Developing the Sound of Kisetsu

A Developer’s Adventure into Music and Sound Every game has a unique sound, which helps flesh out and develop the world of the game. These soundscapes are born from a few core ideas, or audio pillars. Then, using those ideas, developers can compose sound effects and music that embody those audio pillars. First, before any composing and implementation, I needed to brainstorm ideas for the soundscape of the game. I first thought of the emotions and feelings we wanted the player to have: restoration, exploration, and relaxation.

Above is an early draft of the structure of the song for the game,with each color being a different element of the song such as melody or cords. Next, we chose a tool for implementation: built in audio sources in Unity FMOD, which allows more control over when and how sounds play. For example, we can use the code to change the sound of footsteps based on where and what the player is walking on; or, have certain sections of songs, such as the melody, play when entering a specific area or encountering a trigger.

Above is an example of FMOD audio emitter in the Unity engine

Above is an FMOD audio object in the Fall level that is a 3D sound object

We started development with placeholder sound effects and music, including a few melodies I composed using a DAW(digital audio workshop). Now, we look forward to working with students from Berklee College of Music in Boston. They will develop original music and sound effects to complete the world of Kisetsu.

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Author: Rory Tisdel