Project Number: RL1-P009 Blinding Silence A Sound-Based Puzzle Game Interactive Media and Game Development A Major Qualifying Project Report submitted to the faculty of WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science by Ryan Bedell Elliot Borenstein Drew Hickcox Lukas Wong-Achorn Advised by Professor Jennifer deWinter Professor Robert W. Lindeman Abstract for the development of Blinding Silence: A Sound Based Puzzle Game By Ryan Bedell, Elliot Borenstein, Drew Hickcox, Lukas Wong-Achorn This is an Interactive Media and Game Development Major Qualifying Project report, focusing on the state and development of a video game based on Terathon’s C4 Engine. The game, titled Blinding Silence, is a single player game with a unique sound-based visual aesthetic and Wiimote-based control scheme. This document discusses the state, development, and original design of the game Blinding Silence. Blinding Silence has a unique control scheme that uses two Wiimotes and an infrared LED headset for in- game navigation. The game also has a unique visual design where every noise makes a burst of light, allowing players to “see” sound. Through these the player solves physical puzzles. The player controls a blind man with a mysterious staff he uses as a cane. The world has been taken over by darkness, with people endlessly repeating the same task forever. The man discovers he can influence people with sound and begins uncovering the chain of events that led to the catastrophe. Blinding Silence has a visual style indentified by its sound-based lighting. Models are viewed in silhouette, which removes the importance of textures and increases the importance of models. Humans in Blinding Silence have exaggerated physical characteristics to compensate for this. ii Acknowledgements Team Uncertainty would like to thank our advisors Professors deWinter and Lindeman for being critical when we really needed it. We would also like to thank Joshua Luther and Andrew Tremblay for volunteering as talent for motion capture and animatic purposes. We would like to thank all our testers, especially Andrew Tremblay, Morgan Quirk, and Adam Pastorello who lent their likenesses to our presentation. A special thanks is extended to Graham Pentheny, whose ideas early on in the design phase were influential in the eventual design of Blinding Silence. Finally we thank Team Blackfire (Joe Alea, Garret Doe, Sarah Gilkey, Chris Williams, and Francis Williams), for developing alongside us for all four terms and for being supportive throughout our friendly rivalry. iii Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. vii 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Descriptions ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Audience ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Location .............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.4 Controls ............................................................................................................................................... 1 1.5 Innovation ........................................................................................................................................... 1 2 Game Design .............................................................................................................................................. 2 2.1 Story .................................................................................................................................................... 2 2.1.1 Game story ................................................................................................................................... 2 2.1.2 In-game story elements ................................................................................................................ 2 2.2 Gameplay ............................................................................................................................................ 3 2.2.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2.2 Interface ....................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2.3 Sounds .......................................................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Level components ............................................................................................................................... 6 2.3.1 Actors ........................................................................................................................................... 7 2.3.2 Objects ....................................................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Levels ................................................................................................................................................ 12 3. Artistic Design ........................................................................................................................................ 13 3.1 Visual Style ....................................................................................................................................... 13 3.1.1 Technical Implementation of Sonar Vision ............................................................................... 15 3.2 Level Design ..................................................................................................................................... 22 3.2.1 Layout ........................................................................................................................................ 22 3.2.2 Resources ................................................................................................................................... 23 3.2.3 Structures ................................................................................................................................... 24 3.2.4 Crystals ...................................................................................................................................... 24 3.2.5 Force Fields ................................................................................................................................ 25 3.2.6 Switches ..................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3 Character Design ............................................................................................................................... 26 3.3.1 Harvester .................................................................................................................................... 27 3.3.2 Craftsman ................................................................................................................................... 27 iv 3.3.3 Operator ..................................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.4 Carrier ........................................................................................................................................ 29 3.4 Animation ......................................................................................................................................... 29 3.4.1 Stock animation ......................................................................................................................... 29 3.4.2 Studio Setup ............................................................................................................................... 30 3.4.3 Capture and Cleanup .................................................................................................................. 30 3.4.4 Integration .................................................................................................................................. 30 3.5 Storytelling and Instructions ............................................................................................................. 30 3.5.1 Animatics ................................................................................................................................... 31 3.5.2 Stills ..........................................................................................................................................