James reflects on creating title screens and gameplay environments for a retro-style horror game. He drew inspiration from older games and focused on creating an unsettling atmosphere through creepy music loops, static effects, and an incomplete spider-like monster representing intrusive thoughts. Organizing layers and choosing where to place intense music loops were challenging aspects of the process. Overall, James is happy with how the loops turned out but wishes he allowed them more time to impact the player. Precise timing of sound effects over video was also difficult to achieve.

1. Production Reflection
James

2. Process
Starting off with the title screen, I already had 2 ideas
in mind for both the ‘real’ version and then the
unsettling creepier version.
All I looked at for inspiration for both of these was
older title screens you’ll in something like the original
sonic the hedgehog games. Given I had more time to
work on these I would’ve added more life looking
things to make the screens look less empty, they’re
fine as they are especially with the music I added to
them, but just as a still they look pretty boring.
The short song that I made for this title screen is really
good I think, it could probably fit in with an old retro
style game, if you put it side by side with something
like, the Mario theme, or the original mega man
theme.
When the creepier version of the menu screen comes
up on screen I figured it would be both, easier, and
creepier if I looped the song over itself to create more
of a glitchy effect. Which I think has more subtlety
then another version of it would.

3. Process
• To create the glitch and static effect I made two layers and went over the screen with the
paint tool, I made both layers just different enough from the last to make it look like actual
static when both of them are played back to back. I think the final result works really well
and is convincing enough to look like static considering what i used to make it.
• For the screen on the second screenshot I looked at a newer game called ‘Faith’ which is
stylized a lot like this one. I saw what they did to make their interior rooms and tried to do
something similar. I think what really stands out the most with this screen is the color
pallet, the black and red, mixed in with a few other colors looks good and works really
well.
• The monster design on the third screenshot was something I already thought a bit about
before making it, I thought making something that looks like a spider, but somewhat
incomplete, would be a good representation of the stress that spawns from unfinished
thoughts. Since the monster is meant to be a representation somewhat of intrusive
thoughts and how destructive they can be.

4. Process
• The top screenshot is from one of the screens
nearer to the end of the game. I wanted this
one to feel kind of isolated, it has a
completely different tone to the other
screens, the music is weirdly intense and
drops almost out of nowhere, but given how
empty and hopeless it feels, there’s still one
thing that still gives the main character the
feeling of hope. Which is why the music in
this stage especially goes through 3 different
phases.
• While making some of the loops for the
screens I had to think about how intense or
creepy I wanted that particular segment to
feel. For the first main screen I made the loop
kind of low-key with not too much going on
but it still gives off the right atmosphere.

5. Process
• Making the more demanding loops wasn’t
as difficult as I thought it would be when
starting out. I went to the drum preset first
and made something with a more intense
rhythm, but still fitting to the 8 bit kind of
style, I’m actually happy with how all of
these loops turned out, and wish that I gave
myself more room to use them since they all
only play for a few seconds at a time so they
don’t get too much time to breathe and
leave much of an impact.
• I knew that organizing layers for
this project would be difficult, so I
put them into groups based on
their role and how much I’d need
them in the future. If I knew I
wanted to use a specific group, or
something in a group, again then I
would push it closer to the top so I
wouldn’t lose it at the bottom.

6. Process
Putting it all together was one of the more time
consuming aspects of the project but I never fell
behind because of it. Mainly because I didn’t find it
to be that difficult. I never really had to edit the
main video, apart from a cut at the end where I
wanted an extended black screen to try and add
tension.
The hardest part of this process was getting he
sound effects and deciding where to put the loops.
I never made transitions when making the loops so
they just start playing out of basically nowhere and
it can be confusing and messy, so that made it
difficult to make a choice on where I should’ve put
some of the loops, but in the end I think it still
sounds pretty strong, but could have definitely
done with at least some transitions to make them
sound more natural.
The only other thing I did that was difficult was
lining up the sound effects to when I wanted them
to play on the video, the challenge was just getting
the timing right, and making sure they stopped
playing at the right time.