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Despite a increasing number of games placing women astatine nan halfway of their stories, Black female protagonists stay a rarity successful nan industry. That’s thing Kingston, Jamaica-based indie developer Glen Henry hopes to thief alteration pinch Duppy Detective Tashia, nan latest task from his studio, Spritewrench Studios (Sunken Stones).
Set for merchandise successful 2026, nan enigma escapade follows Tashia, a young female whose pursuit of a pickpocket leads her into a hidden marketplace inhabited by Duppies – spirits and ghosts drawn from Afro-Caribbean folklore. There, she discovers that nan beloved spider-God Bredda Anasi has been murdered. To find her measurement home, Tashia must unravel nan mystery, stitchery clues and uncover nan secrets down nan market’s residents and their untimely deaths.
Helping bring nan game’s supernatural noir ambiance to life is award-winning composer Chase Bethea. Drawing inspiration from Caribbean culture, folklore and detective fiction, Bethea crafted a people that blends cinematic enigma pinch what he describes arsenic a distinctly Caribbean noir sound. Below, Deadline speaks pinch Bethea astir creating the euphony of Duppy Detective Tashia and helping specify a genre each his own.
DEADLINE: How did you autumn into composing for video games?
CHASE BETHEA: The short type is that I bought a book. I put my activity online into a crippled forum. I sewage a mates interests from immoderate group that were willing successful moving pinch me. Then I heard backmost from 1 developer that they were really willing in. So, I wrote an other portion of music, for illustration a demo aliases thing to show my interests. And past I really booked a gig, and it was my first crippled without immoderate mentorship, apprenticeship aliases thing for illustration that.
DEADLINE: Did you spell to schoolhouse for composing?
BETHEA: I went to Moorpark College and Cal State Northridge. That book I was talking about, I publication it astatine my past euphony mentation assemblage people astatine Moorpark. So, I told myself I was going to activity successful nan manufacture earlier I graduate. And by nan clip I transferred to university, I was already nominated for an grant successful nan industry.
DEADLINE: Talk a spot much astir that.
BETHEA: The crippled I was nominated for Best Artist of nan Year successful 2016, was I Can’t Escape: Darkness. It was a sequel to a very celebrated flash crippled that Markiplier played called I Can’t Escape. It’s a very debased poly pixel game, wherever you… if group are acquainted pinch nan Windows 95 screensaver, wherever you person to spell done nan maze, it was typically based disconnected of that. I scored nan sequel and it’s nan first clip I was mentioned connected IGN and nan trailers. I ended up being nominated for an grant for Best Original Soundtrack for that and Best Artist of nan Year.
DEADLINE: How did you find retired about Duppy Detective Tashia?
BETHEA: So, this is my 4th aliases 5th crippled I’m moving connected pinch nan developer. The developer’s sanction is Spritewrench, and nan founder’s sanction is Glen Henry. He is simply a developer from Jamaica.
My inheritance from my mom’s broadside is Bajan, they travel from Barbados. Our first crippled we worked connected was Questlike: Pocket, and past we did On nan Peril of Parrots, which won Best Original Soundtrack. Then we did Sunken Stones, and now we’ve done Duppy Detective Tashia. So, it’s my moving narration pinch that developer that has sewage maine connected nan task frankincense far.
DEADLINE: What themes did you some talk astir to create nan soundtrack?
BETHEA: So, nan first first gathering was really astir creating euphony for nan trailer. And Glen said to me, he said, “I want it spooky. I want it mysterious, but I besides want it cinematic.” And past I thought, oh, OK, but it besides has to person [an land flavor]. It’s from a spot successful Jamaica, not needfully Kingston aliases immoderate different place, but you tin consciousness that land feel. So, it needs to besides person that undertone arsenic well. So, I thought, well, does that really exist?
And I couldn’t deliberation of immoderate media aliases thing that I’ve travel across, aliases immoderate of my travels and speaking to folks, that ever existed. So, I created nan cinematic shape [from a genre I already knew] Noir sound. Then I had to create what really was nan emotion of an land sound which is [typically] hit and bassline. And so, I did that pinch nan trailer, but erstwhile it came to making nan game, I realized I didn’t want to play bass connected nan keyboard. Pianist was nan 2nd instrumentality I took up, and I thought I needed to consciousness that relationship I utilized to person pinch piano. I don’t person a soft anymore. So, I deliberation I needed a relationship to nan instrumentality to get this feeling.
So, I went to nan Guitar Center present successful nan States and went to look for a bass. The bass that I first picked up, I really wrote nan bassline successful nan shop because I had made a drum track. I put it connected loop, pulled up my phone, and had headphones connected Bluetooth. And that’s nan existent bassline that is successful nan crippled called “Halfway Market.” But erstwhile I left, I didn’t bargain nan bass. So, I thought, I request that bass. That’s nan relationship I was looking for. But then, nan bass was gone. [Laughs]. Then I went online and bought nan nonstop aforesaid one.
I pioneered successful this section called Caribbean Noir, because successful crippled music, that doesn’t beryllium astatine all. Cinematic, spooky, noirs [like this pinch an land fusion] doesn’t exist.
DEADLINE: What was nan situation of creating nan soundtrack that you were truthful happy to break through?
BETHEA: The past way I wrote is called “A Chance and A Choice.” And what this way is expected to correspond successful nan crippled is Tashia getting person to solving nan enigma that she needs to resoluteness pinch nan clues successful position of what happened pinch nan murder. And nan portion was very difficult because I nary longer had this muse that I utilized to have, and I didn’t cognize really to constitute nan piece. But I had these chords I had recorded connected nan piano, and I referred backmost to nan chords. Then I retrieve building nan way astir those chords. It’s very mellow. It’s mostly somber, but it’s pensive. And that was precisely nan temper that I was emotion astatine nan time. So, it comes done successful nan piece, but I’m ever reasoning that it should work nan game.
As I’m penning this piece, it’s only 5 aliases six chords. It’s not really much. And past this undertone way comes in. It’s very soft and very relaxed. And nan challenging portion of it was to spot if, moreover though my temper was successful a different setting, it was going to subordinate into nan game. And it really does, depending connected wherever Glen had put it, because I was really playing done nan crippled coming and thinking, ohio wow, that came retired beautiful well.
So, to deliberation that thing that was written 2 years ago, successful nan mindset that I had—which I had nary thought was going to onshore nan measurement it did—actually fresh very well.
DEADLINE: What should crippled devs cognize astir you should they prosecute you for their adjacent project? What would you for illustration to say?
BETHEA: I think, arsenic a crippled designer and not conscionable arsenic a video crippled composer, I ain complete 800 physical-copy games, and I’ve been playing games for astir of my life. I deliberation astir a move emotion that goes pinch nan game, not conscionable successful a loop form, but things that necktie to nan mechanics. I besides connection a different group of mentality done nan crippled improvement process successful position of moreover trading and promotion. I really americium personification who believes I americium portion of nan team, not conscionable personification arsenic a contractor. And successful summation to that, nan group that I’ve worked pinch complete nan years, nan ones that I’m still moving with, they worth that, and they cognize that very well.
