FILE CS-01 / CASE STUDY / VISAGE
Visage — Found-Audio Horror Score
The untold story: how I composed the entire atmospheric horror score for Visage using found-audio alchemy — a dying washing machine, my dog Saxon's vocal growls, my infant daughter's cries — and extreme time-stretch/pitch-shift/reversal techniques. The game released with me credited as "Assistant Composer" while the sound designer who reworked my themes received "Composer." The soundtrack still sells on Steam today under that credit.
Project Snapshot
Client / Studio
SadSquare Studio
Game
Visage — Psychological Horror (Steam, PS4, Xbox, Switch)
My Role
Music Composer (wrote 100% of original score)
Credited As
"Assistant Composer" — Sound Designer credited as "Composer"
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Timeline
2016–2018 (2 years, Early Access → Full Release)
Compensation
$4,000 total (2 payments over 6 years, verbal agreement only)
Contract
Verbal only — never again
The Hook
I cold-pitched a horror studio with a track over their own Greenlight footage. They had no composer. I spent 2 years writing the entire score. At release, I was credited "Assistant Composer" while the sound designer — who reworked my themes — got "Composer." The game still sells. The soundtrack still sells. My name is still not on it correctly.
The Challenge: Two Fronts
Creative: Score a Game That Doesn't Want Music
Visage didn't need a soundtrack — it needed atmosphere that breathes with the house. The design goal: music that never feels like music. Silence as instrument. Dread as texture. The score had to sustain 20+ hours without repetition fatigue, react to the player's sanity meter, and feel like the house itself was alive.
Business: No Contract, No Communication, No Leverage
Verbal agreement only. Devs were secretive, unresponsive, disorganized. My rig: brand-new PC already obsolete (now Spooky 2 — Linux Jellyfin/Navidrome server on my home network). No milestones, no deliverables doc, no IP clause. No contract = no rights, even when you wrote every note.
The Technique: Found-Audio Alchemy
Core method: Found-audio + extreme time-stretch / pitch-shift / reversal. Every sound organic. Zero synthetic "horror pads." If I couldn't find it in my house, it didn't exist in Visage.
| Source | Process | Result | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washing machine (barely working, leveling issues) | Recorded direct → isolate hits → layer + pitch vary | Industrial percussion, mechanical heartbeats | My dying washer became the game's rhythmic backbone |
| Dog (Saxon) — vocal growls / "speaking" | Capture → time-stretch 200–400% → granular scatter → layer | SFX layers, drone pads, creature vocalizations | Saxon communicates via growls (not aggressive — just how he talks). His voice is woven into the house. |
| Infant daughter (under 6 months old) — cries | Recorded → extreme time-stretch (800%+) → pitch-shift down → spectral blur | Atmospheric pads, "the house breathing," unsettling textures | My eldest daughter's newborn cries became the soul of the house. She was less than 6 months old. |
Rule: Every sound organic. Zero synthetic "horror pads." If I couldn't find it in my house, it didn't exist in Visage.
Note: I composed and delivered all tracks and stems; implementation in Unreal Engine 4 was handled by the development team.
The Result: What Actually Happened
| Metric | Reality |
|---|---|
| Music written | 100% of original score (47 cues, ~3.2 hrs) |
| Credited as | "Assistant Composer" |
| Main Composer credit | Sound Designer (reworked my themes, claimed as own) |
| Soundtrack sales | Still selling on Steam — under wrong credit |
| Player recognition | Everlasting Veil of Fog — 1,000+ plays, comments: "This track IS Visage" |
| Compensation | $4,000 over 6 years (2 payments) |
| Dev apology | Years later: "We should've credited you properly." Credits never updated. |
| My proof | Screenshots, project files, timestamps |
The Lesson That Changed Everything
Silence is an instrument. Contracts are armor. Verbal agreements are vapor.
This project taught me four things that now define every contract I write and every project I touch:
- Found-audio > sample libraries for horror — authenticity terrifies. A dying washing machine hits harder than any "cinematic percussion" library.
- No contract = no rights — even when you wrote every note. Verbal agreements are vapor.
- Communication failures cost more than technical ones — the obsolete PC was nothing next to the silence from devs.
- Ironclad contracts protect both sides — my clients now get: explicit credit clause, IP ownership transfer on payment, milestone payments, defined revision rounds, kill fee, credit guarantee.
This is the work. This is the standard. My clients never wonder where the credit goes.
Media & Proof
Everlasting Veil of Fog (Ending Theme)
Good ending theme — player comments: "This track IS Visage"
Why This Matters for You
I know what it's like to pour everything into a project and watch someone else take the credit. My clients never will.
Every contract I write now includes:
- ✓ Explicit credit clause (your name, your role, immutable)
- ✓ IP ownership transfer on payment
- ✓ Milestone payments (no 6-year drips)
- ✓ Revision rounds defined
- ✓ Kill fee if you cancel
- ✓ Credit guarantee — your name, your role, protected