Uncanny Suburbia, PSX Nightmares, and Old-School Survival Horror: Behind the Making of Heartworm

All things considered, horror games seem to be in a relatively healthy place at the moment. Last year, Alan Wake 2 was a peek into an alternate universe where big-budget games are allowed to be truly weird, a feat that helped it become Paste’s favorite of 2023. Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space were mostly positively received, and while they were both remakes instead of original projects, that’s probably more a criticism of the current state of the industry than the genre itself. But fermenting underneath these polished, expensive endeavors is a Petri dish of wonderfully rancid creations, many of which are using a particular moment in the past to build something new.

Specifically, one of the most exciting trends in the indie scene is the ongoing PS1 horror revival, a movement that builds on the aesthetics of classics like Silent Hill and uses this as a jumping-off point to craft stifling lo-fi purgatories. While the polygonal graphics and ambiguous textures of the time were mostly born from technical limitations, a wave of creators have realized these visual imperfections are a valuable tool for stoking the imagination.

There have been many standout projects, but some of the best vertical slices of this trend are the 2020 and 2021 Haunted PS1 Demo Discs, which compile dozens of fascinating experiments. Heartworm, one of the titles featured in the 2020 edition, is an upcoming survival horror game recently picked up by publisher DreadXP. It follows Sam, a woman who travels to an abandoned home to find lost loved ones, but finds herself trapped in a shifting suburban hellscape filled with digital ghosts. Paste got a chance to talk with the lead developer on the project, Vincent Adinolfi, about the game, his influences, the indie horror scene, and more.

Paste: Heartworm was previously a solo dev project, but then you were able to take on a few more team members. What are the benefits and drawbacks of making a game with a smaller team?

Vincent Adinolfi: Good question. I think I’m definitely learning a lot of the benefits and drawbacks as I go. But I think the biggest one for me is just having more control over everything that we’re doing and the decisions that we’re making. If the team was larger, I’m sure a lot more people would be involved in every decision that was made. But now, with the small team, everyone working on it has pretty strong feelings about what the game should look and feel like, and I think it’s helpful to have such a concentrated group of people working on it.

Paste: How long has the game been in development?

Adinolfi: I started it myself in late 2019, I think. It feels like it was a year ago, but apparently, it’s been like five years since I started making it. And then last year is when I brought other people on.

Paste: Were you planning on making a full game when you started out, or was it more of an experiment?

Adinolfi: Yeah, I mean, I definitely didn’t think I’d be at this point with a publisher trying to ship a game. But I did want to release some kind of full, fleshed-out project. I had never used Unity before this. Everybody always says, “Don’t make your dream game first.” I’ve heard that for like 20 years on the internet, but I didn’t want to make a game that I didn’t care about. So, I was like, we’ll see what happens. And then, it kind of just spiraled from that point.

Paste: As you alluded to, the game was recently picked up by publisher DreadXP. How did that line up?

Adinolfi: I had been on and off in touch with Henry from DreadXP for a while in the process of making this game. It wasn’t even necessarily publishing-related. He just offered advice at various points when I had questions because, again, I’m pretty new to all of this. So, I really didn’t have a great network of people to talk to about the problems or complications that can arise when you’re making this kind of project, but he helped me reach out to people. When my previous publishing deal fell through, he asked, “Do you want to pitch it to us?” And I was like, absolutely. So yeah, it was just kind of good timing.

Paste: So, to talk about Heartworm itself, it seems to be in the mode of old-school survival horror games with fixed camera angles and the option to use tank controls. What made you interested in creating a game in that style?

Adinolfi: Like a lot of people, I grew up playing those original ones, the Resident Evils and Silent Hills, and the tertiary ones that that came out around the time that aren’t as fondly remembered. But to me, I was obsessed with anything in that style when I was a kid. And that never really went away. I also always wanted to make a game, and it just felt natural for me to make it in the format that I remember enjoying the most in my lifetime of playing video games. Also, I’ve done a lot of photography as a hobby. And I don’t know which came first, but the idea of being able to so granularly control the perspective of the player really speaks to me.

