Effects of fear-inducing elements in video game narrative design on users’ perceived challenge and post-tension satisfaction

This foundational study explores whether fear-inducing elements can result in users feeling post-tension satisfaction, a positive response after completing a challenging task, without requiring faster physical input. A fire-safety serious game prototype was developed to test 63 users’ cognitive and affective responses across five levels (houses). House A (low-reflex) and House B (high-reflex) served as controls. Houses C, D, and E matched A in reflex demand but contained jump scares, dark atmosphere, and foreshadowing with subversion, respectively. Across conditions, the presence of narrative fear elements consistently increased stress, effort, and post-tension satisfaction relative to the baseline. These findings suggest that narrative tension may improve engagement in failproof games and serious training contexts. Due to the fixed order and House E’s combination of narrative cues and puzzle demands, comparisons among individual fear-inducing elements cannot be interpreted as causal, highlighting the need for counterbalancing and clearer manipulations in future studies.