Yeah yeah, lazy mascot horror based on a "ooh kids thing scary" concept is really turning indie horror games to sludge, but the original concept can work if done with some care and effort.
To make mascot horror work, you need a couple things, nostalgia and a pre-existing fear.
The nostalgia part scares you by taking something, usually from your childhood, that you associate with saftey and comfort, then making it at least feel dangerous to you. This feeling, of something safe being taken away, upsets certain survival instincts and puts you in aplace of deep fear. Not mascot horror, but Coraline does this with the idea of your own parents, or at least imitations of them, no longer being safe, which is why we were so scared of it.
The second part, pre-exisying fear, especially from childhood, takes something that might be irrational at first, and validates it, at least in the context of the game. Always been scared of clowns? Well now Chuckles McFuck is gonna get you! (IT).
Put these concepts together and you got yourself some decent mascot horror.
FNAF worked, at least initially, because it played on these 2 emotions. Pizzeria arcades are places lots of people find nostalgic and comforting, but those animatronic mascots were always creepy. My mom grew up in the 90s and said that some kids couldn't even walk into a Chuck E Cheese's without crying.
Another example of millennial horror is Tattletail, where you literally play as a child in your family home during Christmastime, but your parents are nowhere to be found and you're being tormented by characters based on Furbies and Teddy Ruxpin, two toys that had 90s kids pissing themselves.
Amanda the Adventurer works because she's an expy of Dora the Explorer (she was a cartoon staple back in the day, but the way she talked directly to you was kinda creepy, huh?)
Garten of Banban had a bit of nostalgia potential (kindergarten and daycare) but squandered it by bad, lazy, money-hungry execution.
Hello Neighbor was just Youtuber bait when it tried to be horror.
Steamboat Willie could work as a horror concept, but someone already sorta did that, and did it better (Bendy and the Ink Machine)
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i forgot to uplaod day 3 ooop, tattletail shows up in pumps room in spooky month 4 i gave up half way imitating the thumbnail style lol
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In one of your posts you said that there were some songs you were gonna animate with some characters either from The Graveyard Shift or idk. Are there any animatics about that topic that you have started?
I have no animatics, but a butt ton of hyperphantasia, so this ask was an opportunity to draw out scenes that haunt my mind every day
For The Graveyard Shift in particular, I have ideas for the following songs (sorta in order from least to most unhinged and including spoilers for future TGS characters)
"Shit" by Bo Burnham
Probably most of Tom Cardy (Perception Check and Hey I Don't Work Here shown here)
"You Didn't Know" from Hazbin Hotel , bc Lute's line didn't need to go that hard but its burned into my memory at this point (also this animatic somehow evolved from its initial concept while working on this ask so now it's Rosemary and Gregory)
"We Don't Talk About Bruno", but Michael Afton is Bruno being talked by every other mascot horror because Sammy's looking for him
"Waiting In The Wings (Reprise)" from Tangled the Animated Series (this is actually the most serious bc it's actual character growth between Mike and Doug)
"Forklift Simulator" by Sbassbear (bc I base Mike's and Ethan's friendship and humor off of Game Grumps interactions)
and finally "Bring In the Love" by Dankmus, bc this stupid remix has been haunting me for the better part of half a year now and stupid sexy workout William won't leave me alone
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