 Andy Hoyos , the game 's art director and a horror aficionado , participated in brainstorming sessions and discussions with Williams during the writing stage . He conceived the ideas for most of the death scenes , and tried to make each one different and original with what he called " fresh approaches to murder " . Williams wanted to include more scenes with Adrienne and Don as a happy , normal couple , so that Don 's transformation to evil would be more impactful . However , she was unable to do so to maintain the correct pacing for the gameplay . Williams wrote Phantasmagoria with the mass market in mind , targeting casual gamers as well as die @-@ hard computer game fans . To that end , she wrote the game in short chapters to break the game into smaller , easier @-@ to @-@ play sections . Her targeted demographic for the game was ages 16 and older . Williams chose the title " Phantasmagoria " after reading the word in a reference book about the history of magic and magicians . The term refers to a 17th @-@ century theatrical horror show in which " spirits of the dead " were revealed in a darkened theater by use of a modified magic lantern . 
