Garian Leighton-Anderson - Music/Foley Designer
Exosense is a two-player puzzle game that explores themes of cooperation, communication, and compromise and also explores the balance of power between individuals. We want our players to examine their dependency on eyesight and hearing, and we also want them to learn to balance their desire for control with the communication and compromise needed to achieve shared goals.
While designing Exosense inspiration was taken from games like ‘Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes’ (Steel Crate Games, 2015) an asymmetrical co-op game and ‘Portal 2’ (Valve, 2011), which includes a two-player campaign which require cooperation to complete. We wanted to encourage communication between players, and create puzzles that were unable to be solved by only one player.
You can find out more about this project HERE
You can find out more of my personal development of this project HERE
Garian Leighton-Anderson (Audio Engineer)
My main role in ExoSense is the creation, mixing, and mastering of audio assets used in the game. This includes music, environmental effects, and Foley. Most audio assets were created on a per requirement basis, eg. standard Foley effects for movement etc. However, all of the created sounds heavily rely on experimental audio techniques to create futuristic and sci-fi feeling effects.
The Foley for the players were created with the intent to give them a playful/friendly attitude in contrast to the serious nature of the situation. These are mainly articulated in the falling sounds for each character although, there wasn’t enough time to incorporate them fully into the game. Originally working upon the concept of imbalance of power, I created separate sound effects for both the B.R.I.C.K and the Spyder rovers. Differences in Foley would enforce the idea of separation and imbalance but this technique also encourages forced cooperation of two different parties. The different sounds add to the disconnection for the players to overcome before they can progress.
I created the main ExoSense theme around the idea of cooperation. Starting with a fast paced serious sounding bass line gives the impression that there is a mission to be accomplished. After a build there is what I call a ‘conversation’ between one rover and another. This ‘conversation’ gives the impression that there are two parties that are cooperating to achieve a goal. They then move off into the distance. I created this theme song to mirror the situation of the first level of our game
I worked in close quarters to the team coming up with the feeling we were trying to accomplish (mainly Kavita, Nathan Newland, and Traz) to keep a consistency across the mediums. It was decided that the environments were to give a cold feeling of isolation. With this in mind I created music and ambiance that enforced this idea rather than and action packed soundtrack which would conflict with the environment. Cave ambiance was created with a new technique that I started learning about this semester called ambisonics. The use of this technique created a three dimensional soundscape immersing the player into the environment. Working as a team really is the name of the game. According to an article by Gamedesigning.org (2018) it is vital to work together with the design and animation team to create a rich engaging experience. Teamwork and cooperation is a core theme in our group; we’re not just trying to portray this idea in our game but we’re also striving to incorporate this idea in everyday life.
Exosense is a two-player puzzle game that explores themes of cooperation, communication, and compromise and also explores the balance of power between individuals. We want our players to examine their dependency on eyesight and hearing, and we also want them to learn to balance their desire for control with the communication and compromise needed to achieve shared goals.
While designing Exosense inspiration was taken from games like ‘Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes’ (Steel Crate Games, 2015) an asymmetrical co-op game and ‘Portal 2’ (Valve, 2011), which includes a two-player campaign which require cooperation to complete. We wanted to encourage communication between players, and create puzzles that were unable to be solved by only one player.
You can find out more about this project HERE
You can find out more of my personal development of this project HERE
Garian Leighton-Anderson (Audio Engineer)
My main role in ExoSense is the creation, mixing, and mastering of audio assets used in the game. This includes music, environmental effects, and Foley. Most audio assets were created on a per requirement basis, eg. standard Foley effects for movement etc. However, all of the created sounds heavily rely on experimental audio techniques to create futuristic and sci-fi feeling effects.
The Foley for the players were created with the intent to give them a playful/friendly attitude in contrast to the serious nature of the situation. These are mainly articulated in the falling sounds for each character although, there wasn’t enough time to incorporate them fully into the game. Originally working upon the concept of imbalance of power, I created separate sound effects for both the B.R.I.C.K and the Spyder rovers. Differences in Foley would enforce the idea of separation and imbalance but this technique also encourages forced cooperation of two different parties. The different sounds add to the disconnection for the players to overcome before they can progress.
I created the main ExoSense theme around the idea of cooperation. Starting with a fast paced serious sounding bass line gives the impression that there is a mission to be accomplished. After a build there is what I call a ‘conversation’ between one rover and another. This ‘conversation’ gives the impression that there are two parties that are cooperating to achieve a goal. They then move off into the distance. I created this theme song to mirror the situation of the first level of our game
I worked in close quarters to the team coming up with the feeling we were trying to accomplish (mainly Kavita, Nathan Newland, and Traz) to keep a consistency across the mediums. It was decided that the environments were to give a cold feeling of isolation. With this in mind I created music and ambiance that enforced this idea rather than and action packed soundtrack which would conflict with the environment. Cave ambiance was created with a new technique that I started learning about this semester called ambisonics. The use of this technique created a three dimensional soundscape immersing the player into the environment. Working as a team really is the name of the game. According to an article by Gamedesigning.org (2018) it is vital to work together with the design and animation team to create a rich engaging experience. Teamwork and cooperation is a core theme in our group; we’re not just trying to portray this idea in our game but we’re also striving to incorporate this idea in everyday life.