LogFAQs > #959030739

127. The out of bounds fish from Jak and Daxter (10.5 points)
Nominated by: NFUN (4/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47wQT9SIha0

Importance: 1.5
Fear: 4
Snake: 5

The progenitor of many a kid's nightmares and phobias, the out of bounds fish is a minor, but for many players around the world, piece of childhood trauma they just can't shake. A clever way to keep players in the playable game world is to give them a wake-up call if they dare try go out of bounds. Grand Theft Auto 5 does this with a vicious shark attack if you swim too far out, a sort of spiritual successor to this. The horror game Slender: The Arrival punishes out-of-bounds play with an instant Slender Man jump scare and fourth wall break. The nebulous out-of-bounds zone is inherently creepy in video game worlds isn't? There's a forbidden quality to it: something you're not meant to lay eyes on but this is what draws you ever deeper into the allure. The world becomes unfinished, often untextured, with little to no physics or collision left, the illusion of all reality and immersion is shattered. You can ever start to wonder: what is the out of bounds fish (real name: Lurker Shark by the way) PROTECTING me from? Well, probably not much, but the way you can just be casually swimming and you suddenly see this beast rise from the depths is a slight heart attack in the making. I enjoy developers who put in this extra work, creating interaction, challenge, and tension from even the simplest of game design.

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I've decided to put my fears behind me. I'm not going back.
(almost) every horror game ever made: https://tinyurl.com/completehorrorgameslist