Premises
A liminal horror maze. Ten minutes. One emergency exit.
Planned. This page describes work that is not yet live. It says what is planned and what is done, and will be updated when the work ships.
Client, problem and scope
- Client
- Personal project
- The problem
- I set out to make a short-form horror game where every design decision serves dread. You wake in the dilapidated corridors of a building that has been closed too long, the fluorescent lights buzzing and dying overhead. Something is moving in the distance. You have to find the emergency exit before whatever is behind you catches up.
- Role and scope
- Built solo by me in Godot 4, with on-engine spatial audio, hand-prompted texture work and a custom procedural corridor stitcher.
- Delivery state
- Pre-production.
The solution in use
No gameplay screenshots yet. The game is in pre-production and the icon is the only image on this page.
Premises app icon What was built
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Audio-driven dread
The chaser is never seen. Spatial occlusion, fluorescent buzz, distant sounds. The mix carries the horror.
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Procedural corridors
Office floors and dead mall storefronts, stitched fresh each run. No memorising the layout.
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Short-form runs
Ten minutes per attempt. No save states. Build the dread, escape or restart.
Important decisions
Every design decision serves dread. Anything that would be fun in another game and undermine the dread here gets cut.
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The chaser is never visible
Not on death, not at low health, not in cutscenes. Pure audio presence. The reveal that never comes is the engine.
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Dread over shock
Jump scares are sparse and earned. Fluorescent buzz dropping to silence does more work than any monster reveal.
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Minimal player agency by design
No combat. No working hiding spots. No infinite sprint. No fast travel. Player power breaks the horror genre.
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No story, no cutscenes, no dialogue
The world tells the story. Pre-existing tally marks on the walls hint at prior occupants. No NPCs, no narration, no text logs.
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The watchers despawn when looked at
Weeping Angel rule. Figures appear in distant windows and corridors, but vanish if you hold your gaze on them for more than a fraction of a second.
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Mark the walls with your blood
The only navigation aid you get is what you build yourself. Smear marks to find your way back. You only have so much.
Premises is aimed at the Backrooms audience, in the same space as Anemoiapolis, Pools, Exit 8 and The Stairwell: indie games made by tiny teams and carried by atmosphere. The performance target is 60+ FPS at 1080p on M3 Apple Silicon.
Results
Measurement is pending. The game is in pre-production, built in Godot 4 with a custom procedural corridor stitcher and on-engine spatial audio.
Evidence
Nothing public yet. Want early-access builds, devlog updates, or to compare notes if you're working in this space? Get in touch.
Want something like this built for your business?
This is the kind of work I do under Apps and custom software. Tell me what is slow or missing and we will see whether it fits.
Based in Reading, England.
Working with people in the UK and New Zealand.
Calls from 11am to 11pm UK time, Monday to Friday.
Related service: Apps and custom software