Item 01
Narrative design & lore
World, story and environmental storytelling that rewards exploration and feeds the dread.
Horror game narrative & audio consultancy
In a horror game the audience holds the controller, and that changes everything. Players can run, hide, freeze or look away, and the fear has to work anyway. Dread Works helps studios design horror that adapts to the player, from indie narrative games to survival horror.
We work with narrative designers, level designers and audio teams to make every corridor feel dangerous.
Exhibit list
What we
deliver
Item 02
Encounter & tension pacing
Mapping threat, safety and release across levels so players never get used to it.
Item 03
Interactive scare design
Scares that trigger on player behaviour and still land from any angle.
Item 04
Adaptive horror audio
Soundscapes, stingers and creature audio designed for dynamic systems.
Item 05
Monster design consultancy
Behaviour, rules and tells that make an enemy frightening, not just difficult.
Item 06
Playtest scare reviews
We play your build and report exactly where the fear drops away.
Procedure
How it
works
- 01
Consult
A free consultation to understand your project, audience, budget and deadline.
- 02
Diagnose
We review your concept, site, script or recording and find where the fear is, and where it isn't.
- 03
Design
Narrative, scares, audio and song, combined in whatever mix your project needs.
- 04
Deliver
Documents, assets, workshops and on-site tuning, right through to opening night or release.
Transcript
Questions
asked
How is horror different in games?
Players control the camera and the pace, so scares can't rely on framing alone. Game horror has to use systems, sound, anticipation and player vulnerability to create fear that holds up across different playthroughs.
Do you work with indie studios?
Yes. We work with solo developers and indie teams as well as larger studios, from a one-off consultation to embedded support through development.
Can you provide game-ready audio?
Yes. We create horror sound assets and adaptive stems ready for FMOD, Wwise or your engine's native audio system.
Final reel
Tell us your
nightmare
Book a free consultation. Tell us what you're making, who it's for and what they should feel. We'll tell you how to make it worse.