Garian Leighton-Anderson, Sound Designer, Foliage Designer
Conceptual Statement
“Project Kōwhai is a survival game set in the New Zealand bush, developed to educate people about the realities of surviving in the bush. The player is taught indirectly, through experimenting with the game’s realistic mechanics and learning the best way to survive through failing in a safe environment and being encouraged to try again through the entertainment value of the game.” (Project Kowhai Game Design Document, 2017).
Being lost in the New Zealand wilderness is nothing to be taken lightly and Project Kowhai aims to educate people in the correct survival methods to employ when one is suddenly dropped into such a situation. Becoming lost can happen suddenly and without any preparation so it’s important to have prior understanding of survival to be able to bring a degree of familiarity to whatever you may face in an unfamiliar environment.
Project Kowhai is essentially an environment simulation made to look and feel realistic. This is achieved through realistic graphics, sounds, and game mechanics typically associated with survival games such as hunger, thirst, and body temperature. All the mechanics are constructed to replicate how they would work in real life. These mechanics come together to affect certain aspects of the player character’s wellbeing. For example, the more you run, the quicker you get exhausted, and must return to walking. Although not to quite realistic scale, these mechanics add to the simulation aspect of the game and to the intention of giving people realistic expectations as they play and fail and try again. The player is intended to survive though playing and learning and figuring out the best things to do. This is to do with the idea of ‘learning through doing’ rather than teaching by telling.
One main aspect of Project Kowhai is the lack of a main user interface that players in the gaming community would come to expect from a survival game. This aims to provide players with only what they would know if they were in the situation. For example, there would be no visual feedback indicating how hungry or thirsty you were, a person would just feel it. To substitute, Project Kowhai relies on the use of sound cues to tell the player whether they are hungry or thirsty etc.
It was discussed to use HRTF (Head Related Transfer Function) audio for realistic three-dimensional sound interpretation for the player. HRTF was successfully incorporated in the project and adds to the realistic feeling of the environments however in the process of packaging the game it causes issues and all audio becomes stereo panning. This makes the game a little less real feeling, but it is something that you wouldn’t miss unless you were looking (or listening) for it. This leads us to explore and discover how to package Unreal Engine games with the Steam Audio plug in that was used to achieve this audio effect. All audio for the project was created using Foley techniques and music making techniques. The main music for the game is used to give and uneasy feel while blending into the background of the environmental ambience. This is another if the instances where realism was sacrificed for feeling. Although not exactly how I intended, the audio for Project Kowhai still encapsulates the main purpose which was to add to the realistic experience in the New Zealand Wilderness.
Contextual Statement
Project Kowhai sits amidst the likes of Fire watch and other open world games while developing and incorporating survival based mechanics to develop the educational aspect of the Project. Inspiration in the development of the environments was drawn from games such as Fire watch (2016), Tomb Raider (2013), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), Battlefield Bad Company 2 (2010), and Assassin’s Creed III (2012). As described by Nathan Newland. Educational aspects are inspired by survival programmes such as Man Vs Wild. Specifically, the New Zealand editions of the show where Bear Grylls demonstrates how to survive in the New Zealand wilderness.
We took the open world wilderness aspect from these games and combined them with an educational approach to produce a New Zealand relevant ‘Interactive Educational Experience’.
Rather than for purely educational purposes, Project Kowhai is intended to be a ‘Serious Game’. A serious game is a game developed with the purpose of being useful to the player (Girard, Ecalle, & Magnan. 2012). The game aims to educate people to the realities of New Zealand wilderness survival.
According to Chalmers & Debattista, 2009, serious games that teach people situational experiences through simulation must have a high level of realism for the player to associate those simulations to the real world. This was one of the reasons for Project Kowhai to be based on real world locations and environments, and to take on realistic graphics and survival mechanics that apply to real world experiences. In terms of foliage, all tree and plant models are based on New Zealand indigenous species of Plantae. Using such foliage added to the New Zealand based environment and learned through game play testing at events such as the Game Development Meetup that there was an emotional investment with players from New Zealand given that It’s set in their home land, a very under used environment in the game making community. The need for realistic graphics in the game enforced one of the Team’s goals which was “to capture New Zealand’s natural beauty and increase its appeal.” (Young, N. 2017).
