gentleman, Mr. Blackwood had always been a prominent figure in Rothbury, his hometown since his childhood, being one of the most successful construction engineers in the region. Catherine Lydia Blackwood: James Blackwood's enigmatic wife, an English teacher at a local school in Rothbury. Christopher Edward Milton: An intimate friend and longtime doctor to the Blackwood family. Eva Mariani: Miss Mariani, an Italian immigrant and aspiring professional photographer, was the Blackwood family's maid for several years. William Bailey: Mr Bailey, a now-retired police chief, was in charge of the investigation of the death of Catherine Blackwood in the early 1960s. He was convinced of Mr Blackwood's guilt, but was never able to convict him. Michael Arthate: Michael is an up-and-coming writer. Sales of his acclaimed first novel, Vanishing Town (a reference to Dark Fall), left him with enough wealth to acquire an imposing Victorian mansion, a longtime dream of his. Jerry P. Carter: An old friend of Michael, and a successful real estate agent. Barbara Stiles: Michael hired Barbara as his assistant to aid him with fan mail and to contact magazines around the world, offering them his short stories. Robin Blackwood: The son of James and Catherine Blackwood who was kept hidden from the public due to his deformities. Gameplay Scratches uses a first-person perspective to navigate around the house. Using only a mouse, the player can access various rooms and other places in order to solve the mystery of both Blackwood and Milton's disappearances. It features music and special sound effects by the now-defunct Cellar of Rats, which contribute to the fearsome ambience experienced at the mansion, crypt, greenhouse and church. The game is heavily influenced by the H.P. Lovecraft mythos and several direct references to Lovecraft works make their appearances in Scratches. There are in-game references to the Necronomicon, De Vermis Mysteriis, Lovecraft's story "The Mountains of Madness," as well as one critic of Michael's book being called R'yleh. Michael states in the game he had just moved to Rothbury from Providence, Rhode Island-the hometown of Lovecraft. Development Scratches was developed by a two-man team in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Agustin Cordes did the programming and design, while Alejandro Graziana did the art direction. They brought in ambient composer Cellar of Rats to handle the audio. The developers never intended to have a soundtrack, but after hearing Cellar of Rats work, they decided that it would add to the