Paste: Related to that, things like tank controls and fixed camera angles are sometimes viewed as a product of hardware and software limitations at the time, but in retrospect, there’s a lot of benefit to giving the creator control over the camera. Would you say that’s a big reason why you’re interested in this style?

Adinolfi: Yeah, absolutely. Like you said, I think about it almost like a movie or a TV show. I mean, there are also games that don’t rely on guiding the player’s perspective so rigidly that manage to do it in more natural ways. Half-Life 2 is my go-to when I think of that. They very rarely take control from the player, and you still see all of these events happening that you’re supposed to or that progress the story. And that’s really cool.

But I want to frame things in a way that is aesthetically pleasing to me. And I think there’s a lot of merit to the fixed camera angle style that doesn’t get as much credit. I think it’s kind of misunderstood, although I also can understand people’s frustration with them sometimes.

Paste: Over the last few years, there’s been a resurgence in PS1-styled horror games. There are the Haunted PS1 Demo Discs, which Heartworm was featured in, and many other games like Signalis, Paratopic, and Alisa, just to name a few. Why do you think there’s been such an uptick in games emulating this specific moment in the horror genre?

Adinolfi: Yeah, I think about it a lot, and I don’t know if I have a perfect answer. For one, I think a lot of people started playing games with that style, so I think there’s a nostalgia factor for sure. But from a development perspective, I wouldn’t be making this game if it weren’t for people pushing this style. Because for the longest time, I was under the impression that I had to be really good at modeling or at creating high-fidelity art to make something, and that seemed like a huge barrier for me. But then I realized we could just make stuff pretending as though we don’t have access to all these megascans or 8k textures or whatever.

So, there’s that, but then I think the style also totally adds to the game. To have things that you can’t quite make out the details of. It’s almost like the uncanny valley, but in a positive way because it’s a horror game. You have these things that don’t quite look right, proportions that aren’t quite correct, and the textures are kind of chunky. So, all of these things combined together to add to what I think is a positive.

Paste: From the outside, it seems like there’s a relatively communal vibe around the indie horror scene. For instance, you see a lot of crossover with the PS1 Haunted Demo Disc, and people appear in each other’s work. Do you feel that the space is welcoming for new developers?

Adinolfi: Yeah, it definitely seems that way. I don’t consider my social skills at the top of the list when it comes to what I’m good at. But I didn’t know any of those people who organize that stuff, and then I popped in, and I was like, “Hey, I’m doing this thing if you’re interested in including it in your demo disc,” and they had no problem with it. And then, just watching it blow up as time has gone on, it does seem like the community is really interested in promoting and helping each other with projects that anyone is working on, regardless of scale. And that’s really, really cool.

Paste: From what I’ve played of Heartworm in the demo on Steam, it largely takes place in a suburban environment. What made you interested in creating a horror game in this type of setting?

Adinolfi: I think, for one, it’s what I know. I grew up in a suburban town and spent most of my life there and there are a lot of things that I found unnerving about it in general. I think that people feel similarly about suburbia in a lot of ways, that there’s a contrast with the outwardly idyllic view of it, but as with anything, there are things beneath the surface that are not as perfect, which appeals to me, especially in the context of a horror game. And I also think it maybe hasn’t been explored as much as I would have liked. I mean, there are games that take place in suburban houses, like PT-style games and all of that. But I feel like I had a different kind of avenue that I wanted to explore.

Paste: Outside of games, what are some of the inspirations for Heartworm in terms of movies, literature, real-life experiences, or anything else?

Adinolfi: I mean, I feel like the list is endless. It’s kind of a combination of things I’ve experienced and media that has inspired me. Though, I guess the one I bring up the most, and for good reason, is a photographer I’m really into named Gregory Crewdson. He does these really elaborate, staged, almost movie stills. And there’s always something very off or unnerving about them, but otherwise, kind of normal, and a lot of it is in suburbia. So, that’s a huge inspiration.

