Graduate students from the University of Utah’s Entertainment Arts and Engineering (EAE) Master Games Studio (MGS) take their place in the indie game hall of fame with Erie, a survival-horror game that already is the #1 game on Desura and has 700,000 hits on YouTube thanks to game commenter PewDiePie and other reviewers. With 11,500 people playing the game in the first two days, Erie, has its eye’s on the scariest indie game titles held by games like Slender Man, and Amnesia.
Made as part of their group thesis project, Erie ruthlessly drops players into a dark and terrifying sewer complex beneath a sleepy Michigan town during the 1960’s. With barely a minute to orient themselves, players find themselves trapped, and being hunted with no option but seek escape. Gather clues, collect dead cats, use spray paint to mark your trail, and whatever you do, don’t look behind you!
Erie challenges the notion that the survival horror genre is dead, and is available for free on Desura.com
The game was part thesis project, part research into creating fear using interactive narrative. Developed in about a year, Erie represents the combined efforts of student artists, developers, designers and producers. Students developed the game using iterative design, which allowed them to constantly experiment with scare tactics, the psychology of fear, level layouts and sound design.
“Erie allowed us to see what it takes to really get under a player’s skin and tap into genuine fear, while still providing an entertaining and fun experience” said Sean Forsgren, Producer and Writer for Erie.
