A lot of my devlog posts have been about my own personal journey creating my first fully-fledged adventure game. For this post, instead of pouring out my latest insecurities or opinions, I wanted to showcase some of the cool things that you’ll be able to experience in the new (shorter) demo.
Although you can justifiably compare the playing of adventure games with the reading of books, unlike books they are a multi-sensory experience, so music and sound effects are integral to the atmosphere and feeling of immersion that players want, and expect.
The demo has a few short loops of music which help to strike the right mood in the sequences that appear immediately before the game and after completion, as well as in the main menu UI. These were purchased from PlayOnLoop.com, a music and sound effect library created by Italian composer Filippo Vicarelli. There are a wide variety of themes and moods to choose from and a whole library of retro/chiptune compositions which work with the retro 90s style of Lucy Dreaming perfectly. He even offers free, short loops to use in your game as long as you attribute him accordingly.
In addition to this, I also commissioned fellow pixel artist and UK-based composer Nicole Marie T (@MusicVSArtStuff) to create an original track to use as “Lucy’s theme” which plays whilst Lucy is navigating around her home. I wanted a low-level, jazzy piece with a retro MIDI feel to it which gets across the relaxed but quirky atmosphere of Lucy’s home, and Nicole absolutely nailed it.
Listen to Lucy’s theme
As well as music, I’ve also been paying a bit more attention to the background sound effects which help to bring each scene to life. From ambient sounds like a washing machine slowly chugging away in the background to the exhilarating “ca-chunk” of a door closing in a satisfactory manner, it all helps with a player’s sense of immersion when playing a game and can’t be over-stated.
Next time it’ll all be about press releases and Kickstarter, so brace yourself!
Tom x