Interview: Song of Horror Writer, Programmer and Producer Carlos G.F. Grupeli

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Song of Horror is shaping up to be one of the creepiest games ever, as writer, programmer and producer Carlos G.F. Grupeli explains…

Dread Central: I understand that this is an old school survival horror?

Carlos G.F. Grupeli: It is a survival horror inspired by the old school masterpieces, but with modern technology and design. Our intent is not to just bring something back from the dead, but to build upon solid foundations to create a new horror experience which hasn’t been seen before.

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DC: So you don’t want it be more action-oriented like many recent horror titles?

CG: Exactly. We feel that action and horror don’t go hand in hand easily. One of the keys to horror as we understand it is defenselessness, a.k.a. the player power being inferior to the enemies’ power. In action games this relationship is inverted. So we want to make a game in which our characters are everyday people, and their “enemy” is a paranormal horror worthy of Lovecraft. Guess who’s more powerful.

DC: Games like the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill were notoriously difficult, featuring limited ammo and health items to increase the feeling of tension. Are you going for a similar thing here?

CG: Yes. Song of Horror will not be an easy game. We don’t want to make it frustrating, but there will be little coddling. There is no ammo, no weapons, no health and no sanity meter. Nothing. “Alive” and “Dead” are the only two states that matter, and going from one to the other might only require a single badly timed misstep.

DC: Can you talk about the plot – I understand that it concerns an elusive horror writer?

CG: Yes, of course! Well, we won’t spoil anything of course :). The writer is not a horror writer; he’s actually a novelist and a history professor. He mostly writes historical fiction. The man, Sebastian P. Husher, is actually the most important client of Wake Publishing, the company at which Daniel Noyer (the protagonist) and Etienne Bertrand (his boss and another playable character as well) work. He’s kind of an eccentric guy, and he’s gone dark for a couple of weeks, so Daniel gets tasked with checking up on him, see what he’s up to.

DC: And there are sixteen playable characters?

CG: Yes. The game is divided into several chapters, and each chapter features a set of characters from which you’ll get to choose. This means that, for a given chapter, you have as many attempts as characters you can choose from.

DC: And when characters die, they’re gone for good?

CG: Except for Daniel, yes. There is permadeath in place. The only exception to this is if you lose all characters in some chapter. Then you restart that chapter with all of them alive again. But when you complete a chapter, all characters who died in that attempt to remain dead.

DC: Will there be nightmarish creatures on display?

CG: There is one single, omnipresent “enemy”: the Presence. This antagonist will manifest itself in many ways, and most of them involve nightmarish apparitions and effects. There won’t be a shortage of horrific things to behold.

DC: Can you talk about the music? Those songs on the KickStarter page sounded creepy as hell.

CG: Sure! From the first moment we have known that music and sound are two features that will make or break Song of Horror, even more so with a title like that! Our composer is focusing hardcore on creating oppressive, tense ambience sounds and mysterious, unsettling melodies that we think fit Song of Horror’s thematic like a glove.

DC: So, the title… will there be an actual “song of horror” in the game?

CG: We can’t elaborate very much on this, but yes. There is a certain music box and a certain song which are key elements to Song of Horror’s story.

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