Challenge Accepted. . .

So after a recent meeting with Rob, my fears have been settled and I am now feeling pumped about the dissertation project. The original idea, the scary hotel game (which I think I will name 'Phobia') is acceptable, provided that I get the games priorities in order.
It has been a few days and I have sorted out the important elements of this game, and ran with it accordingly. The game can be broken down into its singular departments such as 3D modelling, sound, scripts, core mechanics etc. For this horror game to be successful, the players experience is the most important aspect. The way the player 'feels' the game as they're playing it will ultimately decide how scary this game can be, so I have further broken down the elements of the core gameplay and will experiment with them to properly understand what can be done to make the game as unsettling as possible.

The game will be played in first person, for a more intimate sense of exploring the hotel. The noise of the players footsteps will be audible to accentuate the old creaking wood and age of the building, also to induce a more authentic feeling of being alone. Heavy breathing is also an option, but will definitely be played during and after the scary events happen. To keep the game immersive and clear, very little in the way of a HUD will be visible. A small health bar at best. Giving the torch a battery life, and a batter life meter is also a possibility to add some resource management into the game. With respect to the last point, GUI's will be minimalistic, so, for example, if a door can be opened, a message might say "Press 'X' key to open", but faintly, when the door is hovered over. A quiet horror ambient track can also be played gently in the background to set the mood for the levels.
In terms of testing these various elements, I have planned a few tests that can be achieved in unity with placeholders, to determine the effectiveness of these player 'experiences'.

1. The 'Scare' Test 
This test is simple, but will help me judge the best way to convey the scary moments in the game. Based on the first person players camera frustum, when the player turns around and literally 'see's' something scary happening, this will trigger animation and an alarming sound to make the player jump and feel frightened. This can also trigger the heavy breathing mentioned earlier.

2. The Sound Test
This is simply to test the sound of the players footsteps, breathing and ambient music. The breathing might only occur every now and then, but the test will verify how effective this in combination with ambient music.

3. The 'Vision' Test
This test will involve how the player interacts with GUI's, if blurry vision or blood splatters on the screen when the player is hit is an effective choice. This test can also be used to see how well the 'minimalist' HUD elements should be arranged, to keep things understandable to the player, but clean and undisturbed of  the gameplay.

These tests will lay the foundation of what will hopefully be a successful horror game. Aesthetics and polished graphics and sounds can come at a later date. After the dissertation proposal is handed in, I can get to work on nailing down these core elements to set up the scariest gameplay possible. It is exciting!