Evolving a horror aesthetic with The Dark Pictures Anthology

gamedeveloper.com:

While the horror genre has grown increasingly popular, a particular sub-genre of gaming horror focusing on interactive narrative is one that has a large following. One of the key developers focusing on narrative first horror games is Supermassive Games, the creators of Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology, and The Quarry–which has gained a large following for its particular marrying of interactive storytelling and terrifying and tense atmospheres. At GDC 2023, the creative director of The Dark Pictures Anthology, Tom Heaton, spoke about how the success of Until Dawn led to the creation of the development studio's particular brand of horror. He also talked about the growing subgenre of storytelling with their recent games, what it took to make an evolving and changing narrative, and how to ensure it stays a satisfying experience for solo players and in multiplayer.

In 2015, Supermassive Games released Until Dawn, quickly becoming a sleeper hit on the PlayStation 4. As a horror game with an interactive narrative, where a player's choices will decide which of the leading characters will make it to the end of the story, its general hook was that it was an interactive horror film. This game served as the proof of concept and a subsequent sign of success for Supermassive Games' approach to horror, which put them on the path to continue with The Dark Pictures Anthology.

To Heaton, the success of Until Dawn was due to how the developers had established their own brand of "aesthetic" for horror."The aesthetic for [Until Dawn] was a horror movie, a kind of B-movie slightly cheesy horror movie, but the top-level design idea was a horror movie that you can play," said Heaton about the appeal of Until Dawn. "It was a notion that was