Liminal Space

The concept of liminal space in gaming has recently gained momentum, as a new hit trend in the horror genre. The concept affects us on a surprisingly deep level, often even carrying over to what we experience in our daily lives. So what is a liminal space exactly, how does it work, and how have liminal spaces contributed to the gaming world?

What Are Liminal Spaces?

The definition of liminal space as we use it today refers to a kind of in-between and transitional areas we experience in many parts of life. The most common examples are demonstrated by stairwells, hallways, and parking lots. We pass these areas many times a day, but we never really think of them beyond their functions.

What Do Liminal Spaces Do to the Mind?

Liminal spaces have an interesting effect on our minds because of the odd associations we make with them. Most of us commonly spend huge amounts of time in liminal spaces, but we never really think about them. For us, the meaning of liminal space in normal life is usually just a simple area with nothing else inside it of note.

Liminal spaces are most effective in horror when filmmakers and game developers apply slight adjustments by making them dark and empty. Because we’re internalized liminal spaces as bright and active areas, changing them to the opposite promotes a feeling of discomfort at the fringes of perception.

Liminal spaces work as a horror setting because of the disconnect between how they appear in real life and how they appear in horror. In real life they are normal areas, functional, and even boring. This makes them a perfect place for horror because it lets us use our imaginations to fill in the blanks, just as we do in a dark forest or a deep ocean.

How Do Liminal Spaces Appear in Gaming?

Liminal spaces in gaming often appear as settings for horror games because they lend themselves to the unknown. They integrate especially well with SCP-type monsters, thanks to shared elements of mystery which both thrive on.

They're also a useful tool from a game development perspective. Liminal spaces are usually empty, requiring mostly static geometry and textures for the environment. This keeps processing requirements low and makes it easy for developers to focus on the scary parts of video game aesthetics.

Thanks to the low demands of the environment, more time can be spent on developing the gameplay and monsters. This makes liminal spaces the game development version of an empty slate, providing significant flexibility.

Conclusion

As popular as liminal spaces in gaming have become, they still haven’t enjoyed a mainstream AAA hit. There’s a lot of room for experienced developers to explore, so we expect a huge range of terrifying new experiences in the future, with some of the best video game graphics. As for what this means if we find ourselves alone in a parking lot at night, we’ll try not to think about it.