But as far as personal experiences go, the abandoned house at the beginning of the demo is based on an abandoned house that I have explored multiple times. Even the story is not that far off from a combination of events that I’ve witnessed or been a part of. The themes that I’m trying to explore with memory and loss are pretty personal to me, too. Obviously, I’m not trying to make it autobiographical or anything, but it’s drawing a lot from personal experiences.

Paste: What’s one element of Heartworm that you’re particularly proud of in terms of specific technical details, design, or anything else?

Adinolfi: I think the one thing I don’t beat myself up over, which is few things in this process, because I’m unfortunately kind of a perfectionist, is building atmosphere. I think that that’s the strongest aspect of the game right now. And really, everything I’m doing is trying to catch up with the atmosphere. I want the game to be more than just atmosphere, but that’s the part I have the easiest time with and am the most proud of.

Paste: What’s your personal favorite survival horror game and why?

Adinolfi: It’s a controversial question. [Laughter] I’m almost afraid to answer now. It’s definitely Resident Evil for the PlayStation, not the remake. The remake is good. To use an overly used descriptor, I just like the liminality of the environments, and how it’s super empty and weird. I mean, the problem is there are so many, and it’s really hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to play one for the rest of my life, that’s what it would probably be.

Paste: In what ways, if any, do you think your love of Resident Evil shows up in Heartworm?

Adinolfi: I’m definitely trying to, and we’ll see how successful it is, take the open nature of it as far as exploration is concerned, and the lack of direction from the game. I don’t want it to be super linear. I liked how, with RE1, I had played the game wrong for so many years. I found out much later in life that I went the wrong way in the beginning and that you could do certain things that I completely missed. It blew my mind when I found all of that out. I want to try and recreate those experiences because I love the idea of being able to explore these really unique and interesting environments in ways that allow me the creativity to do so at my own pace.

Paste: You mentioned playing the early Silent Hills earlier, and that got me thinking about how Heartworm’s storytelling feels somewhat similar. Would you say that having that kind of cryptic presentation is something you’re trying to do with Heartworm?

Adinolfi: Yeah, definitely, I don’t want to spell out the story. Because, for one, I don’t have a strong desire to tell one person’s story. I feel like the main character, Sam, has her own identity, but she’s also a vessel for the player to explore feelings that I think are universal to being a person. And I feel I like games more when I can relate them to myself, to people I know, or to experiences I’ve had. And I kind of want to keep it open for people to feel similarly. But at the same time, hopefully without being too cryptic, because I know that can be a turn-off for some people. So yeah, I’m trying to strike a balance.

Paste: How do you feel about the trajectory of horror games as they’ve moved past the older model of survival horror? After Resident Evil 4, for instance.

Adinolfi: I mean, to be honest, I feel like I’m a bad gamer because I don’t play that many videogames. I play some, but I don’t play every horror game that comes out like some people do. But, that said, even though it’s different now, there are still really cool, interesting, and terrifying things that people are making. Obviously, a lot of it changed after Resident Evil 4, like you said, but I think there’s still a good variety of styles.

In the indie space, there are games like Signalis and Alisa that are trying to appeal to the older aesthetics, but even in the bigger budget games, I feel like I would consider Scorn a horror game, and that’s not necessarily action-forward. There’s the Amnesia series. I feel like there’s kind of something for everybody out there, and I think that’s cool. I like that it’s not homogenized to the point where it’s just action, third-person, or first-person shooters, even though there is a lot of sameness out there. It’s not to the point where I’m concerned, and I think there’s still enough innovation happening.

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Elijah Gonzalez is an assistant Games and TV Editor for Paste Magazine. In addition to playing and watching the latest on the small screen, he also loves film, creating large lists of media he’ll probably never actually get to, and dreaming of the day he finally gets through all the Like a Dragon games. You can follow him on Twitter @eli_gonzalez11.