How to make DBD truly horrifying and immersive

HoHoJoe

I am a huge fan of DBD, and have played over 500hrs of it, and ive loved every moment i spent in the entity's realm. DBD has come a long way, I played when there was only 3 killers, and the game has grown and improved so much since then, and I love it. But recently, I haven't played it much, and I think I know why. I remember when i first played DBD and how when I heard the heartbeat, I could feel my own heart beat as well, I felt that sense of "I dont want to get caught", and when I did, I was truly scared. Now it seems like getting caught by the killer isnt as scary, it feels like getting caught is more of an annoyance than something that is actually terrifying. I think if the chase music, and the heartbeat music were much more intense, it would give the player that sense of dread I had when i first played DBD. The horror game MONSTRUM is a very good example of music instilling dread:

Also: These are suggestions, not demands, its your guy's game and its already an amazing game :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxO8kyVdQDM (around 25 seconds)

or some of Mr Envy's custom killer terror radius music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSzO6bq7VsE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeN6jrWtJ88

If the chase music were similar to that,I would be truly terrified, I would want to avoid getting caught AT ALL COSTS. The grating noises, the heavy slams on the eardrums, and the fast-paced music would give the player that sense of "RUN". It would also make the killers seem really horrifying, like they had a mad blood lust, and only you could satisfy it, and that each hit they inflicted upon you just only made them crave it more. And if the music got even more fast paced when you are injured while in a chase, that would make the player realize the gravity of the situation they are in. It would give them an adrenaline rush, and a sense of urgency, also making them want to get out of there alive. And if you did escape the killers grasp, the music would slowly die down, restoring your sense of security. For now. I also think that if the terror radius (the heartbeat) would put the survivor much more on edge if it had some sharp sounds mixed in the with the beating of the heart, or something that made it seem more horrific.

I also think if the survivors, and killers had more unique interactions, that someone running from a killer would do in a actual situation like that. Such as: Maybe on maps like The Game (Gideon Meat Facility) with huge iron doors, the survivors could open the doors by spamming F or SPACE as fast as possible, and if successful, they would be able to open it just enough to squeeze through, and the door would slam shut behind them. If unsuccessful, they would pull their hands back from the door, trying to avoid their hands being crushed, and the door would slam shut, with a loud bang, alerting the killer.

You could also add small holes, or gaps in walls that survivors could quickly slide or crawl through (depending if their sprinting or walking), and if the survivors used them in a chase, the gap would be closed for a long period of time. The killer could also grab/drag them out of the hole while they were crawling through it, and allowing the killer to immediately pick them up (kinda like grabbing a survivor off a pallet).

I also think having doors that the survivors could slam shut would be AWESOME. Their main purpose would to stall the killer for a short time. If a survivor closes a door, while being chased by a killer, the killer must press a certain button (maybe space?) right as the door is closing to kick it back open, stunning the survivor for a brief moment. If the killer did not react fast enough, they would be stunned as if they were hit by a pallet, they would then have to spam SPACE to break the door down quickly to continue the chase. The survivors could close and open doors at any time, but they make a slamming noise and alert the killer. Killers can break down closed doors just like pallets, but they can break them faster by spamming SPACE.Killers that have abilities that break pallets (like demagorgon, hillbilly, and bubba) would also work on doors.

I think another cool mechanic would be ambush spots for killers. They could be points on the map that the killer could hide/wait in for a survivor to pass by (kinda like a locker), and then they could burst out, and attack a survivor. The survivor would have to react quickly, and have to do a tremendously hard skill check to avoid being downed. A loud burst of grating music could play when the killer ambushes a survivor, portraying the terror of being ambushed.

This is my last suggestion: having chutes that lead to the basement that survivors could slide down. It would allow the survivors to quickly get down to the basement, (maybe it spits them out opposite the stairs in the basement) but they could not go back up the chute, they would have to go up the stairs to get out of the basement. This would help survivors playing against a basement camping killer, they would be able to come from two sides to perform a successful rescue, and would force the killer to watch both entrances.

I greatly appreciate you taking your time to read this, and take into consideration my suggestions! I love you guys, and I love your guy's game, keep up the good work! - HoHoJoe