The audio For Project Kowhai was intended to be a heavy lifter in terms of realism. For instance, in lieu of a visual HUD, the player would gain feedback on their wellbeing based on sound cues. Also, the environments heavily depend on accurate audio representation to enforce the realism; a key element in the development of Project Kowhai being a ‘Serious Game’. The game’s environmental audio is all based on New Zealand natural environments. Foley in the gaming industry is quite like that of picture film. Foley is a technique developed by Jack Donovan Foley, which is basically the imitation of sound to later add to a film to be more believable.
Inspiration for the game’s sound track came from the likes of Fire watch (2016) OST and Journey (2012) OST and according to the mood that Project Kowhai went for, was made to feel eerie and tense.
References:
- Cooney, X. Leighton-Anderson, G. Newland, N. Singh, K. Yeoh, M. Young, N. (2017). Project Kowhai. Auckland: AUT University. Unfinished Project.
- Girard, C, Ecalle, J & Magnan, A. (2013). Serious games as new educational tools: How effective are they? A meta-analysis of recent studies. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29, 207–219.
- Chalmers, A & Chalmers, K. (2009). Level of Realism for Serious Games. UK: University of Warwick.
- Hibbard, M. (2015, 18 March 2015). Recording Foley and Sound Effects: The Fundamentals. [Weblog]. Retrieved 28 October 2017, from https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/recording-foley-and-sound-effects-the-fundamentals/
- Baumgartner et al. (2006). The emotional power of music: How music enhances the feeling of affective pictures. Brian Research, 1075(1), 151-164.
- Pitkanen, P. (2013). Creating and Designing Sound Effects for A Mobile Game. Finland: Tampere University of Applied Sciences.
- Campo santo. (2016). Firewatch. : Panic.
- Thatgamecompany. (2012). Journey.: Sony Computer Entertainment.
Conceptual Statement
“Project Kōwhai is a survival game set in the New Zealand bush, developed to educate people about the realities of surviving in the bush. The player is taught indirectly, through experimenting with the game’s realistic mechanics and learning the best way to survive through failing in a safe environment and being encouraged to try again through the entertainment value of the game.” (Project Kowhai Game Design Document, 2017).
Being lost in the New Zealand wilderness is nothing to be taken lightly and Project Kowhai aims to educate people in the correct survival methods to employ when one is suddenly dropped into such a situation. Becoming lost can happen suddenly and without any preparation so it’s important to have prior understanding of survival to be able to bring a degree of familiarity to whatever you may face in an unfamiliar environment.
Project Kowhai is essentially an environment simulation made to look and feel realistic. This is achieved through realistic graphics, sounds, and game mechanics typically associated with survival games such as hunger, thirst, and body temperature. All the mechanics are constructed to replicate how they would work in real life. These mechanics come together to affect certain aspects of the player character’s wellbeing. For example, the more you run, the quicker you get exhausted, and must return to walking. Although not to quite realistic scale, these mechanics add to the simulation aspect of the game and to the intention of giving people realistic expectations as they play and fail and try again. The player is intended to survive though playing and learning and figuring out the best things to do. This is to do with the idea of ‘learning through doing’ rather than teaching by telling.
One main aspect of Project Kowhai is the lack of a main user interface that players in the gaming community would come to expect from a survival game. This aims to provide players with only what they would know if they were in the situation. For example, there would be no visual feedback indicating how hungry or thirsty you were, a person would just feel it. To substitute, Project Kowhai relies on the use of sound cues to tell the player whether they are hungry or thirsty etc.
