The Last Door is a unique point-and-click adventure game inspired by the literary works of such authors as H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. The game features a pixelated style of art designed to encourage the player’s imagination, much like reading a book. The story unfolds chapter-by-chapter, and today we take a brief look at what the first two chapters have in store. (continue reading…)

Over the past couple of months we have been looking at The Game Kitchen‘s horror masterpiece The Last Door. Presented here is a list of these articles for those who may have missed them. (continue reading…)

“Videte ne quis sciat.”

After receiving a cryptic letter from an old friend, Jeremiah Devitt knows he must investigate the situation immediately. Arriving by train, he is taken aback at the sheer size of his friend’s house and of the land upon which it sits. Unsure what to expect he cautiously approaches the house. (continue reading…)

Sound design is a huge aspect of video game development. Creating believable characters and settings can only get you so far; to take it all the way you’re going to need a killer sound design to fully bring your world to life. The Last Door: Collector’s Edition has all that, and proves that you don’t necessarily need a huge budget to accomplish the task. I recently spoke with Raúl Díez fromThe Game Kitchen (the developers of the game) about the sound design for The Last Door, and he has enlightened me about the various processes used to create the sound for their game.

Much of the sound design for The Last Door was created by utilizing the free cross-platform audio utility Audacity. The tool allows for easy recording, mixing, and editing of audio, which allows the sound designer to be able to focus more on the creative process. The team also uses Cubase for editing MIDI files and audio tracks, which provides them a cleaner, more professional finishing touch.

Many of the game’s sound effects come from sound libraries, as opposed to being recordings of real-world sounds. Often the process involves taking bits and pieces from different sound effects and putting them together to create a brand new effect that fits what is needed. Sometimes a single effect is just distorted in some way to create a different sound. One such example of this used in the game is the use of a seagull call, but really slowed down.

The music of the game is created the same way as the sound effects; that is, from sound libraries. There are some uses of live instruments however, such as when a certain sound or nuance is needed that can’t be created with the digital libraries available. This is also the case with this specific release of The Last Door; being the Collector’s Edition, all of the music and sound effects have been remastered, new live instruments have been added to support the melodies, and brand new effects and music have been created to correspond with the new game content included in this edition.

A lot of focus goes into the sound design during the development of The Last Door. As each chapter of the game is created, the ideas of sounds wanted are written down. A crow’s caw here, a locked door there. After the chapter has been fully created, the sound team then takes a week to meticulously craft all of the sounds required. This ensures that they are able to create the best sound effects and music possible without having to restart or redo anything if they had created the sound along with the game’s design.

The Last Door: Collector’s Edition features brand new content added to their great narrative inspired by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft; minimalist graphics which encourage your imagination to draw you into the game; clean and haunting sound effects and music which chill to the bone; and a familiar point-and-click interface that permeates the adventure game genre. All together this promises to be a mysterious and frightening adventure that will keep you coming back for more.

Drew Beardall
Social Media Associate
Phoenix Online Studios

Finding the right setting for a story is always a crucial endeavor. It is not uncommon that the focus of many stories lies with the various characters and creatures, but they need a place to exist. Certainly this world needs to be as much a character as any sentient being. This was taken into special consideration by The Game Kitchen as they developed their unique horror story. (continue reading…)

One of the major inspirations for telling the story of The Last Door is through the works of H.P. Lovecraft. In the same vein as this master of horror fiction, the game takes you down ever more subtle dark paths, never quite sure what is exactly going on or who to trust.

The Last Door: Collector’s Edition brings the dark horror and suspense found in the works of authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, works which serve as The Game Kitchen’s main inspiration for their unique point-and-click adventure game.

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We’ve been seeing some great coverage and a lot of excitement about Phoenix Online Publishing! Thanks everyone for your support so far, we can’t wait to start showing you more about these games as we get closer to release. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more updates!

For now, here are some of the stories we’ve seen so far covering the announcement:

Polygon: Jane Jensen’s Moebius signed by a publisher looking to put story first

Venture Beat: Phoenix Online Studios creates new indie label with four story-based games under development

PC Gaming Alliance: Phoenix Online Studios Announces Their New Indie-Driven Publishing Label

You’ve never truly felt what it’s like to be alone in the dark until you’ve played this low-res, high-suspense horror adventure, a multiple Best Games of the Year award-winner, which Penny Arcade calls “a love letter to H.P. Lovecraft.”

Featuring new scenes and puzzles, enhanced graphics, unlockable bonuses, and remastered sound, this exclusive special edition of the popular point-and-click adventure – played by over one million people worldwide – brings its horrifying secrets screaming back to life.

Explore ancient manors, decaying tenements, and twisting underground warrens with little but a lamp and magnifying glass to guide you. Four terrifying episodes of occult and otherworldly horror invite you to investigate Victorian England’s deepest, darkest secrets. Dare you open The Last Door: Collector’s Edition™? A critically-acclaimed “must-play,” discover why 148Apps calls this “a series not to miss out on” and why Joystiq “experienced genuine chills.”
Key Features:

• Award-winning point-and-click horror adventure set in Victorian England

• Features exclusive new locations, scenes, puzzles, stories and more

• Upgrades include enhanced graphics and remastered sound

• Four critically-acclaimed scenarios, one limited-edition set

• Unlock new extras and bonus content

• Haunting, original musical score by Carlos Viola

Read more about Phoenix Online Publishing and our other upcoming games: