Andrés Borghi, Game Director and Film Director from Argentina, discusses the development of Tenebris Somnia, a survival horror puzzle game that blends NES-style pixel art with live-action FMV cutscenes. He explains that the hybrid visual approach was inspired by the game Faith and his own film background. The production pipeline mirrors traditional filmmaking — script, storyboard, casting, practical effects, and post-production VFX — with the key workflow decision being to film live-action scenes first and then build pixel-art rooms to match the footage. The game is built in Unreal Engine, chosen for its ability to render pixel-perfect low-resolution graphics and play video files without loading delays. Borghi also shares that the biggest challenge was writing a screenplay that functioned as both a movie script and a game design document, a process that took over a year.
Questions this post answers
What engine was used to build a pixel-perfect 2D game with instant FMV video playback in Unreal Engine?
Unreal Engine was chosen for Tenebris Somnia because it supports pixel-perfect low-resolution rendering and can play video files instantly without any loading time. The programmer selected it based on prior familiarity and because it met both technical requirements out of the box. Developers building hybrid 2D/video games track engine capability discussions like this on daily.dev.
What is the recommended workflow order when combining pixel-art game rooms with live-action filmed cutscenes?
Film the live-action scenes first, then build the pixel-art rooms to match the footage. Designing pixel-art rooms first makes it nearly impossible to find a real-world location that matches the same door, wall color, and floor. Filming first and converting rooms to pixel art afterward avoids that mismatch and saves significant production effort. Game developers navigating production pipelines like this find practical workflow discussions on daily.dev.