By Kyle Holmquist

Whispering Willows took inspiration from a variety of sources, but probably one of its greatest sources of inspiration is the show American Horror Story, which was still in its first season when the game was being conceptualized. Many of the members on the team were watching the show, as it had caused quite a stir in the public eye and we were just very much in love with the show and its aesthetic.

The music of AHS is creepy and evocative and our composer Steve Goldshein managed to weave elements of that into the Whispering Willows‘ soundtrack. On top of that, if you’ve ever seen the introduction to the show, you know how off-putting the music can be. Our sound designer Cat Arthur did an amazing job inserting similar sounds into the game’s overall sound design, which makes for an unsettling experience to be sure, which is of course what we wanted.

Even the art style of AHS was something our artists took inspiration from, as the show is dark and shadowy, yet beautiful at the same time. Fans of the show know how breathtaking the sets oftentimes are. Whispering Willows makes use of art that’s both beautifully hand-drawn, yet horrifically evocative, and it’s definitely one of the game’s more attractive qualities.

From a narrative perspective, we sought to tell a story that was steeped in the human condition – one that didn’t shy away from peoples’ dark sides and showed the dual-nature many of us hold in our own hearts. We allowed the motivations of our characters to play out and allowed them to be as fully-fleshed out as possible. This is one of the ways that AHS manages to cultivate its intense interpersonal drama, and that’s something we hope managed to shine through in Whispering Willows.