Devupdates/Archive/15

DevUpdate #15: Feedback on sound design demo of WalkScape

Posted: March 14, 2024

Summary: Year summary

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Hello! Yet another development post in such a short time frame!

We've been in contact with a UK based sound & music design company, PitStop Productions who offered to make a demo on how WalkScape would feel with some sounds and music.

I would love to hear some feedback from you all on how you feel about the sound and music they demoed here.

Some personal notes from me about this:

• The game would on first open ask if you want sound and music on, similarly to how it asks for pedometer access. This way it doesn't start with sounds blasting your ears off.
• Volume sliders for different types of sounds would be provided.
• To avoid situations where the sounds start blasting when you don't want them to, I think when you open the game (and have sounds +music enabled) it starts with the sounds at 0 volume, slowly fading them to your preferred volume level. This gives you time to mute sounds while in a place where you don't want to ha e sounds.
• I asked for sound design that's ambient and cozy, which I personally think they achieved quite well even in this first demo draft. I don't want the typical mobile gacha game sound design. I do think the UI sounds (pressing randomize, opening the cards/menus in the game) are too heavy at the moment, and already gave them this feedback.
• UI sounds are an accessibility feature to have audible UI feedback, this has been asked from me by players who have problems with vision, so for that reason alone I consider them necessary.
• Current gameplay doesn't need sounds as much, but especially with combat system in the future, I think they would be really neat.
• Music would be designed in a way where each of the in-game realms have a few music tracks that'll olay there. This would be really cool I think, and adds a lot to feel like you've entered a different place. Like when going from Jarvonia to GDTE for the first time and hearing the background music change.
• Cost for having music and sounds is pretty steep for us at the moment, but when talking with this company they would be OK by designing the sounds and music in multiple smaller packs. So the cost would be the same, but divided into contracting the work in smaller bits, which would work for us.

Write your feedback and thoughts below!