Creating a Survival Horror Game That Blends a 2D Retro Style and Live-Action Cutscenes

Tenebris Somnia immediately stands out because of its mix of retro pixel-art survival horror and live-action FMV sequences. Where did that hybrid visual approach come from, and what made it feel right for this story?

The first thing that inspired me to create Tenebris Somnia was the video game Faith by Airdorf Games. It's a retro horror game that uses two visual styles. The first is that of an old Atari game, and the other is a very creepy rotoscoped animation style. I liked the game so much that it made me want to create something similar.

When it came to choosing two different styles, I went with the look of a Famicom or NES game — since that's what I used to play as a kid — and for the other style, I chose live-action footage, since I'm a Film Director here in Argentina.

How did you decide which moments should be playable pixel-art sequences and which moments should become live-action cutscenes? Was that division based on pacing, scare design, production practicality, or emotional impact?

It wasn't difficult for me to decide which moments would be live-action and which would be gameplay. I think it all just came together organically. As I developed the game's story, I became sure that certain parts absolutely had to be live-action. Sometimes it was because a scene required a strong atmosphere of horror; other times because it needed to convey information that could only be understood by seeing the detailed imagery of the actual footage; and sometimes because I wanted to evoke a deep emotional response through the performances.

On the other hand, there are moments in the story where information is presented through gameplay dialogue rather than in a live-action cutscene, since the latter doesn't feature spoken dialogue — a decision we made to facilitate the game's localization into different languages.

Can you walk us through the production pipeline for the FMV scenes, from writing and storyboarding to casting, shooting, practical effects, editing, color grading, and final integration into the game?

All the steps involved in creating live-action cutscenes are the same as those you'd take when making a movie. We start with the script, then the storyboards, followed by production, casting, special effects, filming, and post-production. Everything is the same. The only major difference is how these scenes are created, taking gameplay into account. We figured out fairly early on that the best approach was to film the scenes first and then create their pixel-art counterparts. This is because if you design a room in pixel art, it will be almost completely impossible to find a location that has the same door, the same wall color, the same floor, and so on.

That's why, since we were developing the game alongside the filming, it made the most sense to first create the in-game rooms where no cutscenes took place. Every time we finished a cutscene, we'd then convert that room to pixel art based on what we'd filmed. This saved us a lot of trouble in the long run.

The live-action scenes have a very physical horror quality, with creatures and effects that feel closer to practical film production than typical game cinematics. How were the monsters, gore, makeup, costumes, and effects created for those sequences?

I've been a Film Director and VFX Artist for many years. The way I approached the monsters and special effects in the game's scenes is the same as I would have used in any other movie. The creation of the monsters begins with an idea of mine that the concept artist (El Toreh) turns into a design. Then the special effects artist (Marcos Berta, with whom I worked closely on the film When Evil Lurks) turns that design into a hyper-realistic puppet or prop so we can film it. Next, the costume team (Ingrid Ross Aguirre, Anita Figueroa, and Yuruani Rodriguez) completes the monster's identity with its costume.

The final step is in post-production, where my team and I add details using VFX or CGI to complete the illusion. 99% of the creatures you see in any film with a budget are a mix of practical effects and VFX or CGI, no matter if the producer or actor claims at press conferences that the film was made 100% with practical effects. That's always a lie. There's no war between practical effects and digital effects; they're two disciplines that work together to achieve the best possible result.

From an art direction standpoint, how did you make the pixel-art world and live-action footage feel like they belong to the same horror universe, despite using completely different visual languages?

We tried to make the pixel art and the cutscenes look as similar as possible. If doing so made the pixel art look dull, we'd add details or colors, or subtly change the architecture. This was a complex balance that we refined over time, and it's different for every scene. Another trick is in the editing. For example, when the first live-action scene appears, the pixel-art character says, "Who opened the door?" and the scene begins with an image of the open door.

In this way, both worlds are brought together through a simple line of dialogue. There are many techniques like this for creating the transition between the two worlds, and we used as many as we could.

Tenebris Somnia draws on old-school survival horror and point-and-click adventure design, but the FMV sequences give it a more cinematic identity. What were some of the main inspirations behind that combination, whether from games, films, or practical effects horror?

My main influences were Faith, which gave me the idea to create the game using two visual styles; Silent Hill 2 and D no Shokutaku, from which I took the idea of starting the story with a strong hook to draw the player in from the very beginning; Resident Evil 1 (1996) for level design, exploration, and progression; and Clock Tower for the visual style.

What engine and tools are being used to build Tenebris Somnia, and how did that technology support both the 2D pixel-art gameplay and the integration of live-action video?

We use Unreal Engine. When we started the project, I asked Tobias Rusjan, our Programmer and Project Manager, to use whichever engine he wanted. My only requirements were that it be possible to create a low-resolution, pixel-perfect game and that the engine be able to play video files instantly, without any loading time. Tobias chose Unreal Engine because it met these requirements and because he was already familiar with it from using it on his previous projects.

How do you approach pacing and transitions between interactive gameplay, puzzle-solving, exploration, combat, and FMV horror moments so the player remains immersed instead of feeling like they are switching formats?

That's a pretty tough question to answer. I don't know if there's a set formula. I think that by treating the story as if it were a movie, with its plot twists and narrative arcs, these shifts in style arise organically. I rarely had to stop and think about whether I should add a battle here or there, or a puzzle. The process flowed very naturally. I guess those are the advantages of knowing the writing trade.

For 80 Level's artists and developers, what has been the biggest production challenge in combining film production with indie game development, and what lessons have you learned from building a project that sits between both mediums?

The biggest challenge was writing a story that could incorporate both of these styles. Not to mention that making a movie is already an incredibly difficult (and expensive) task in and of itself. Setting that aside, I'd say the writing was what I struggled with the most. It took me over a year of constant work to finish the screenplay, which ended up being a hybrid between a movie script and a video game development document. Even so, my advice to future video game designers is to think through your game in detail before you start — but not too much.

Sometimes it's better to just get started so that the enormous task ahead doesn't paralyze you. It's very common to get bogged down in planning for years just to avoid facing the challenge of actually creating a game. But you have to remember that it's not just a challenge — it's also an excellent adventure. It's contradictory advice, but so is Tenebris Somnia.

Andrés Borghi, Game Director

Interview conducted by David Jagneaux