Treasure Hunt

An Interactive Game Based on Space and Sound

By Nikki Rademaker, and Yanna Smid

Overview

Treasure Hunt is an interactive sound-based game made for the Sound, Space, and Interaction course. The assignment goal was to create an interactive sound environment where the system and the user both react and develop unpredictably based on designed rules. It was not allowed to use screens.

Together with Yanna Smid, I created a game where players move around a physical room/space, using only sound to find hidden treasure. They have to avoid zombies and beat the clock. The goal was to make players rely completely on their hearing instead of their sight.

Gameplay

Players hold a Vive tracker and walk through the room. A beeping sound guides them closer to the treasure. Growling sounds warn them if they are too close to a zombie. If players find the treasure before the timer runs out, they win. If they get caught or run out of time, they lose. Each round randomizes the treasure, zombies, and time limit.

The game contains the following features:

• Beeping frequency, which increases when players get closer to the treasure.
• Zombie growls, which get louder when players are near a zombie.
• Randomized treasure and zombie locations, and random time limits.
• Four speakers that create a 3D sound field in the room.
• Obstacles placed in the room to increase difficulty.

Process

The following steps were completed to create this project:

• Concept Development: we decided early to create a game that uses sound for navigation.
• Setup: two Vive base stations and four speakers were installed. Unity and PureData were linked.
• Implementation: a PureData patch was built to create all sounds. This includes treasure beeping, zombie growls, ticking timer, and win/lose sounds.
• Finetuning: we adjusted frequencies and sound volumes after multiple user tests.
• Testing: classmates and friends tested the game. Players often wanted to replay after losing. They got competitive with other players.

Technical Development

We used hardware, Unity and PlugData, (a Pure Data variant) to develop this game. Below are the key technical development steps we had to take.

• An HTC Vive tracker was used to track player movement in the room.
• Unity would real-time player coordinates to PureData using Open Sound Control.
• PureData synthesized sounds based on the player's position.
• All four speakers play the sounds simultaneously to fill the space.

The End Result

The Treasure Hunt game showed how sound can replace vision for interactive gameplay. Connecting Unity and PureData was easier than expected, and the HTC Vive set worked reliably. The randomization and sound scaling made each game round different. Players found the game fun but challenging, and many wanted to play again. Typically, the game used to be played in the dark to add to the aesthetic.

An example of a player testing out our game can be seen here:

More details about the project can be found in our report. Here you will also find the references to the sound files we used.