Horror game scholars gather at Falmouth University conference

Academics and industry professionals have convened to study the cultural and theoretical significance of horror video games.

• The horror and gaming conference at Falmouth University featured talks on zombies, posthumanism, and the role of monstrous little girls in survival horror.
• Poppy Wilde, senior lecturer at Birmingham City University, discussed how horror video games explicitly play with ideas of control and lack of agency.
• Ewan Kirkland, senior lecturer at the University for the Creative Arts, noted that workplace danger and employer indifference toward wellbeing are themes in contemporary horror games like Lethal Company and Mouthwashing.
• Will Doyle, creative director at Supermassive Games, delivered a keynote on creating horror using tools such as revulsion, spatial alienation, and apophenia.