Hairston Cemetery Theme/Mood Notes
Creating a Horror Theme/Mood
The horror theme and mood started with the placement of decorative props in the level. Many of the props either made the level appear more like a cemetery, or added more fear to the environment. Such props as the dead tree branches outside the fences only further advanced the horror theme. (See Visual Notes for more details)
Lighting and post processing effects were used to create the night time environment and add darkened shadows to the props. Fog effects shrouded the level in an ominous mystery, further pushing the player's anxiety levels.
(See Lighting Notes for more details)
(See Lighting Notes for more details)
Sound Effects
One major element I felt had a great importance within my level was sound effects. Arguably the most significant sound cue in my level was using a creepy piano key sound as ambient noise. The sound of piano keys randomly being hit was scripted into a looping Kismet sequence that played the sound at random times during the level.
(See Kismet Notes for more details)
(See Kismet Notes for more details)
Another six environmental sounds were chosen, such as a creaking tree, and were activated in their own randomly looping Kismet sequences. Each sound cue was activated, had a randomly timed delay and then activated again. Combining the piano key sound effect with the other environmental sounds proved to be essential to my level's gameplay experience.