A tranquil breathing experience accompanied by soothing instrumentals
My project is an environmental-exploration video game which explores adaptive music within a femininity theme. A large part of this project was learning music composition techniques that could be incorporated into a video game. The game consists of two areas each portraying a different season through a feminine lens.
For my project, ‘Qi’, I explored dynamic and non-linear music because of its influential importance within video games. As the player should not immediately notice the change – but, instead, emotionally feel the change within gameplay. This capstone only served as a ‘teaser’ as the game in its final form will be an open space of 4 different areas to represent a specific season (summer, autumn, winter, spring). The areas display femininity as one with nature and are visually similar to going to the park in various seasons. There is adaptive audio to complement each season that changes once you switch seasons. The music is mainly classical instruments, as I already have a piano background, I used this knowledge to help with the composition of each musical area.
I used ‘Bisgaard’s model’ as a foundation template for my music composing, although keeping the music un-finished to help create a seamless loop that blends everything together.
As there are multiple open-world games with adaptive music; I wanted to alter my project by giving it my take of femininity, by subtly visualizing ‘Vivaldi’s Four Seasons’. To emphasize the ‘gentle’ nature - I added a breathing cycle mechanic - which not only physically calms nerves but also links to the nature element of wind and air. There are particles to trigger a breathing cycle, displayed on the screen, and the music will adapt to a new section of the piece after each breath. Completing each breath adds another layer to the musical soundscape and helps guide the player to the next area. As the world is all on one island, the player can see the other seasons through the trees, giving the player a peek at the next area to explore. The purpose of this project was to make a tranquil simulation that lets the player get lost in the world and take a breath of fresh air, almost like a meditative break from our busy lives.
