Posted April 30, 2022 by adayofjoy
Exhibit of Sorrows is a circus-themed horror game with a few unconventional differences from your standard horror game:
1. The game is brightly lit (for the most part) and has a generally colorful atmosphere
2. There are relatively few jumpscares or explicitly terrifying scenes, and the ones that do exist are quite tame by conventional horror standards
3. There is very little in-game writing/story beyond the instructions and flavor text
And yet the game has creeped out and disturbed plenty of players.
I think one big reason is because when designing the game, we ensured that everything bad that happens in the game comes from a deliberate player action.
In the first scene of Exhibit of Sorrows, there is an air pump attached to a doll named Mr. Floaty. On top of the air pump is a button that will cause the pump to run and Mr. Floaty to inflate until he eventually gives the player a key to proceed.
Rather than simply clicking the button once, the player needs to hold down the air pump button and watch as Mr. Floaty inflates, expands, and cries out before inevitably exploding. The scene becomes much more involved since it is not an auto-play cutscene, but something the player needs to consciously push forward until it completes.