Game audio, Sound Design and some more programming

Currently getting some work done for three awesome games. They differ widely from one  another though they’re all very great.

- Phenomenom – The first game is a physical game where one can walk around in a room with binaural audio on his head which adjusts to the players position and view angle. I am making the real time binaural processing engine which calculates how a sound should sound and where in the room the player should hear it. It’s very interesting and also quite complicated and tricky. The whole game could function solely on audio, though the team puts great effort in decorating the room and adding extra effects using motors and what not. Should any questions arise about the used tracking or binaural processing techniques I’d be happy to answer them.

- Hank vs. Hector – The second game is quite the contrary to the first one, as it is a one button game where you only control the altitude of a flying mouse. The theme is very cartoony and fun, whereas the audio completes the picture, making it a hilarious game to play or watch.

- Biobots - The third game also has quite an interesting touch to it. The game is built for people with ADD and ADHD to train their focus/attention. The player has a Mindwave sensor on their head, which is a brainwave measurement device. We use it to see how much attention the player has got. In the game the player has to have a certain level of attention to be able to perform certain actions. With lower attention the game gets harder. It’s a 3D game with a organic steampunk style to it, which makes it a lot of fun to design the audio for it together in an audio team. I also played a few instruments for the adaptive music layer.

Making an online Sound Effects Library

Using Freesound.org I am making my own SFX library. It’s slowly growing to be a very versatile collection of sounds, there are a lot of percussive metal sounds, vocal screams and cries, breaking glass and a whole lot more to be downloaded for free and used under my attribution. Have a look, or a listen. :-)  http://freesound.org/people/jorickhoofd/

Recording Breaking Glasses

Prize won for composition for organ!

I’m very happy to share with you that the jury and also the audience voted for me to win both prizes in the composition competition in Museum Speelklok last week. I won a passe-partout to the Gaudeamus Feestweek where at the opening my last composition, Gypsy Travel, will be played on the fairground organ De Schuyt. I also won the privilege to compose another piece for another organ for 500 euros. Thanks to all my friends for their support!
Image

Game- & interactive Audio-design.

I’m currently working on an audio-game for people with bad or no vision, together with Gijs Driesenaar. Using an iPhone and some rather unorthodox but interesting methods in Max 6 to create a sound environment which adapts to the players choices and actions. We will be working with some binaural techniques to recreate a functional spatial hearing feedback system so the player will be able to steer appropriately and play the game.

Scanning Pollock’s Summertime

Video

Making music with a painting.
Scrolling through some musical material in Jackson Pollock’s painting: Summertime.
Max/MSP’s Jitter scans the colors in the painting and makes several instruments play.

One of the two reverbs used is actually not the reverb of an acoustic room, in fact it’s the reverb from an string-instrument called Santoor. it gives a beautiful long, tonal reverb.