Hi Everybody, I am working (solo for the time being) on an audio-only game. Project in preliminary stage. I am looking for hobby partner(s), possibly someone with 3d audio design skills. I am an experienced programmer (but have no experience with games). Please, DM me for more details. Cheers,
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This sounds like a pretty awesome project. I’m heavy into AudioBooks and play interactive audio games with Google AI. Unfortunately I don’t have 3d audio design experience 
I sure would like to know about this game.
Hi TL, glad that the audiogame genre sparks your interest. The game I am thinking about would be a hybrid between a text-adventure and a radio-drama. In particular, I’d use positional audio in UE5 to make the ambience immersive. There’s a lot of work to be done: a command parser (integrating Inform7 could be an option, do you know it?), a movement/footsteps system, a dialogue system, a time of day/weather system, a poor man’s version of VR based on the phone gyro, obviously, test and select an auralisation library, … Or on the creative side: authoring the story, designing the audio environments, designing puzzles… Plus any other idea you may have. How would you like to contribute? Cheers,
Hi @dvsdata, I’m currently obligated to several 3D projects, thus can only offer ideas at the moment. You already have a Implementation Plan. In the marketplace, there are free versions of a movement/footsteps system, a dialogue system, a time of day/weather system.
Implementing a Text Logging method that generate formatted strings parsed for Audio events (thats how I was going to implement a 3D Game to Text/Audio Game Conversion) should not be extremely complicated.
A poor man’s version of VR based on the phone gyro?
Does VR mean Virtual Reality or Voice Recognition. I would expect it to mean the latter, considering its an audio game.
Hi TL, thank you for the pointers. I’ll try and use as many components available through the marketplace as possible. In my last message, VR meant (audio) Virtual Reality, but a very rudimental one where the player can change the orientation of the character in-game. Cheers,
Navigation can be a challenge in audio games. I have a hard time remembering where I’m located in my Mind’s Eye. Does the player has to use motioncontrollers/hmd to move about like VR? The game could benefit from Voice Recognition.
Maybe I should foresee a “where am I?” command, and other similar mechanisms to recap where the player stands. In any case, locations are discreet: in the prison cell, or in the armoury, or…
A very limited VR support could enable the player to simulate head movements and assess sound direction.
VR Motion sounds cool, but, not sure how it translates to audio only. Will there be an option to play without VR Motion? I’ve played with my Google Home Audio Games anywhere in house as long as my voice can reach it. This allows me to do choirs and move around freely without directing my focus on the game hardware. Sometimes I play them while laying in bed. That’s one of the advantages of Audio Only.
Actually, I had in mind something very crude based on the gyro on mobile platforms (so not available when playing on pc): the player wiggles the phone (only say ±75deg in yaw, and even less in pitch) and the main character turns his head accordingly in-game. Maybe it should be only active while pressing the wiggle button on screen.
I am not sure the player would be really able to use this feature, it needs some experimentation…
I given VR more consideration. I can now see the potential of VR Support for Audio Only and I know it’s definitely worth experimenting with and implementing. In fact, I would go with full VR Support HMD & Motion Controllers. The more ways to play an Audio Only Game the more replay and inspiration for others.
https://www.graphicaudio.net/ productions theatrical Audio Books with 3D Music, Sound FX, and Amazing Voice Actors. Absolutely Amazing. I can only imagine how far such experiences can be pushed if interactive. Heres a sample https://s3.amazonaws.com/graphicaudiosamples/GraphicAudioSampler2020.mp3
Yes, audio VR is important to simulate the way we use our ears, that is, we move our head (it’s mostly done unconsciously) to understand better sound directionality.
And yes, audio-only entertainment is very niche, but it has its fans, and maybe a potential to grow. Maybe you know this already… Usually these products are labelled as for visually impaired people, and they are, but they are also a genre of their own, which is closely related to text-adventures, radio-drama, and written literature (all no-visuals media). Cheers,
This is very nice. I’m curious as to how the Player input works. I do understand going for niche, but, there is a whole market for those who enjoy interactive/non-interactive audio.
I’ve started designing Audio-based Game implementation on paper months back. My approach is to design the Game in full 3D using a Glorified Logging System to output Actions/Events in a text-based markup language that triggers 3D Audio Cues, Vocals, Music. 
If you look it up in youtube, there must be a playthrough of the game that starts with an in-game tutorial. Basically, it uses normal game controls to move and combat, but being the protagonist a blind person, you need to use audio cues to be effective. For example, in the combat system you have enemies that circle around you, and randomly attack. You use noise directionality to counter the attack in the right direction. In the game I have in mind, instead, commands are only given as natural language text (like in text-adventures) so that there cannot be live action like in that game.
Yes, I also sense commercial opportunities, although, I am no business person. It is a crossing-point of different entertainment genres that may be quite different among themselves (eg, video-games, written narrative, radio-dramas, audible books, …) If you find the perfect balance among the various ingredients coming from those different worlds, you may well hit a best seller. But there are also chances that the recipe is too weird, and ends by repelling each and every buyer from all of those sectors…
I am not sure I understand what a glorified logging system is, but from your descriptions, I think there are similarities in what you’re trying to achieve, and my plan. If you would like to join forces, as said, I am interested in dev.t p’ships on a hobby basis. Hobby I say, but It is my intention to shape the activity so that it aims at a concept demo. Depending on how the demo pans out, I would then consider a professional follow-up. Cheers,
I am interested. But, my plate full at the moment. A Logger sends real-time text-based data to a file for humans to read. Often used for diagnostics and Statistics. I’m using the same method, to translate Events/Actions/Orientation in 3D into Audio Expression in real-time.
But, my plate full at the moment.
Darn it! Ok, fair enough! Our exchange of ideas has been useful anyway!
A Logger sends real-time text-based data to a file…
Ok, a generic logger, I didn’t get the meaning of glorified, I thought it was a reference to a specific library.
Its a Glorified Logger because it outputs a Markup Language. The inspiration for the idea was to compliment my 3D Text-based RPG with an Audio Only method of gameplay. But it can be used for any game.
Ha, iI did not know about a GL. In my prototypes I have developed something similar that emits HTML(ish). It is not a real logger as it does not cache or do any type of memory mapped IO. Maybe I’ll have to consider these features as the game grows. Here’s a screen capture of it (Unity). I have introduced a typewriter effect to synch it with audio. I would not be surprised you had gone down the same lane. Cheers,
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You have a very cool Text-based Game there. Its way more elaborate than anything I’ve done with Text thus far. I took a stab at writing my on choose your own adventure: D. RIFTERs written with ChoiceScript by ChoiceOfGames.com. However, I wanted to develop my own CYOA Scripting Engine to support more features as I developed a couple of different scripting engines in the past. But I was stop in my tracks after discovering UE3. I’ve been working with UE ever since.
You have a very cool Text-based Game there. Its way more elaborate than anything I’ve done with Text thus far.
Thank you sir, but It’s just a listbox!
I am also tempted to move to UE as it has more readily available features than Unity, but I hesitate, because it would be yet another restart. For instance, I have prototyped my command parser based on regex, and redoing it in CPP would not be a minor business. Same for that GUI, and so on… Then, speaking of scripting languages, under many respect, C# is more flexible than CPP (I say it after more than a decade of professional use of CPP). I’ll have to make up my mind though, lest I become paralysed by indecision!
Consolidation would simplify your life. You may also find reuse of the code base will save time. You mentioned writing a Parser for the Audio game.