SpaceSound
Director, Game Designer, Software Engineer
2007 — 2008
Description
SpaceSound is a game that expresses the causal relationships between gravitation, sound, and movement. Players float through outer space using the gravitational fields of space objects to influence their path. The SpaceSound soundtrack is procedurally manipulated based on the movements of the player. Players create their own interstellar symphony as they explore the infinite universe.
Depending on what definition you subscribe to, SpaceSound may not even be a game. There is no overarching goal in SpaceSound. To put in terms of game designer Jonathan Blow's MIGS 2007 presentation, the meaning of life inside the game is never specified. Similarly, the player is never presented with an obvious challenge. There are no obstacles the player must overcome in order to progress. I'm not even sure it's possible to make progress in SpaceSound.
Sound is dependent on the motion of the player.
The experience of playing SpaceSound has much in common with Ian Bogost's ideas on "Video Game Zen" and "lean back media." The visuals in the game tend to be familiar and minimalistic. The sounds are subtle and ambient. Exerting too much control over one's avatar generally leads to a less enjoyable experience. Players are encouraged to rely on gravitational fields, rather than their propulsion device, to carry them through the universe. Furthermore, players can take a strange sort of comfort in the homogeneity and infiniteness of the universe. There are no monster closets lurking around the next corner in SpaceSound.
In the end, SpaceSound is a journey of exploration, discovery, and creation. Its simplicity is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. I look forward to hearing what reactions players may have to the SpaceSound experience.
Roles and Responsibilities
SpaceSound is the product of my little brain and many searches on Creative Commons. I conceptualized, designed, and programmed the game by myself. The images and the sounds are all Creative Commons-licensed work that I reworked to fit the needs of the game. Third party programming tools and libraries were used wherever possible to minimize technical development. Ultimately I held myself responsible for squeezing the most juice out of my design process as possible, and my giant notebook full of scribbles serves as proof.
Black holes transport the player to a new system.
Technologies
SpaceSound was programmed using the XNA Game Studio framework in the Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition IDE. The Farseer Physics Engine was used for collision management. Sound files were edited in Audacity and procedurally manipulated in-game using Microsoft XACT. Adobe Photoshop was used for editing textures.