Sono (2020)
Sono is a 2D exploration puzzle game built in Unity, centered around restoring a lost soundscape. Explore an abstract microcosm as Sono, a creature looking for lost fragments of sound. As the game progresses, the world’s sound reconstructs itself, adding ambience and wonder.Sono was originally built to be played using MIDI-inputs from a turntable controller, but it is out now on Steam!
My role:
Gameplay programming across multiple systemsAudio systems design and implementationLevel design tooling
Core Features
Custom Dynamic Audio System
The central system I built was a dynamic audio layering system that controlled how the game’s ambience evolved as players progress.
Audio was modelled using a DJ-turntable inspired crossfade system:
Each area of the map was tied to a track.
Each track was made of a number of layers corresponding to the sound fragments found in that area.
Each layer was faded-in based on gameplay state.
Tracks would crossfade when moving between regions of the map.
This allowed the sound of the world to become richer as the game progressed.
Tooling, Level Design Support and General Contributions
To support game creation, I built several internal tools for our designers:
A spline drawing tool using Bézier curves.
Several prototype features for levels (like the bubbles in Level 3) that were later redone by the tech art team.
Various gameplay features (angle-filtered collision detection, for example).
