Architecting fear — level design strategies for sustained tension in sci-fi horror games

Lan, Zheng Yuan (2026) Architecting fear — level design strategies for sustained tension in sci-fi horror games. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

The Spectral is a first-person shooter, survival horror game. The game story had partly referred from “Alien” series and “Dead Space”, the story is about a research team on Pluto suddenly lost contact with the company. Ethan as a technician, was sent to the planet to investigate and repair the communication systems. After investigation, Ethan realised that the arrival of humans seemed to be an invasion to the local ‘indigenous’. The whole research team is unconscious but still have vital signs. He must escape from the planet. This brings out the/those scope(s) and a definition of this research. Science fiction horror games often leave a different impression compared to other horror genres. Instead of relying only on sudden scares or disturbing imagery, these games usually create fear by placing the player in unfamiliar and hostile environments, such as space stations or abandoned spacecrafts. In these settings, the feeling of danger does not come immediately. It slowly builds up as the player moves through the space.This paper focuses on how level design plays a key role in maintaining this long-lasting tension. Rather than treating levels as simple stages for gameplay, sci-fi horror games often turn space itself into a source of fear. By analysing Alien: Isolation and Dead Space, this study looks at how level layout, navigation flow, and environmental design work together to keep players under constant pressure.

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