---
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-scripted-scares
type: mechanic
id: game-mechanics--gm-scripted-scares
lang: en
title: Scripted scares
summary: >-
  Entering an area or another trigger initiates a prepared scare, such as an
  apparition, sudden motion or sound.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-scripted-scares/
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-scripted-scares.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-scripted-scares.md
aliases:
  - Scripted scare
tags:
  - Game design techniques
  - Scripted
sourceIds:
  - source-50b969d591e73dcd
  - source-a7a54039a0270a64
sources:
  - id: source-50b969d591e73dcd
    title: 'Game Mechanics: Scripted scares'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/scripted-scares'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-a7a54039a0270a64
    title: 'F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)'
    url: >-
      https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/scripted-scares/game/f-e-a-r-2-project-origin
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: game-mechanics
    id: gm-scripted-scares
    title: Game design techniques
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-scripted-scares'
    categoryIds:
      - gm-category-scripted
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Scripted scare
    description: >-
      Entering an area or another trigger initiates a prepared scare, such as an
      apparition, sudden motion or sound.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/world-scripted-scares.webp
      width: 600
      height: 334
      crop:
        x: 120
        'y': 20
        width: 390
        height: 290
      game: 'F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin'
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/scripted-scares'
      originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/fear_2_scare2.webm'
      sourceFrameSeconds: 2.25
      credit: Monolith Productions; frame from clip via GameMechanics.org
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host:
        GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights
        reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: A figure appears in a hospital corridor during a light flash
      alt: >-
        F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin: A figure appears in a hospital corridor
        during a light flash.
      markers:
        - x: 47
          'y': 40
          label: Brief appearance of a figure ahead
    tips:
      - Account for revisits and adjustable scare-effect intensity.
    examples:
      - title: 'F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin'
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/scripted-scares'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages
  checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by
  gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference
  URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film
  analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are
  upstream attributions, not independent verification.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/game-mechanics
---
# Scripted scares

id: game-mechanics--gm-scripted-scares
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-scripted-scares
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-scripted-scares/

Entering an area or another trigger initiates a prepared scare, such as an apparition, sudden motion or sound.

## At a glance

![F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin: A figure appears in a hospital corridor during a light flash.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/world-scripted-scares.webp)

[F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/scripted-scares) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

[Source recording](https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/fear_2_scare2.webm), 2.25 s

1. Brief appearance of a figure ahead

- Account for revisits and adjustable scare-effect intensity.

- [F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/scripted-scares)

## How it works

A trigger initiates an authored scare.

## Variants

### How the technique works

<a id="gm-scripted-scares-rule"></a>

- A trigger initiates an authored scare. <a id="gm-scripted-scares-definition"></a>

## Context and limits

All 199 Game Mechanics entries at the check date: player actions, systems, presentation techniques and contested patterns. Entries are grouped by their first source-card category; all categories appear in their descriptions. Definitions use original wording. References link to game-specific galleries; images and videos remain at the source.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification.

- [Game Mechanics: Scripted scares](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/scripted-scares) (id: source-50b969d591e73dcd)
- [F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/scripted-scares/game/f-e-a-r-2-project-origin) (id: source-a7a54039a0270a64)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors