Episode 2 Spooooky Audio Update

Spooky Soundscapes

One of the biggest challenges was figuring out the ‘type’ of spooky we were going for in Episode 2. This was definitely a situation where art helped direct the sound design. There were a couple scenes in the early animatic, pre-art, where sound direction started towards the ScoobyDoo end of the spectrum, with a hint of Munsters, but then when some of the scenes were drawn we turned on our heels and went down a darker path.

In a world such as Puzzle Clubhouse, and in an episode such as this, we were given the opportunity to explore the vastness of the mansion, while accenting the truly bizarre rooms and how, to a ‘normal’ person, such as Jasper, would react to such things. The surreal ghost sequences in the episode continue to feel like a live action horror film, dragging us further into a serious landscape, so that when quirky comedy sfx and words pop in we are caught by surprise.

Special “Ghast” Stars

One of the greatest pleasures of Episode 2 has been working with a cameo appearance by our ‘ghast’ star, who for the sake of not spoiling the surprise we shall call “REDACTED”. While working on Episode 1 we became aware of an opportunity to feature the one and only REDACTED in a future episode. The catch was REDACTED, being the very busy man that he is, had a very limited timetable to work with us, and it would be within the week. We had one afternoon to record whatever we could invent for REDACTED’s voice, so a quick mock-up of a possible script, with detailed lines for REDACTED had to be created immediately. This would be a one-shot recording session, with little to no chance of callbacks so the writers had to work speedily before the big day. Many valuable gems were captured, including some hilarious lines that made it into the video game, and helped shape the episode.

We hope you really enjoy what is in store in Episode 2, the episode and game. To give you a bit of a taste, check out the “Episode 2 Teaser” audio file at the top of this post.