THE BLOG / LATEST FIRST
Writing from
the House.
Posts, observations and field notes, in publication order.
Wyrd News
Hunter’s Moon turns English witch-hunting into systemic folk horror
I think folk horror becomes much more interesting when folklore stops being lore and becomes mechanics. So, I’m excited to hear about Hunter’s Moon coming to PS5 which appears to make listening to what a community believes about you part of survival itself. What I find interesting is the suggestion that belief itself might be…
Research Log
The Power of Absence: What an Empty Room Teaches Us About Environmental Storytelling
This week I am thinking about Environmental storytelling in game design and I’m going to start with a seemingly silly question, can a room still feel occupied even when no one is in it? It is, I think, quite normal for game designers to fall into the trap of obsessing over character arcs and scripted…
Research Log
Composting the Glitch: Why Game Engines Need More Rot
What happens when a world forgets to die? Most digital worlds in modern games feel like they’re stuck in suspended animation. Frozen in a kind of spotless stasis where grass stays forever green, and swords don’t rust unless the devs tell them to. In our drive for performance optimisation, we have ended up chasing perfectly…
Research Log
Digital Hauntology: The Forensics of the Digital Ghost
Recently I have been thinking about the concept of Digital Hauntology. Much of my work starts in the same place: a scan of a handmade artefact brought into a digital environment. This is a wonderful way to work; it allows me to create characters by hand that I can give some form of ‘life’ to…
Research Log
Why Folklore Still Matters: Hauntology, Residue, and Deep Worldbuilding in Games
The quietest hauntings are often the most frightening. Think about those familiar, domestic moments: the sudden, inexplicable cold spot in a warm room, the drawer that always sticks, or the faint scent of a perfume or tobacco no one currently wears. These aren’t grand ghost stories or epic mythological cycles. They’re the small, persistent…
Research Log
The Uncanny Pull of Staircases in Folklore and Fiction
The Uncanny Pull of Staircases in Folklore and Fiction: Have you ever hesitated at the foot of a dark staircase, feeling both drawn in and dread? Staircases hold a strange power in our imagination; they are everyday architecture yet brimming with supernatural lore and uncanny tension. Folklore from around the world acknowledges this with ghostly…
Research Log
The Art and Power of Horror Game Design
Horror game design, I shouldn’t need to tell you, is a craft that takes our everyday reality and transforms it into a landscape of fear. The essence of a great supernatural horror game, I repeat again, isn’t only about jump scares or monsters; it’s about the uncanny, the familiar made unfamiliar, and the echoes of…
Research Log
Handmade Horror Game Aesthetics: 7 Powerful Ways Imperfection Elevates Indie Horror
Discover how handmade horror game aesthetics embrace wabi-sabi to evoke eerie atmospheres and emotional storytelling in indie games. Handmade Horror Game Aesthetics While AAA video games often strive for photorealism, there is a notable aesthetic within some indie horror games that seems to embrace the imperfect, the tactile, and the uncanny. This aesthetic divergence may…
Research Log
Drawn Into Dread: Technical Drawing Techniques That Sharpen Horror Game Level Design
Monsters are great right. I mean, I love a good monster as much as the next guy but even the most terrifying monster can’t match the subtle dread of a hallway drawn slightly too long, or a room that feels just *off*. Over and over again in this blog, I come back to the question,…
Research Log
When Buildings Dream: Environmental Storytelling in Horror Game Design
Environmental storytelling in horror game design is vital! I say it over and over in this blog, but even the most unsettling monster pales in comparison to the dread of entering a room that somehow already knows you’re there. An empty room is a truly unsettling thing… particularly a large room, and especially one you’ve…