INANIMA: Survival Horror, Pixel Art, and the Bathroom Crisis

Sometimes, game development leads you to questions you never thought you'd have to ask. It all started after months of work on one of INANIMA's main maps. The atmosphere was oppressive, the labyrinthine design felt perfect, and the visual details were enough to make you feel like something was creeping behind you. Everything seemed in place… until someone on the team asked the question:

"Where are the bathrooms?"

An awkward silence followed. No one wanted to admit it, but we all knew the truth: in that entire massive building, we hadn’t added a single bathroom. Not one.

The debate over bathrooms in video games

This question led us to an unexpected debate: do bathrooms really need to exist in a video game? Technically, no. Players rarely care about where characters go to take care of their needs while battling terrifying creatures or solving deadly puzzles. But something didn’t sit right.

A functional building should at least have one bathroom per floor, right? Surely no one would imagine having to go down three floors just to find a restroom. What started as a practical discussion quickly turned into something almost comical, but it highlighted a real issue: how do you make a fictional space feel authentic?

The great level redesign

What started as a “silly” oversight ended up making us completely rethink the level design. Adding bathrooms wasn’t just about placing a couple of doors. It required redistributing spaces, altering routes, and making sure the new areas fit seamlessly into the narrative and oppressive aesthetic of the game. But soon, we realized the lack of bathrooms wasn’t the only problem.

The absence of these facilities was just the visible symptom of a bigger issue: the levels didn’t feel like real spaces. We realized we were missing other areas that would make the building feel functional and lived-in, like break rooms, cafeterias, or even vending machines. These kinds of details not only add realism but also help players connect emotionally with the environment, making it feel like more than just a setting for terror.

The solution was to redesign the entire level, incorporating these elements to create a more authentic and coherent space. Bathrooms, along with break areas and other functional details, not only brought a touch of realism but also became strategic points within the map—perfect for hiding, finding items, or discovering hidden clues.

Design lessons (and life lessons)

This experience taught us something important: sometimes, the little details that seem insignificant are the ones that make all the difference. A bathroom might seem trivial, but in the context of a game, it enhances immersion and helps players connect with the world you’re building.

So, the next time you’re playing a survival horror game and see an abandoned bathroom dirty, eerie, and likely hiding something terrifying behind the door... Remember: someone fought hard in the level design process to make sure that bathroom was there!