Yeah, I know what you mean. Not being the richest kid I had to choose my games carefully and missed out on a lot of stuff, like the Dreamcast. I have sort of "solved" that as time went by and bought the "important" games (including Sonic '06 - just to give it a fair chance) - still have all the 16-bit classics in my room :)
Ooh - horror! I'm a big fan of atmospheric horror like H.P. Lovecraft. Setting up a good mood for me is key, with some interesting characters that can drive the plot forward without having the story relying on them being idiots - like was the case in "Prometeus" for example. I also enjoy when you mix horror with other genres such as Sci-Fi or Fantasy!
I once tried to write a horror short story based on Metallica's song "Enter Sandman" but it stopped at the planning stage I'm afraid because I needed to do some "research" first. I know one of the most important aspects of writing is to write, however I never learn that and just come up with ideas.... The alternative is that I think to deeply and write some mega complicated thing with too many metaphors and the like that maybe is enjoyable to me but not making a lot of sense to anybody else ;)
What are your inspirations? Do you write for your own sake or do you share your work with friends?