Horror in our community is everywhere. Hardly anything exists without a touch of thriller or mystery elements, and that's most likely the farthest you'll ever stray from full horror. This is especially true in the web series' produced in our circles.
But, why? Surely there are so many interesting action, sci-fi, etc. stories that can be told by having no real fourth wall and by being interactive. But how did this happen exactly? Well, there are two factors I feel are contributing to this, and that started this in the first place. 1: The first widespread web series-centered alternate reality games were horror based. 2: This setup just lends itself well to horror. Let's look at factor 1. While interactive media has been around since the turn of the new century or so, web series' being a favored component caught fire a bit later in the late 2000's-early 2010's with projects such as the Slenderman videos and mythos that really popularized the subject to many people. Not only did this greatly make the idea of using web video in such a manner popular in our circles, but it established a relationship with horror and creepypasta, which Slenderman became an icon of as well. So, as time went on and people got inspired, they were being inspired by horror almost exclusively. Everything else that happened with interactive storytelling before these videos weren't very associated with this newfound community. At least not to people new to the concept. So, we've thought about how things played out to favor the horror genre. Let's now talk about why interactive media works so well with horror, which is really where the staying power of horror as the dominant genre of interactive web video lies. I'd say campfire stories, and a bit later "true story" horror movies are the true precursors to interactive media. What you're being involved in is presented to you as true, and sometimes, albeit rarely you even had a hand in what was going on. And the monster is totally real and coming to get you while you sleep. Sweet dreams Billy. That's the thing. Why they're so creepy, especially as a kid, right? You know it's not real, but you're told this really happened to Jerry's step-cousin, so it's a bit easier to get irrationally scared. It's why the modern iterations of interactive media lend themselves so well to horror. The lack of fourth wall is disturbing. You know it's not real, but what if it is? It's obviously a story, but there's just something about the fact that you can almost reach out and touch the story that can be pretty unnerving. Being presented as real is a powerful thing. This is also noticeable in creepypasta, which is much more of a true successor to campfire stories for the Internet age. They're most of the time on writing sites and wikis with the authors making themselves known, but a good one can still make you a little paranoid for a while after reading it, in a way that a short story presented to you in a more traditional way can't. Many possible components in interactive media web vidoes work well with horror, not just the lack of barrier. Puzzles are of course grounded in mystery. And visuals just good for scary things. I'm pretty bad at wrapping up anything above the level of a long winded Reddit comment, so I'll leave you with this. Horror and immersive storytelling go way back, and stories on the creepy side won't stop dominating any time soon, especially not in independent work. But that shouldn't discourage you trying something else. If you want to make an action story, or even a slow paced drama, you might be surprised at the attention you might get. Liked this? Hated it? Want to write something yourself? Let me know what you think at @Ekatclan on Twitter.
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