This post will talk about creating a game exclusively around audio. This is a basic game concept and simply covers the main mechanics of the game and how it plays. It discusses how audio can be used to give players feedback, and how clever use of audio can make for a very immersive experience.
General concept
VR horror/survival game. General idea is that the player is stuck within a cave system, their primary goal is to escape the cave they are currently stranded in.
What are the main mechanics?
Player’s must listen to their surroundings in order to navigate a cave. The more the player interacts with their surroundings, the more that is visually revealed to them. All aspects of progression are tied to making use of the sound design of the game, this means if a player wishes to move/pick something up they will most likely have to listen carefully to “feel” around for the item.
The draw back here is that the more the player disturbs the cave and its natural state, the higher they run the risk of causing it to collapse. This means players must decide when they think it is right to interact with their environment.
How does it make use of Audio and the environment?
The game would make great use of spatial audio. Players will be able to tell if a sound is occurring from far away or close by listening closely to how direct the sound is, for example you would be able to distinguish an echo from a noise occurring next to you.
Players can also use environmental objects such as a stick to feel around the cave and bash it against surrounding structures to map out their surroundings and reveal more to them. The noise produced from this would also allow players to get an idea of how big that segment of the cave is.
Most audio within the game will be coming from the player as they move around the game. When the player begins to hear more active noises/signs of life, this works as an indicator they are close to surface/exit.
An example of a game over occurring would be if a player kept moving forward without trying to correctly figure out what is ahead, they could encounter a drop in the cave and fall down ending their attempt.
The idea is that players will have a tough time at first and will be panicking. Given time the player will become experienced with the mechanics of the game and begin to reveal a majority of the cave.
Are there other similar games?
'Scanner Sombre', a game where players use a scanning tool mapped to a VR headset that reveals the inner structure of a cave system in the form of dots, this allows the player to navigate obstacles that are revealed to them, relies on visual effects and memory less audio but similar idea. The visual effects found within this game are accurate to how I'd imagine this concept looking.
Scanner Sombre, Introversion Software, 2017
'Minecraft', when in caves if you run out of torches you rely heavily on both sounds and other light sources to understand where you are, unless you cheat like me and turn gamma all the way up. Listening closely to the sounds of running water/lava lets you get an idea if it’s a place you may have been to previously.
Minecraft, Mojang, 2011
Does it make use of sound, music, audio narrative, or any combination?
The game makes use exclusively of Diegetic sound as any other sources of audio will distract the player during gameplay. This helps replicate what it may feel like to stuck within a cave system. The lack of narrative audio or any form of story telling could also allow the player more freedom of interpreting their own story as to why they are in the cave.
Conclusion
I learned a lot whilst looking into how a game concept like this could be made. I tried to think back on my own experiences with games that rely so heavily on audio especially in a survival setting. The general idea stemmed from my many experiences within a Minecraft cave, left in the dark with only the sounds of zombies and lava to guide me.
I also decided that this concept works best with VR as it creates the perfect immersion a game like this requires, by letting the player physically feel around the cave adds to the overall tension that this concept would create.
I also found the game 'Scanner Sombre' from this task, I look forward to purchasing it and experience it's unique concept.