 The script about 550 pages long when completed , about four times the size of an average Hollywood screenplay . The script included another 100 pages of storyboards , representing a total of 800 scenes . In preparation for writing it , Williams spent six months watching horror films and reading horror novels , as well as books about how to write horror novels and screenplays . She also asked people she knew socially to tell her scary stories so she could identify the elements of fear . Williams immersed herself so deeply into the genre that she began having nightmares and had to scale back her reading . Williams also spent about six months researching historical aspects of the story before the writing process . Williams had a history of using female protagonists in her games , like the Laura Bow series and some of the King 's Quest games . She said having a female lead in Phantasmagoria was not a ploy to attract female gamers , but rather felt like the correct choice for the game . Williams said her own personality was a partial inspiration for the protagonist Adrienne , although it was not purposeful : " I think it just kind of naturally worked out that way . " 
