Overview
After the constraints felt tiresome in project 4, we decided to remove all constraints and not use a prompt. This project was totally free of restrictions. We also decided to complete one longer project rather than several more short ones. This ended up being a lot more challenging than I anticipated. In the end, I decided to take on a project that I would work on long-term, rather than just a few weeks. I also decided I would like to learn mobile development (all of my projects have been analog or PC). So I have begun work on “Sound Garden”, a playground experience where the player constructs and controls a soundscape by planting flowers, each type blooming with a specific sound.
Methodology
This project was harder for me to initialize than any of the others I’ve done. The lack of constraints meant I could do anything and everything. I had plenty of ideas, but it was hard to narrow it down. I also had the feeling that I wanted to make something self-reflective. I spent a while toying around with the idea of making game around the emotional and mental health issues I struggled with over the spring. I didn’t end up doing this for several reasons.
First, I could not settle on a single design that accurately represented what I wanted it to and was interesting. Second, the designs I came up with were so personal, they would not be an interesting experience for someone else to play. Third, as I dug into this, I realized making such a game would not be the therapeutic exercise I hoped, but something stressful.
Instead, I decided to make a game focusing on deep sound design, and I wanted to use a free art asset kit I found on the Unity store and had been saving for something special. This resulted not in designing the game as a reflection of my mental health, but rather the game I wished I had during the spring to help my mental health.
Design
Sound Garden, or whatever the final name ends up being, is a soundbox experience where players create a soundscape by planting a garden. Each plant emits a different sound, and may change sounds as it grows and in response to weather. Players can plant in pots, which can be moved around, or in plots. There will be some plants that are already part of the scene that the player must build around. The game will use spatial sound, so that the soundscape changes as the player moves around the scene. With the exception of adaptive sound, all these features in place.
Future development plans include weather, which might be pulled from real-time data using location. The game will be for mobile, and the player will be able to tap certain plants to emit a one-time sound, or turn a pre-existing plant off or on. Players will be able to influence the soundscape by watering, growing seeds, moving pots, and more. There will also be progression through the number of pots available, new seeds, and new spaces with their own existing base sound. The game will also make use of gentle particle effects for feedback, which might also be customizable through planting.
The idea is for this to be a zen experience in which players will casually build a soundscape for their own relaxation. It’s also possible that players will be able to visit each other’s gardens, record and share sound clips, and gift each other plants.
Challenges
The basic features are already in place. The most immediate challenge is to structure them so they are easily scalable. Other challenges for me include diving into mobile development for the first time, and really sorting out spatial sound so that it actually sounds nice (it gets distorted easily). The final idea includes significant network challenges, but that’s not something I will be diving into for awhile.
Next steps
Keep building out the game! In the immediate future, I’ll examine my current build to find ways to make it more easily scalable, then look to make the sound adaptive. I’m also creating all my own music and sound effects for the game, so piecing together the sound aesthetic.