Making of the underwater menu theme

When creating this piece, I started by researching other underwater tracks in games. Firstly looking at Subnautica, this game creates a sonic atmosphere that feels full of life but amplifies the horror elements. The soundtrack is nothing special, which meant I moved on to the next game. Barotrauma is another horror game but with a more prevalent soundtrack. This soundtrack uses simple sounds and pads with reverb to create a wide atmosphere that fades into the underwater ambience. Using Barotrauma as a base, I started creating my piece.

A bit more about barotrauma

Barotrauma is a horror survival game where you pilot a submarine through a harsh and dangerous alien ocean. While the atmosphere reflects a submarine, the faint music in the background does not scream danger but unsettles the player. For this scene of being plunged into an ocean, confused about where you are and what is happening, a simple soundtrack conveying the unknown and the dread around it is perfect. Barotrauma does this perfectly and this is why I’m taking inspiration from it. 

Back to my track

When making this, I had two main concepts; a more horror ambient track or a calming ambient track. After making a simple loop of each, I settled on a calming ambient track, due to its relevancy to the project in question.

This video goes into depth about the final piece: