Martins, 2015). Although popular and widespread, horror digital games have been relatively unexplored in academic settings, especially when compared to other digital game genres. Starting with a broader view of horror digital games and their position in today’s game industry as well as proper scientific research, it is crucial to note that digital games have grown in popularity over the last four decades as an entertainment medium. The game, however, is, the focus for this article’s attention, raising several questions: (i) how is a mere indie game able to invoke strong emotional response without more elaborated narrative content? (ii) in what ways is it different from other, often much more advanced games of the same genre? and, finally, (iii) what specific mechanisms does the game use to invoke these horrific experiences? I address these questions by proposing a theoretical explanation and empirical analysis, explaining how Slender instils a sense of horror. Overall, the titular Slender Man is an important symbol for the exploration of contents spread on the Internet (Maddox 2017), and the game itself is a testimony of how something simple in structure is able to incite a feeling of constant dread. Its renown, however, was not only earned for the gameplay, but also its culturally-iconic villain. The game was a great success due to its simple design, free-to-play model, and the fact that many players have reported it as a great inducer of deep fear and constant anxiety. Charles Onyett (2012), for example, called it a “devastatingly effective game of harrowing escape,” and according to Kirk Hamilton (2012), it was one of the scariest games of the year. Although intended to be a small project, it later became one of the most popular horror digital games of that time receiving a substantial number of positive reviews. Hadley was completing his amateur horror game Slender - The Eight Pages.

In 2010, two years before Slender Man became the center of international media attention due to horrific events that took place in Wisconsin (Astor 2018 Coscarelli 2014), Mark J. Keywords: slender man, fear, anxiety, digital games, cognitivism, emotions, game design, horror, closure, game mechanics, multimodality Introduction It may also be useful to game researchers involved in the study of multimodality in fiction. This article’s findings and novel approach may be relevant to horror game designers and media scholars interested in in particular. The article also emphasizes the importance of making a crucial distinction between a number of key concepts used in the study of horror. The game’s components, such as game world design, weather conditions, objectives, the elements with storytelling potential, perspective, interactive items as well as the opponent, prove to be fully capable of inciting a multimodal feeling of dread. The results show that although relatively simple in structure, especially when compared to other horror digital games, Slender is a great repository of fear and anxiety inducing mechanics. In doing so, I identify a number of cognitive stimuli in Slender - The Eight Pages (Parsec Productions, 2012), explaining their form and purpose. This paper will argue that horror digital games make use of several fear- and anxiety-inducing techniques, making their gameplay not only narrative-driven, but also fully embodied experiences. This structure is comprised of a network of multifaceted game mechanics which, if harmoniously set together, is able to exploit human cognitive potential remarkably well. Literature, games and films all invent and develop new ways of delivering truly horrific experiences in order to meet a growing demand, but only digital games with their complex structure seem to be able to fully satiate this demand. The burning need for these emotions to be experienced in a controlled environment is addressed rather widely in fiction. A Sense of Fear and Anxiety in Digital Games: An Analysis of Cognitive Stimuli in Slender - The Eight Pages by Bartosz Dudek Abstractįear and anxiety are two powerful and fundamental emotions.

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