Creating the Adaptive Audio Design


Russian Squares: How the Game Plays

Russian Squares is a fast-paced puzzle game that grows with intensity. The object is to eliminate rows of blocks by matching colors or shapes faster than the clock. Each level starts with a square made up of rows of blocks. The player controls an active square with a mouse or arrow keys. The active block can move around the perimeter of the square or push into the square, causing the square directly across from it to pop out and become the new active square. The first level's square starts with blocks set up six by six. If time runs out before the player matches a row, the game adds a row to the square. As the player eliminates rows, the square decreases in size (six by five, five by five, five by four, etc.) until the square disappears. This constitutes the completion of the first level. Each subsequent level begins with a larger square with more rows to eliminate against a faster clock.

There is another obstacle thrown in as the game progresses. Blockers are blocks within the square that cannot be moved. Blockers appear in the square for a few seconds, get in the way of the player's actions, and then disappear or switch to another location in the square. They definitely add a challenge and twist to the game.

There are nine levels in Russian Squares. A new game starts you on level three; this is because there is the potential for the player to move back a few levels! The progression of levels plays an important part in how I created the music and integrated it into the game.

Aural and Visual Themes

There are three visual themes for Russian Squares: Neon, Candy, and Shapes. The gameplay is identical in each, except that with Shapes the player matches block shapes instead of color. Each theme has a distinct aesthetic. Neon has a glowing green, high-tech feel. Candy has a light-hearted, silver look. Shapes portrays a darker red tone. My team wrote three pieces of adaptive music that correlate with each visual theme. Spin Cycle sounds edgy and techy to compliment Neon, Bubble Matter floats on light synthesizer pads over drum and bass riffs for Candy, and the down-tempo groove of Gravity Ride matches the darkness of its visual counterpart, Shapes.




DirectX 9 Audio Exposed(c) Interactive Audio Development
DirectX 9 Audio Exposed: Interactive Audio Development
ISBN: 1556222882
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 170

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