Horror among indies: the reason behind popularity of mascot horror among indie developer

Soo, Sky Sin Kai (2026) Horror among indies: the reason behind popularity of mascot horror among indie developer. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

This research aims to identify marketing and economic factors which make indie developers choose the mascot horror subgenre. Despite a number of research papers related to horror media, there is no study devoted to mascot horror. This paper will focus on selected video games released in 2020-2025 in accordance with their design, story structure, and online community interaction. The qualitative method will be used as the basis for data collection through gameplay analysis, YouTube videos, and Reddit discussion pages. The results prove that mascot horror frequently uses nostalgia, uncanny design, easy gameplay mechanics, and nonlinear storyline construction. Such features enable developers to save on the production budget but maintain high engagement level among gamers. On the other hand, mascot horror involves intense marketing activities via online communities and content generation, which helps attract more attention and popularity without significant costs. As a result, mascot horror could be considered a promising and effective genre for indie developers. Nevertheless, it should be constantly evolved due to potential market oversaturation.

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