Sound Design: Chapter One Complete
February 2025
After six months of field recordings, synthesis sessions, and sleepless mixing nights — the complete soundscape for Chapter One is locked.
Sound as the First Layer of Fear
Players see what you show them. But they feel what they hear. GloomTale's audio design philosophy is built on this asymmetry: the scariest moment in the game should be silent except for the sound of breathing — yours and the character's.
Chapter One's audio is now complete and locked for release.
Field Recordings
We spent three weekends recording in locations that matched our in-game environments:
- An abandoned textile mill in rural Pennsylvania (with permission) for the factory sequences - A condemned apartment building for interior room tones - Old growth forest at 3AM for the outdoor sequences
These recordings form the raw material for every ambient bed in the game. You can't synthesize authentic decay.
The Monster's Voice
We won't spoil too much, but the creature in Chapter One has a four-layer vocal design:
1. A processed recording of a very large dog growling 2. Reversed and pitch-shifted cello scrapes 3. Sub-bass rumble synthesized to match the creature's movement speed 4. A distant human whisper that sits just below the threshold of recognition
In context, it produces a deeply uncomfortable response in listeners. Our playtester called it "the sound of something that shouldn't exist."
Music
Chapter One has eleven original compositions. The score deliberately avoids traditional horror stings — instead favouring slow harmonic drift, prepared piano, and silence as a compositional tool.
The main theme is built around a three-note motif that appears throughout in different contexts: sometimes as comfort, sometimes as warning.
Mixing
Final mix was done at -14 LUFS integrated to match streaming standards, with particular attention to the 200–400 Hz range where dread lives. Dynamic range is preserved — this game should be played with headphones.