The House on the Hill: Then vs Now | How did we get from the original concept to the current iteration?

The idea for The House on the Hill  had been thrown around for a while before it was ultimately pitched to the current team. It initially began as an isometric 2D experience being designed mostly for an opportunity to create a cohesive, themed prototype to be used for portfolio pieces. However, researching more into different sources for inspiration naturally led me to revisiting an old favourite of mine: Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak.

Crimson Peak was always a movie I described as “atmospheric”, something fans of the movie are surely familiar with. Allerdale Hall itself was particularly appealing; the grand, decrepit manor serves as the perfect setting for the gothic horror story, and this led me down a rabbit hole of similar media where I came across Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House.

I admit I was wholly unfamiliar with the story before reading it. I was distantly aware that there had been a Netflix adaptation that had been received well, and over my Christmas holidays, I ordered a paperback of the book and devoured it in its entirety over the course of a day. From there, the different components of what would eventually be the pitch for The House on the Hill fell into place. I knew I wanted to do something narrative driven, with the environment and setting itself playing a key character in the story. Early documents always listed the three main characters as the protagonist Nell Vance, her narrative foil and antagonist Eleanor, and the House.

From there, the current iteration of The House on the Hill began to be developed. The game moved away from a 2D experience to 3D and saw the addition of new mechanics. The original concept was much smaller in scope, with more of a focus on narrative and art, but due to the increase in the team size, we began to introduce combat and a new, non-euclidean puzzle concept inspired by the Ashtray Maze from Remedy’s Control. As the team continued developing the idea during pre-production, further changes were made. The scope of the project was largely reduced from a 2.5hr experience to a 1.5hr experience, going from seven levels with additional side content to five and massive cutting down on the side content we wanted to implement.

During this time, the timeline of the game finally began to be realised, and with it came a whole slew of its own problems in the form of research. What notable historical events happened during each stage of the game? What was thematically appropriate for the characters to be doing? What did their lives look like? What did they wear? All of these were important questions that needed to be considered, but that, too, was completed and attention started to be turned towards the early days of production, which brings us to where we are now.

The road ahead is long and there will certainly be new challenges to be faced both alone and with the rest of the team, but nonetheless, there is a part of me that is very excited to see the project that has been consuming my mind for years finally come to life.

Written by K. Millard