It was discussed to use HRTF (Head Related Transfer Function) audio for realistic three-dimensional sound interpretation for the player. HRTF was successfully incorporated in the project and adds to the realistic feeling of the environments however in the process of packaging the game it causes issues and all audio becomes stereo panning. This makes the game a little less real feeling, but it is something that you wouldn’t miss unless you were looking (or listening) for it. This leads us to explore and discover how to package Unreal Engine games with the Steam Audio plug in that was used to achieve this audio effect. All audio for the project was created using Foley techniques and music making techniques. The main music for the game is used to give and uneasy feel while blending into the background of the environmental ambience. This is another if the instances where realism was sacrificed for feeling. Although not exactly how I intended, the audio for Project Kowhai still encapsulates the main purpose which was to add to the realistic experience in the New Zealand Wilderness.
Contextual Statement
Project Kowhai sits amidst the likes of Fire watch and other open world games while developing and incorporating survival based mechanics to develop the educational aspect of the Project. Inspiration in the development of the environments was drawn from games such as Fire watch (2016), Tomb Raider (2013), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), Battlefield Bad Company 2 (2010), and Assassin’s Creed III (2012). As described by Nathan Newland. Educational aspects are inspired by survival programmes such as Man Vs Wild. Specifically, the New Zealand editions of the show where Bear Grylls demonstrates how to survive in the New Zealand wilderness.
We took the open world wilderness aspect from these games and combined them with an educational approach to produce a New Zealand relevant ‘Interactive Educational Experience’.
Rather than for purely educational purposes, Project Kowhai is intended to be a ‘Serious Game’. A serious game is a game developed with the purpose of being useful to the player (Girard, Ecalle, & Magnan. 2012). The game aims to educate people to the realities of New Zealand wilderness survival.
According to Chalmers & Debattista, 2009, serious games that teach people situational experiences through simulation must have a high level of realism for the player to associate those simulations to the real world. This was one of the reasons for Project Kowhai to be based on real world locations and environments, and to take on realistic graphics and survival mechanics that apply to real world experiences. In terms of foliage, all tree and plant models are based on New Zealand indigenous species of Plantae. Using such foliage added to the New Zealand based environment and learned through game play testing at events such as the Game Development Meetup that there was an emotional investment with players from New Zealand given that It’s set in their home land, a very under used environment in the game making community. The need for realistic graphics in the game enforced one of the Team’s goals which was “to capture New Zealand’s natural beauty and increase its appeal.” (Young, N. 2017).
The audio For Project Kowhai was intended to be a heavy lifter in terms of realism. For instance, in lieu of a visual HUD, the player would gain feedback on their wellbeing based on sound cues. Also, the environments heavily depend on accurate audio representation to enforce the realism; a key element in the development of Project Kowhai being a ‘Serious Game’. The game’s environmental audio is all based on New Zealand natural environments. Foley in the gaming industry is quite like that of picture film. Foley is a technique developed by Jack Donovan Foley, which is basically the imitation of sound to later add to a film to be more believable.
Inspiration for the game’s sound track came from the likes of Fire watch (2016) OST and Journey (2012) OST and according to the mood that Project Kowhai went for, was made to feel eerie and tense.
References:
- Cooney, X. Leighton-Anderson, G. Newland, N. Singh, K. Yeoh, M. Young, N. (2017). Project Kowhai. Auckland: AUT University. Unfinished Project.
- Girard, C, Ecalle, J & Magnan, A. (2013). Serious games as new educational tools: How effective are they? A meta-analysis of recent studies. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29, 207–219.
- Chalmers, A & Chalmers, K. (2009). Level of Realism for Serious Games. UK: University of Warwick.
- Hibbard, M. (2015, 18 March 2015). Recording Foley and Sound Effects: The Fundamentals. [Weblog]. Retrieved 28 October 2017, from https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/recording-foley-and-sound-effects-the-fundamentals/
- Baumgartner et al. (2006). The emotional power of music: How music enhances the feeling of affective pictures. Brian Research, 1075(1), 151-164.
- Pitkanen, P. (2013). Creating and Designing Sound Effects for A Mobile Game. Finland: Tampere University of Applied Sciences.
- Campo santo. (2016). Firewatch. : Panic.
- Thatgamecompany. (2012). Journey.: Sony Computer Entertainment.