SHR6E032F~001 BAM23083580 Project Viability Study

SHR6E032F BAM23083580 Feasibility Presentation PPT Download

Introduction

This is a viability study for three projects; music for two games, and one animation. I will also be highlighting a few contingencies and other work I have planned. This study will cover; communication with the collaborators, their own/my inspirations and personal backgrounds, timescales, personal expertise and my suitability for the roles, media examples of my music, budgeting and funding, risk factors, potential for future development, my presentation, and an evaluation of the viability of these projects – with feedback.

Proposed Project(s)

Animation Project:

This collaborator is Kohaku, an online friend from Argentina who specialises in digital art (see Appendix 1). He is studying art (final year), is openly queer, and places self-expression and fashion in high regard. This work involves composing music for an animation, though there is potential for more than one piece of work as this project develops.

The animation is themed around horror, with the main character waking up in a dark woodland. They are a small girl, feeling an unknown sense of purpose, searching for something, but unsure how they got there. There will be a cryptid creature in the forest, but their connection to the girl is undecided for now.

The animation has already started and can be expected to finish within the first few months of 2026.

Game Projects:

Chloe (Bonya), a friend and referral to me, is a Scottish game developer in her 2nd year of study. She has a background in philosophy and psychology – which is embedded in some of her core game concepts.

The first game is a “mountain walking sim” set in the Scottish mountains, exploring themes and effects surrounding c-ptsd during childhood through to adulthood, with symbolism, inner monologue, and passive world-building. The game is length will be around two hours.

For the music composition, Chloe wanted the soundscape to be etherial, with minimal instrumentation, taking place throughout most of the game. We discussed that it will be primarily split into three sections;

Ignorance – Normality, some sense of eeriness beneath, ‘blissful ignorance’…

Realisation – Discordant and questioning, dissociative…

Acceptance – Hopeful, sense of development, brighter, melodic, upbeat…

The second game is a “medieval kingdom clicker” involving the management of three powers that are needed in order for the kingdom to thrive; happiness, population, and money. These powers are interlinked and change depending on the player’s choices.

For the music composition, Chloe wanted the music to have similarities to bard or tavern music. We discussed the potential for the music to change depending on the game conditions (such as fail conditions). This would involve me composing multiple similar pieces that could, for example, increase in texture and expand instrumentation with a higher population etc. I would also compose sub-30 second pieces for the fail conditions.

(see Appendix 2)

The game development is already ongoing, and I will have at least a demo to showcase before the deadline of submission.

(messaging in Appendix 3)

Methodology & Rationale

For both projects, I have spoken to each collaborator over calls, screen-sharing my music software, allowing them to hear my ideas clearly and share my progress.

For the animation, Kohaku wanted to listen to me playing music first, to inspire them. I listened to their inspirations and ‘noodled’ on call, asking for feedback about emotions my playing evoked, discussing some potential avenues for stories, which led to Kohaku organically drawing as I continued composing (the images above).

They have been working on the animation side of the project since our call, and I will now be able to compose directly to footage – which is where I have more experience.

For the games, Chloe expressed that what I had been playing on call matched what she envisioned, and she had fun discussing her games passionately with me. I brought up the ways in which the music could change with different game conditions, and gave further examples of music that fit the styles she sent me – such as Civilization VI and Skyrim. I will start with a few basic ideas for each section/theme in both games, receive feedback on what ideas should be developed further, and then I will continue to call with Chloe to talk about these ideas in greater detail and receive feedback throughout the project.

Some rationale for these collaborations include; sharing a lot of similar inspirations from games (an important hobby of mine) and internet culture, I studied Psychology at A-Level and have a deep interest in mental health (fitting the c-ptsd theming of the first game), I have been a composer and producer for about 7~ years – taking inspiration from games throughout this time, I have high exposure to art and critiquing creative work due to my family background (my mum is a professional artist), and I am personally connected to both collaborators outside of this work.

A few examples of my own work;

Breakbeat Electronic Track

Sheltering Spirit (Indie/Alt Rock)

Rewilding Documentary Clips

Market Analysis

The audience for the animation is the same as Kohaku’s influences – late teen/adult, into alternative fashion, indie games, anime. This will be uploaded to Instagram and Twitter.

The walking sim covers heavier themes, making it suited towards a similar age to the animation, while the medieval clicker is approachable by all ages – and it fits into the strategy/clicker category of games (others include Civilization VI, which sold over 11 million copies by 2023, and Cookie Clicker, which started out free and viral before rereleasing on Steam, selling over 2.3 million copies to date). These will be available to purchase on PC.

Resources, Potential Costs & Budgeting

The resources I am using are my home studio setup (including SM7B microphone, guitars, bass, and MIDI keyboard), the conservatoire mixing/studio rooms, game soundfonts, and other game OSTs for references/inspiration. However, some hypothetical additional costs/budgeting needs to account for the potential use of external studios – e.g Pirate Studios (£12-16/hr), hiring other musicians – avg. = £23.79 (salaryexpert.com, 2025), and any additional VSTs or Plugins – e.g Valhalla FutureVerb ~£38. (Appendix 4)

Funding Opportunities

I know that I won’t be receiving direct payment from these projects – other than the prospects of royalties from PRS. Hypothetically, I could earn £12/hr (informed by prior work as a session musician), but the earnings would likely increase due to composition and production being a larger job.

