SHR6E032F~001 Project Viability Study MAN23084339

by

Manuel,Matthew (STUDENT)

1. Introduction and Proposed Project

Proposed Projects

My first collaborative project will be composing the music for a study app called ‘Focus Up’ for the students attending Hong Kong University. The study app is unique compared to others such ‘Opal’ and ‘Roots’ as it combines the aspects of Pokémon Go with features such as teams, competitive mode, and customizable pet. My second collaborative project is composing the music for a horror game “The Forgotten Show”, which is a first-person horror game inspired by animatronic horror titles such as Five Nights at Freddy’s and Poppy’s Playtime. It takes place in a small café where the main goal is to survive the night by managing limited resources and interacting with various elements of the environment. Steam users rated indie horror games (81%) higher than AAA games (78%) (App2Top, 2025)

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Goals

​Project 1 Goals:

  • A unique way to track your progress as well as your friend’s progress. This creates a tangible link between effort and visible success. ​
  • To encourage a friendly competitive atmosphere among peers​. This rivalry between students is designed to motivate users to push each other, which ultimately increases study output​
  • Boost overall motivation for studying​. Each completed session directly translates to tangible rewards, significantly boosting user motivation and willingness to stick to their study goals​. (see appendix 1.)

Project 2 Goals:

  •  Develop a fully playable prototype of the first chapter, design unique characters and animatronic models, implement a user interface and smooth gameplay mechanics, and focus on optimization for performance and accessibility.

Personal Aims for Both Projects:

  • To create music that is fun and engaging while still being minimal enough to not distract the users.​
  • Push myself out my comfort zone; I’ve never made background music for an app/game​
  • Improve communication/time skills for collaboration. (Taking in account time differences as well as schedules, making collaborators feel comfortable communicating with me, and getting ideas across)​
  • To add to my portfolio, hopefully get opportunities to work with game/app developers​
  • Gain experience in working in a team environment, taking feedback and acting on that, as well as concepts and ideas to life​
  • First time making music for someone else; hopefully it translates into other aspects of professional music.

Personnel—Direct/Indirect

Project 1 collaborator is my mate Jack, and he is currently studying a year abroad at Hong Kong University. He is currently studying computer science. My collaborator for project 2 is voltEx who contacted me through the Indie Games Discord. They are currently developing the horror game for a project and have recruited members for the team, such as a 3D character modeler & designer, a 2D artist, and a composer (me).

2. Methodology and Rationale

Methodology

For the first project, Jack asked me to compose the music for the study app. We decided Discord was the best way we can communicate, as it shows when he is online (helpful as he is all the way in Hong Kong), sends pictures and screenshots, and lets him listen to the tracks without having to download them​.​ The project was made in Figma (see appendix 2), which is a cloud-based design tool used for creating, prototyping, and collaborating on user interfaces for apps and websites. For project 2, I created some video game tracks for a portfolio in order to post on Reddit/Discord. Gained a connection through the Indie Games discord with voltEx. We communicate on a Discord server with the rest of the team to share ideas.

Project 1:-

  • Composing:- For track 1 (see appendix 3), I used a Wii soundfont for the electric piano and flute. Then I used Purity for the strings, drums, and bass. I chose this plugin as it had a lot of great 1980s to 2000s sounds which was perfect for capturing the Nintendo Vibe. For Track 2, I used Analog Lab V for its modern sounding synths, great for creating a mellow, non-intrusive soundscape.
  • Demoing:- Sent tracks 1 & 2 for initial feedback.
  • Revisions:- Jack’s group said they liked track 1 however, for track 2 they said the bass was too loud and suggested I adjust the EQ to create a lo-fi effect
  • Implementation:- Track 1 used for idling/mode selection. Track 2 for focus mode/ pet customisation/shop

Project 2:-

  • Composing:- Used horror ambience for background texture, main sound is a soundscape preset from Serum 2 (creates a foreboding drone/pedal effect) Analog Lab V for choir synth, bass, lead synth.
  • Demoing:- sent the main menu theme for initial feedback
  • Revisions:- removed one instance of the choir part due to it repeating a lot (my own decision)
  • Implementation:- They liked the track and would implement it using Unreal Engine’s audio system

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3. Market Analysis

Market Analysis

For project 1, I have researched people who use study apps especially the Opal app; over 4 million users have joined the Opal community, 94% of members report being less distracted after using the app (Opal, 2022)

For project 2, the market value of indie horror games in 2024 was estimated to be worth over $638 million (Newzoo, 2025). Five Nights at Freddy’s (inspiration for “The Forgotten Show”) has overwhelmingly positive reviews. This

Your Market/Target Audience

Project 1 demographic is university students, specifically those attending Hong Kong University with ages falling between 18 and 25 years old. More specifically Gen Z, as they are 107 percent more likely to use education apps than the wider population (L. Wylie, 2023)

The demographic for project 2 are gamers aged 15+. “Indie horror games are often made by horror game fans for horror game fans” (pekoeblaze, 2022) this often leads to dark malicious themes that are catered towards older audiences.

