{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/horror-tension--t212","type":"mechanic","id":"horror-tension--t212","lang":"en","title":"Psychological horror and uncertainty","summary":"Uncertainty requires interpreting incomplete signals while preserving doubt without arbitrarily invalidating every rule.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/horror-tension--t212/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/horror-tension--t212.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/horror-tension--t212.md","aliases":["Uncertainty in horror"],"tags":["Horror and tension","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-b2a89cba190d4ef9","source-6a4e2a5af12ddce2"],"sources":[{"id":"source-b2a89cba190d4ef9","title":"Frictional Games: Amnesia","url":"https://www.amnesiagame.com/","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-6a4e2a5af12ddce2","title":"SOMA","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/282140/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Uncertainty requires interpreting incomplete signals while preserving doubt without arbitrarily invalidating every rule."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t212-variants\"></a>\n\n- Conflicting signals permit several explanations. <a id=\"t212-v1\"></a>\n- Repeated scenes alter one meaningful detail. <a id=\"t212-v2\"></a>\n- Limited sources have testable reliability. <a id=\"t212-v3\"></a>\n- Consequences distinguish threats from appearances. <a id=\"t212-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Footsteps may be echoes, but a later open door provides independent evidence of a presence.\n\nPrototype check: Test whether careful observation remains useful after unreliable perception has been revealed."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Horror builds decisions around limited certainty, defensive means and safe recovery time. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"horror-tension","id":"t212","title":"Horror and tension","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/horror-tension/#t212","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Uncertainty in horror","description":"Uncertainty requires interpreting incomplete signals while preserving doubt without arbitrarily invalidating every rule.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/general-soma-06.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"SOMA","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/282140/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/282140/ss_cc5e86ae76cfd6503b9de42bd67dc2be8fface59.1920x1080.jpg?t=1786607913","credit":"Frictional Games / Frictional Games","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"An unusual machine and silhouette invite interpretation","alt":"An unusual machine and silhouette invite interpretation","markers":[{"x":62,"y":28,"label":"A detail beyond the glass leaves events partly unexplained"}]},"tips":["Preserve testable anchor rules even when events have an ambiguous interpretation."],"examples":[{"title":"SOMA","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/282140/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/horror-tension"}}