Additionally, I could get grants from different funding bodies such as PRS’s ‘The Open Fund’ (up to £5000), ‘The Royal Society of Musicians’, or the ‘Do It Differently Fund’ (up to £3000 each). Some of these have quite difficult requirements to fulfil for this project, such as “You will be asked to outline who you are reaching and how this will benefit the creators in yours application.” (The Open Fund, 2025), as my projects are currently less business oriented. (Appendix 5)

I am applying for jobs, aiming for ~£13/hr, which could help fund expenses.

Inspiration & Influences

Kohaku’s influences are the emo/alt scene, LGBTQ+ culture, lost media/creepypastas, horror, anime, and indie games. Game examples include; Undertale, Little Nightmares, and Fran Bow. Music examples include; The Cure, The Long Lost, and Lebanon Hanover. (Appendix 6)

Chloe’s musical influences for the walking sim are etherial and atmospheric, including songs like Tower and D.S Al Coda (Ryan Roth), and she is personally connected with c-ptsd, psychology, and philosophy. Inspirational games include Disco Elysium (inner monologues), Firewatch, and The Beginners Guide.

For the medieval clicker, Chloe wanted to focus on medieval, bardic, and tavern music, with inspirations from the Civilization franchise, Skyrim, and music like Last Stand or The Siege of Winterfell (Fugee). (Appendix 7)

My own influences come from many backgrounds; Japanese jazz fusion, late-Romantic orchestral, pop-punk etc. I have played video games and been apart of their communities for all my life and am enthralled by their soundtracks. I too am very interested in psychology and mental health, having my own connection, and I love music that expresses emotion well through harmony. Examples of my inspiration include Dark Souls III, Genshin Impact, and Casiopea. (Appendix 8)

Contingencies & Risk Assessment

The main risk has been unreliable messaging from Kohaku, but now that we have a set goal with our project, this is improving. Other potential risks include the timezone difference between here and Argentina – we are three hours ahead (we avoid problems by arranging calls in the evening), furthermore the games may not be fully developed by the assignment deadline. However, Chloe has promised at least a playable demo, and can show my music implemented into the project.

The potential contingencies include; contacts that me and my family have in Brighton (film/art professions), contacting small game developer teams around the UK, contacting film students, and working with my previous client Kory Le Moore.

Potential For Development

For the animation, there is potential for additional similarly themed work if Kohaku wishes to expand upon the story we are creating – this could turn into an artistic portfolio. This work could be exhibited at their university, or a gallery that accepts digital art/animation. Furthermore, this collaboration is international, which is opening my visibility up in South America.

For the games, Chloe has more current projects I could work on if time allows, and there is potential to work on more games together in the future and we even discussed an in-house company. These are also my first games I have worked on, so it is giving me the portfolio required to approach other developers.

Evaluation Of Viability

These projects are viable. Having multiple ongoing collaborations and the potential for additional work means that there’s little risk if something fails. I am working with friends, so although I have to be firm, there is more incentive to do things for each other and communicate. There is great future potential in these projects, with new access to animation and game soundtracks and the intercontinental connection. I feel that I can communicate passionately with my collaborators as I share their interests and can envision their creativity in my music. Compared to the presentation, I have now started the animation, can give a better estimate for the timeframe, I have the game soundtracks, and a better idea about the target audiences for these projects.

Bibliography

Bonya. (2025). walking sim. [online] Available at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1MrmKI6QXVYhzd8IeGIlrz [Accessed 11 Dec. 2025].

Bonya. (2025). medieval clicker. [online] Available at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7IWM1dRVsobCe1jMtcpxYn [Accessed 11 Dec. 2025].

Gamalytic.com. (2023). Sid Meier’s Civilization VI – Steam Stats. [online] Available at: https://gamalytic.com/game/289070 [Accessed 11 Dec. 2025].

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Instagram.com. (2017). ᛕօӄӄօ 🦇 (@kohakuuuu_) • Instagram photos and videos. [online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/kohakuuuu_?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== [Accessed 11 Dec. 2025].

Musical-artifacts.com. (2020). The COMPLETE UNDERTALE Soundfont | Musical Artifacts. [online] Available at: https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/1388 [Accessed 26 Nov. 2025].

musiciansunion.org.uk. (n.d.). Musicians Grants | Financial Help for Musicians | Musicians’ Union. [online] Available at: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/membership-benefits/grants-and-financial-support-for-musicians.

Pirate Studios. (2020). Leeds Recording Studios | Book from £11/h | PIRATE.COM. [online] Available at: https://pirate.com/en/recording-studios/leeds [Accessed 26 Nov. 2025].

PRS Foundation. (n.d.). The Open Fund for Music Creators |. [online] Available at: https://prsfoundation.com/funding-support/funding-music-creators/all-career-levels/the-open-fund-for-music-creators/.

Valhalla DSP. (2025). Valhalla FutureVerb – Valhalla DSP. [online] Available at: https://valhalladsp.com/shop/reverb/valhallafutureverb/ [Accessed 26 Nov. 2025].

Video Game Insights. (2025). Cookie Clicker – Steam Stats. [online] Available at: https://app.sensortower.com/vgi/game/cookie-clicker [Accessed 11 Dec. 2025].