4. Costs and Budgeting

Hypothetical Budget

Budget for music-producing equipment:

  • DAW (FL Studio Producer edition) – £199
  • Audio Interface (Komplete audio 2) – £50
  • Studio Headphones (Audio Technica m40x) – £80
  • Midi Controller – £50
  • Laptop – £300 – 1000+

Average rate for entry-level composer – £50-100 per minute; total estimated cost for 12 minutes: £600-1800. (Twine, 2025)

Timing Breakdown

  • Standard work week 10-25 hours
  • Composition & Sound Design 60% time spent
  • Meetings and Teamwork 20% time spent (messages, project management, contracts)
  • Marketing & Skills Resarch (creating portoflio pieces, networking, learning Wwise/FMOD/Unreal)

5. Inspiration and Influences

Inspiration and Influences

Since “Focus Up” is based on Pokémon Go, I instantly thought of Nintendo, especially the Wii’s soundtrack. The soundtrack of the Wii is very nostalgic and special for a lot of people; it has its own sound that is very recognisable. The composer for the Wii soundtrack, Kazumi Totaka, was creating music for making avatars, for shopping and for even looking at weather, the small details the Wii’s soundtrack really stood out to me. “But rather than feeling anonymous or diffuse, the musical identity Totaka stamped onto the console was so distinct it leaked into its games.” (IGN, 2021)

For “The Forgotten Show”‘s soundtrack, I researched the music for Five Nights at Freddy’s since it was heavily based off that game. What I discovered was that the main menu music is an ambient, pulsating electronic track which could be described as muted, slow and suspenseful. This was the type of atmosphere I wanted to convey for the game. A paper done on the music of Five Nights at Freddy’s states that “the background music is designed to establish a mood, in this instance, one of anxiety, without necessarily being consciously heard.” (Capstick, 2025)

6. Contingency/Risk Assessment

Contingency Plan

Project 2 is sort of my contingency plan since Jack did not request any more tracks and I needed something to cover the rest of the 9-10 minutes of the assignment. However, if project 2 falls short, I have another side project I’m working on for experience/fun which is a game called “Arena Wisteria” which is based on the Pokémon series and is programmed in Roblox (see appendix 7.) I took on this project not only for a backup plan but also to compose tracks based on the Pokémon games as the soundtracks of these games are really special to me. Moreover, Roblox is one of the biggest games in the world with 151.5 million daily active users (Q3 2025) and 40 billion hours engaged (Q3 2025) (Roblox, 2025) Also I have composed a few tracks for this side project too (see appendix 8).

Risk Assessment/Solutions

  • Collaborators disappearing – Still have my portfolio to send out, still getting requests for more projects
  • Corrupt/missing files – I have backups on hard drive but could look into cloud backups
  • Technical failures – Indie Games Discord has lots of help threads, ask horror game team for help

7. Potential for Development

Potential for Development

Since most of the tracks I’ve composed for this project are demo tracks, I could develop them further by doing some final mixing/mastering and getting them ready for the projects (see appendix 9). Moreover, I could use these tracks as portfolio materials for future opportunities since the developers asked how they would credit me. My Indie Games Discord post is also gaining some traction (multiple requests/collaborating with other producers), this could lead me to pursue the video game path further for future games, app expansions and game jams.

8. Evaluation Viability

Evaluation Viability

I believe that the two projects, composing for “Focus Up” and scoring the horror prototype “The Forgotten Show” are very viable for this assignment and for my portfolio development. I selected them because they both push me in different creative directions while still being enjoyable to work on. I have learned a lot through this assignment such as collaborating with people online, receiving feedback (see appendix 9) and producing to video game briefs. I had some struggles like rejecting people, long response times and unclear messages but overall I found this first half of the assignment a success. Things I would like to improve is time management and stronger communication which is something I am aiming to carry on into the next semester.

9. Appendices

Appendix 1: Screenshots of the app

Appendix 2: Figma

Appendix 3: Track 1 for “Focus Up”

Appendix 4: Track 2 for “Focus Up”

Appendix 5: Main menu theme for “The Forgotten Show”

Appendix 6: Talking with voltEX about main music track

Appendix 7: Contingency Plan (Arena Wisteria)

Appendix 8: Tracks I created for Arena Wisteria

Appendix 9: Timeline for both projects

Appendix 10: Feedback from presentation

10. Bibliography

Bibliography

Capstick, H. (2021) Fashioning the Immersive Fallacy at Five Nights at Freddy’s: A New Approach to Music, Sound, and Their Relationship to the Immersive Process in Moving Image Media. Sonic Scope: New Approaches to Audiovisual Culture.

Ekaterina Bespyatova (2025) Analytics: Only 7.2% of indie horror games in 2024 on Steam were successful. app2top.com. Available online: https://app2top.com/news/analytics-only-7-2-of-indie-horror-games-in-2024-on-steam-were-successful-279206.html [Accessed 4 Dec. 2025].

Free Version Global Games Market Report. (2025) Available online: https://investgame.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025_Newzoo_Free_Global_Games_Market_Report.pdf.

pekoeblaze (2022) Why Indie Horror Games Are Scarier. PekoeBlaze – the official blog. Available online: https://pekoeblaze.wordpress.com/2022/08/25/why-indie-horror-games-are-scarier/.

Raksha (2025) Game Composer Pricing: Complete Budgeting Guide for Developers – Twine Blog. Twine Blog. Available online: https://www.twine.net/blog/game-composer-pricing/.

Roblox – Financials – Quarterly Results. (2025) ir.roblox.com. Available online: https://ir.roblox.com/financials/quarterly-results/default.aspx.

Skrebels, J. (2021) The Wii’s Biggest, Weirdest Legacy Is Its Music. IGN. Available online: https://www.ign.com/articles/wii-music-legacy.

The Opal Impact Study | Opal. (2022) www.opal.so. Available online: https://www.opal.so/blog/the-opal-impact-survey.

Wylie, L. (2023) Education App Revenue and Usage Statistics (2023). Business of Apps. Available online: https://www.businessofapps.com/data/education-app-market/.