One of the things we’re most excited about in Befuddle is the theme song!

At Snap Finger Click, it’s long been a goal of ours to make a game with a theme song, but so far the right project never quite came along at the right time. Once we started figuring out the story and art style for Befuddle, we knew this was going to be the perfect game for a catchy theme song.

We started out by looking at some of the games that had inspired us to include a theme song in the first place like Plants vs. Zombies and Octodad. We also looked back at some classic TV show theme tunes. Some of the most well-loved TV shows from the 1960s to the 1990s had very memorable music. Shows like Gilligan’s Island, The Brady Brunch, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air all went a step further and told the backstory of the show through the lyrics of the song. The fact that all of those theme tunes were also incredibly catchy to boot sealed the deal. We knew that we needed to make a Befuddle song in a similar style.

We mentioned this in a previous blog, but Marvel’s WandaVision coming out around the same time we were figuring out Befuddle’s lead character and story was a serendipitous moment. Not only is WandaVision about a witch whose magic causes chaos, but it’s also inspired by classic American TV shows of the last few decades. In particular, the ‘Agatha’ song (spoilers if you haven’t seen it!) was another great source of inspiration for us.

When it came to actually writing the theme tune, it was a group effort led by our amazing composer, Dom Beken[www.dombeken.com], who works with Snap Finger Click on all our titles. Dom has years of experience writing and producing music. For the last couple of years, he’s been touring as part of the supergroup Saucerful of Secrets featuring Nick Mason from Pink Floyd and Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet. Trying to pin Dom down between tour dates was always going to be a challenge, but we finally found a small window to have a team jamming session. Dom wrote the music in a few days, and then our Design Director Jo and Assistant Producer Flo wrote the song lyrics in one evening over Zoom and a bottle of good red wine. Time was tight because the recording session was booked for the very next day! We’re a small team at Snap Finger Click, and that means having to wear many hats. Our Design Director and Assistant Producer were more than happy to add writing song lyrics to their long list of gamedev skills!

All that was left to do was record the song which is sung by the talented Jacqui Hicks, a jazz singer who is also a member of the 80s band Shakatak. For the slightly older people amongst us, you might remember Shakatak from Down On The Street or Nightbirds. We absolutely love the final version of the theme tune and you will often find a member of the Snap Finger Click crew singing it around the office or during a team meeting.

Making a theme tune has been one of the most fun parts of building Befuddle so far and it’s definitely something we’ll look to do again in a future game.

If you haven’t heard the full song yet, make sure to check it out here:

What is your favourite video game theme tune? Let us know in the comments!

When you play Befuddle, you’ll be guided by the enchanting host, B!

Not your average teenager, B is a witch whose intentions were grander than the spells she cast. Her eclectic collection of films, games and books suddenly found itself entangled in some magic that didn’t quite go to plan. Now she needs your wit and wisdom to solve the puzzles and calm the chaos. That’s the story of Befuddle and B is here to help you through the game, telling you how to play and offering her words of encouragement.

In building the story behind Befuddle, we wanted a main character that stands out from the crowd. B is a modern day witch with a love for retro media. Her home is a haven of nostalgia, adorned with arcade relics and classic computers. As you play each round, the ‘befuddled’ titles appear on the screens and machines that fill B’s room.

B is a powerful witch with a kind personality, following in the footsteps of other magical heroes like Sabrina and Wanda. She has a love of horticulture too, evidenced by her impressive houseplants. Unfortunately the spell also transformed her beloved venus flytrap, but solving the befuddles should restore it back to its normal state.

A witch's tale is incomplete without a feline companion. It was actually the antics of her cat that caused all the chaos after stumbling into B’s magic circle.

We haven’t come up with a name for the cat yet, so if you have any ideas let us know in the comments. What is a solid name for a witch's cat?

- Martijn and the Snap Finger Click team