Darkness surrounds my coastal home, its sparse interior illuminated by shards of moonlight reflected from the sea.
I look out through the tiny windows of the back door.
I glance left and right at the small view through the little windows.
No obvious sign of danger.
No tell-tale sounds of monsters snorting and shuffling in the night.
Theres nothing but the sound of the waves breaking gently on the shore.
Everything seems tranquil as I gather the raw materials for what will be a simple but nutritious late-night stew.
A zombie comes shuffling out of the undergrowth, and sets about me with sickening speed.
Before I know it, Im injured, and my hungry state means Im already perilously weakened.
Ad content continues below
Just in time, I cross the threshold and slam the door.
But the zombie has seen the entrance to my house, which was previously hidden by vines and grass.
A scarcity of resources.
The need for problem-solving abilities and planning to live through the night.
And copious monsters, including those worryingly tenacious zombies mentioned above.
BecauseMinecraftis, for all its rudimentary graphics and family-friendly sensibility, an absorbing and unpredictable game.
Their interactive nature beckons us in, before something horrible happens and were left reeling.
The most disturbing horror games of the early interactive era were arguably text-based.
From these humble origins, the horror genres tendrils began to spread into the videogame medium.
The mixture of absorption and interaction can be a devastatingly powerful one.
But so too can a veteran player of games.
But gaming has its icons, too the Regenerator fromResident Evil 4andSilent Hills terrifying Pyramid Head being among them.
Theres a moment in the early stages ofThe Evil Withinwhere youre first confronted by an apparition calling itself Ruvik.
Its not a Hollywood movie star up there on the screen hiding from the monsters.
Its you hiding in the locker, heart pounding, terrified, and yet unable to look away.
Like us onFacebookand follow us onTwitterfor all news updates related to the world of geek.
AndGoogle+, if thats your thing!
