The idea behind this game was to create an interactive experience promoting exploration of the game space. I created a small prototype scene with a partner in order to user test and see how players responded to the items in the game. [include gifs of the scenes?] I tested 3 small prototypes to investigate player response to different levels of interactivity and engagement with a variety of game elements and eventually set out on my own to complete the game.

I wanted the main interactive element to involve the main character coming into contact with and activating the other sprites in the game. User testing showed that users were motivated to discover every sound the game could make, but did not aim to discern the source of the sounds. With this in mind, I set out to record interesting sounds but not necessarily those that were recognizable.

I went to my favorite places in Pittsburgh to record sounds and found that the people in the shops and restaurants where I was recording were interested in what I was doing. Recording these sounds became an experimental exploration of the potential sounds of each location, where the mundane became interesting and the subtle differences between sounds became clear.

The final game design included sounds from 3 locations in Central and East Pittsburgh. Each level contains only sounds from one location. Once I had my sounds, I created the visual aspects for each scene based on attempting to visualize the auditory portraits I had of each location. Demo to come