The spectator zone: room layout for a Halloween evening with HAUNTED

Halloween and mixed-reality horror are an obvious combination. HAUNTED: Are You Alone? is, according to the studio, a strong “show this to your friends” title: the scares are visible, physical and loud. One person plays, the others watch, and everyone experiences together how someone jumps back from a wall that something has just come out of.

The game is a single-player game. The evening is only a shared one because the others are watching. For that to stay safe, the room needs a clear division. First things first: this is a guide for an evening among adults. HAUNTED has a PEGI-18 rating, and the game itself says it isn’t suitable for children.

Who should join in and who shouldn’t

Before we get to the tape: the game shows a two-page content warning every time it starts. It warns of sudden loud noises, flickering and dimmed light, gore and intense jump scares. According to the game, it isn’t suitable for children, pregnant women, or people with epilepsy, heart conditions or anxiety disorders.

For a Halloween evening, that means: say clearly beforehand what everyone is letting themselves in for. Nobody has to put the headset on. And watching can be intense too, especially because of the volume.

The room layout

A living room for an evening like this has three zones:

1. Play area: the free space inside the boundary, with the swing radius.
2. Buffer zone: at least half a metre around the play area, where nobody stands.
3. Spectator zone: behind that, with seating and a view of the TV or the player.

Setup checklist

1. Clear the play area. Coffee table, lamps, glasses, decorations out.
2. Draw the boundary. Room-scale, with a buffer to all furniture.
3. Work out the swing radius. Half the player’s arm span plus 30 to 50 cm. There’s swinging with an axe and a baseball bat in the story.
4. Lay the tape line. At the outer edge of the buffer zone, clearly visible, made from masking tape that comes off without leaving residue.
5. Put spectator seats behind the line. Position the sofa or chairs so that nobody sits behind the player, where they most often turn.
6. Set up casting. TV or phone as a screen for everyone.
7. Assign a door guard. One person makes sure nobody comes through the door.
8. Drinks and snacks outside. Nothing on the floor, nothing at the edge of the play area.

Why the line matters so much

Spectators want to be close. Especially with a game that pulls scares out of the real room, everyone unconsciously shuffles forwards. The player does see their room in passthrough, but the game darkens it heavily in many moments. And the focus of attention is on walls and ceiling, not on the friend standing two steps too close.

The tape line is a simple rule: nobody crosses it while the headset is on. If you need something, say it out loud.

Casting: everyone watches along

The Quest can cast its picture to a phone with the Meta Horizon app or to compatible TVs. You start casting in the headset via the quick menu. How well the stream runs depends on your Wi-Fi. Tip: test it once beforehand, not when everyone has already arrived.

Casting is what really makes the evening work for spectators: they see what the player sees, plus their reaction in the real room alongside it.

Hide my room for parties?

“Hide my room” replaces passthrough with a virtual padded cell on your real walls. That’s mainly intended for streams, so nobody sees your flat. At a party it’s less necessary, because everyone is in the room anyway. And it has a downside: the player can no longer see the spectators. For an evening with guests, we recommend passthrough.

Order and handovers

The story lasts around 25 to 35 minutes according to the studio. For an evening with several people, there are two approaches:

• Split the chapters: via “Chapters”, all chapters are selectable from the start. Each person plays one chapter.
• Arcade competition: the three arcade modes Grave Rush, Arm Cutter and Skull Hunt each have a top-5 highscore list. Who can manage the highest score?

On a handover: take the headset off, wipe the face pad, adjust the head strap for the next person, check the IPD, briefly check the boundary.

After the evening

A few points that tend to get forgotten:

• Peel off the tape while it’s fresh. Masking tape usually comes off without residue after one evening, but not always after several days.
• Clean the headset. Several people, one face pad: wipe it with a suitable cloth.
• Put the room back and check the scan. Once the coffee table is back in its place, the boundary may no longer fit for the next session.
• Take a moment to wind down. An evening full of jump scares is intense for spectators too. A calm finish helps.

Comfort tips

• Keep an eye on the volume. Loud jump scares are intentional, but neighbours and guests have limits.
• Breaks between rounds, so nobody gets overwhelmed.
• Leave the lights on. Tracking needs it, and the atmosphere comes from the headset and the casting.

Roles for the spectators

An evening runs more smoothly when everyone knows what they’re doing:

• Door guard: keeps an eye on the door and makes sure nobody crosses the line.
• Tech: takes care of casting and volume.
• Caller: tells the player out loud when they’re getting close to the line, instead of touching them. An unexpected touch during a horror game triggers exactly the reflex you want to avoid.

Anyone without a role for the moment is free to just watch and get scared.

Volume and neighbours

According to its own warning, HAUNTED relies on sudden loud noises. Through the headset speakers the player hears the spatial sound, while the spectators hear it through the casting. If you’re playing in a flat with thin walls, keep the TV volume moderate and don’t plan the evening too late. The loudest noises come from the people in the room anyway.

Scaler’s take: HAUNTED works on a Halloween evening because the horror happens in the real room and everyone can watch. Our opinion: a tape line, a door guard and a tested casting setup make the difference between a fun evening and a shin that’s found a chair. Adults only, and only for anyone who genuinely wants jump scares. The game is available in the Meta Horizon Store.