2024 · Unreal horror prototype

Pause & Deserve

Pause & Deserve is a solo Unreal horror prototype. I built the chase mechanic and spatial audio: pausing stops the enemy briefly, but makes it faster when the chase resumes.

Solo development · 8 weeks · Unreal Engine 5 · Blueprints · MetaSounds

A red-lit corridor with wood-panelled walls and shelves along both sides, one ceiling lamp burning overhead and a second further down

Pausing makes the next chase harder

Pausing freezes the enemy for five seconds. When the chase resumes it is permanently faster, so every pause makes the rest of the run harder.

Hint text over a red-lit wall reading P Pauses Death

The pause control introduced inside the level.

Game logic, level and audio

I built the game logic and level, created the sound effects and implemented the audio in Unreal. The music comes from a library.

Gameplay from the prototype, with the spatial mix.

Hearing the enemy off screen

The enemy spends part of the chase outside the frame, so the player has to place it by ear. Footsteps, breaking branches and movement sounds go through HRTF spatialisation, which keeps their direction readable on headphones.

The enemy standing among the bushes ahead, its head glowing red

The enemy approaching through the undergrowth.