LudumData

Soundsearcher by nicross

[raw]
made by nicross for Ludum Dare 45 (COMPO)

A minimalist auditory exploration game. This game is designed for playing with your eyes closed. Headphones are strongly recommended. Click here to play.

screenshot

Controls

The user interface provides controls for forward and backward movement and turning left and right: - Mouse: Hover over the edges of the screen - Touch: Tap and hold the edges of the screen

Keyboard controls allow play with one or both hands: - WASD for movement - QE or arrow keys for orientation

Gamepad support is provided for controllers with one or two analog sticks

Objective

You start with nothing. The world is filled with harmless creatures and sounds. And things to pick up: - Footsteps - Compass - Three synthesizers that change pitch as you explore

Each play is randomized. Reload to start over.

Technical information

  • Vanilla JavaScript
  • No base code, external libraries, or tools
  • All sounds synthesized via Web Audio API

Engine features

  • Procedurally generated world
  • 2d spatial audio system
  • Movement physics

Changelog

These issues were addressed after submission: - Added sounds to start area so players can check their volume - Balanced volume levels - Improved browser compatibility and mobile-friendliness - Fixed creatures effects - Fixed distances between pickups

These changes were merged after voting ended: - Updated control scheme, including basic gamepad support - Improved compass and collectibles - More ambient sounds - Improved starting area - Object culling (a performance optimization for folks who travel far) - Increased ambient spawn count - Gradually increase spawning from starting point - Collectible reward after returning home with all other collectibles - Various codebase improvements

Youtube https://github.com/nicross/soundsearcher
Youtube https://nicross.github.io/soundsearcher/
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/45/soundsearcher

Ratings

Overall 289th 3.31⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 440th 2.667⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 30th 4.095⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 272th 3.333⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 477th 2.147⭐ 19🧑‍⚖️
Audio 75th 3.625⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 262th 3.119⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 26🗳️ 3🗨️

Feedback

CoOz
06. Oct 2019 · 22:08 UTC
Hi, i don't hear the sounds. do i need to do something? (Chrome:Version 77.0.3865.90 (Build officiel) (64 bits))
🎤 nicross
06. Oct 2019 · 22:37 UTC
Hi @cooz! Just added a note that players need to move forward for the first thing to spawn. I'm also taking a second look at the levels because I'm using an atypical audio setup (considering this a bug). In the meantime, please let me know if you spot any errors in your console. Enjoy!

EDIT: I upped a few sounds and added a few in the starting area so players can check their levels.
CoOz
06. Oct 2019 · 23:04 UTC
@nicross i played closed eyes as suggested. it was working now! headphones and no light in my room, it was stuning. A good spatial engine to start something more like an adventure videogame maybe. Nice job!
(no message in the console except the "The AudioContext was not allowed to start" before starting the journey)
:water_polo:
FinalForeach
07. Oct 2019 · 05:44 UTC
Very unique and fitting to the theme. That said, when trying to pinpoint some sound, it can be difficult to know whether to move up or down. Also oddly realistic buzzing insects.:bee:
congusbongus
07. Oct 2019 · 05:47 UTC
This is a very interesting idea, navigating using sound only. It's a shame there's no game here and there's nothing to do except explore!
🎤 nicross
07. Oct 2019 · 06:11 UTC
@finalforeach Agreed. That could be fixed. With more time I'd add a slight dampening effect (volume and lowpass filter) to everything behind you.
🎤 nicross
07. Oct 2019 · 06:26 UTC
@congusbongus Totally! Originally I had more elaborate plans for the pickups and possibly a main quest. Time constraints led me toward refining the walking simulator aspects of the experience.
ick
07. Oct 2019 · 08:43 UTC
cool little game. I think it would be awesome if you had to "run away" from certain sounds, or run towards them, in order to win or lose.
Ace17
07. Oct 2019 · 21:13 UTC
This is a great idea.

I had to dig in the source code to figure out that the left/right keys were changing the player's orientation (instead of moving it left or right). But then, playing this was a calm and relaxing experience, I'd be glad to play a more quest-oriented version!
adamk33n3r
07. Oct 2019 · 23:14 UTC
Interesting concept. Spatial audio is a cool mechanic and it was definitely chill
dfva
07. Oct 2019 · 23:20 UTC
I love this style of game. There are only a few games which are based on your hearing. Really great game!
chawls_v
08. Oct 2019 · 05:13 UTC
Woah, this is a very cool concept! Really loved the minimalist art style and I think there is something here in this game. It also seems especially cool that an exploration game like this would be great for the visually impaired. Great work!
SharkWithLasers
08. Oct 2019 · 05:38 UTC
Awesome idea! I felt like I was on a beach, then eventually under a waterfall! It's cool how audio can influence your imagination like that.

It was easier for me to find locate the footsteps item using the "edge of screen" mouse method instead of WASD. And I think it's because of what @ace17 mentioned. It's more natural for me to have WASD move you in world space, regardless of the player orientation (instead of having AD change your orientation and then WS go forward and back).

Thanks for the game! Congrats!
🎤 nicross
08. Oct 2019 · 05:55 UTC
@sharkwithlasers @ace17 Thanks for playing! I play a few FPS games so I understand the critique. My intention was to keep the controls as simple as possible for accessibility and UI reasons. They definitely feel more tank-like here. Possibly the keyboard controls could add Q and E or use the arrow keys for strafing in a later build?
dqmhose
08. Oct 2019 · 10:45 UTC
Very fun and interesting idea. Very experimental. I'd love to have this implemented in some kind of game. However, I was not able to locate a single sound, even after multiple tries. Sometimes I got different sounds but wherever I moved, it didn't seem to do anything (Firefox, newest version). I couldn't really find a pattern/connection between the sounds and the input.. but it might just be that my hearing sucks and I never noticed.
Hcursino
08. Oct 2019 · 11:54 UTC
Amazing sounds design. Good job.
🎤 nicross
08. Oct 2019 · 17:51 UTC
@dqmhose Can confirm that something off is happening in Firefox. Definitely a different experience and not intended. May be able to investigate and fix but I fear it may require a rewrite. My apologies.
🎤 nicross
08. Oct 2019 · 22:17 UTC
@dqmhose Found the issue with Firefox. It's alive!

I was in such a rush that I never used strict mode in any of my files. Added it and the error was immediately revealed: a missing comma between variable declarations. 🤦
niterich
10. Oct 2019 · 19:04 UTC
Very interesting concept, but I hope my version was bugged, since about 95% of my time was spent in complete silence, broken up only by the occasional buzzing (I tried on both Chrome and Firefox). I would have assumed there would be some constant loud noise I had to follow or some footsteps to indicate I was moving forward but, as I said, I got nothing.

And I also agree that WASD should be for ground movement only. For changing direction, I don't think mouse controls would work here, so I'd prefer using the arrow keys over Q and E to turn, though others may disagree with me.
cassowary
10. Oct 2019 · 20:41 UTC
Very cool and relaxing! It was nice just to spend time walking around in the little world. I liked the different generated sounds as well.

My one issue with it is that I think it would be nice if the sounds had a bit more "volume" in space. When you walk past a sound that you're very close to, the fact that it's a point source (I think?) makes it suddenly jump to one ear and then back, since you're very slightly to the right of it, or something. It's a bit jarring. I also just think it would be fun to be able to stand in the middle of a sound and let it wash over you. :)

Overall, I really think this is a cool idea and very innovative. I really enjoyed it.
🎤 nicross
11. Oct 2019 · 06:06 UTC
@niterich Thanks for playing. I'm sorry that your experience was empty or buggy. It could be an implementation issue or possibly a RNG fail. In my `post-compo` version I've increased the spawn count and added more variety, so watch this space.

I am definitely thinking more about the controls, so your feedback is great. Right now my preference is a single-hand and dual-hand setup with the arrow keys and Q and E for controlling orientation. I don't think mobile users would miss much without strafing so the UI probably won't change.
🎤 nicross
11. Oct 2019 · 06:11 UTC
@cassowary You're correct that the sounds are point sources. Especially for the wind and waterfall sounds, it would make sense for them to fill more space. Based on your feedback, I'm currently adding that to my `post-compo` version for select sounds. Thanks for playing!