Portfolio - Projects - Ivory Stone

One Bar Wonder or the Mighty Feeling of Musical Superiority is a multiplayer music game. In this Pack My Suitcase meets Guitar Hero party extravaganza, players compete for points by showcasing their creativity and rhythmical prowess. The prototype was developed for 4-8 players as a semester project at the Cologne Game Lab. Players compete against each other by first recording a bar of music, rating each other’s bars, and then accurately performing all compositions in a Pack My Suitcase order.

My Responsibilities

Piano Roll
Recording
Playback
'Suitcase' Mechanic
Accuracy Scoring
FMOD Integration
Sound Design
Audio Programming

First Steps

I implemented the basics of the piano roll and the recording stage so that the designers could get a feel for the required tempo of the backing track and the length of a recording. The Piano Roll is connected to FMOD via timeline events to stay in sync with the music. I then implemented the gameplay functionality for all the other rhythm stages.

Main Challenges

We struggled with audio latency which affected how accurately we could score a player’s rhythmic performance. Once I was able to reduce the latency, extensive testing followed to make sure I was measuring a player’s input correctly. I used our data to create standard deviation curves for our designers. These helped to set the thresholds for whether a played note was considered a hit or a miss.

Sound Design

All of the UI and other in-game sound assets are made up of various bar-atmosphere related sounds to fit the art direction of our game: cocktail stirring, glass jingles, chairs scraping, etc.

I also created about 40 different instrument packs for the gameplay, each consisting of 3-4 samples that should sound quirky and fit in well with the light-hearted, fun party atmosphere of the game.

Mirrornauts

Status

Prototype

Developed for TH Köln

My Role

All Programming

Music and Sound Design

Scope

Duration: 10 weeks

Teamsize: 2

Tools

Unity

Mirrornauts is a prototype developed on behalf of the TH Köln aimed at STEM students to practise their linear algebra skills. Players use rotation and mirror matrices to navigate an obstacle course through space.

My Responsibilities

First Steps

I built a simple interface for the calculations and the spaceship movement. This served both as proof of concept and as a tool for the designer to familiarise himself with matrix calculations and devise the levels and the corresponding energy costs of the movements.

Main Features

I created a round based Spawner for hazards and collectibles. To differentiate different playthroughs, the starting position of the player and the rotation of all spawned objects are randomised (in 90° steps). I also built a drag-and-drop interface for the movement calculations.

Music & Sound Design

I produced a simple main theme with several arpeggiated synthesizers to create a relaxed spacy atmosphere that can serve as accompaniment for the matrix calculations. Then, I assembled the other sounds to match the visual Sci-Fi spaceship setting of the game and mesh well with the music.

Antura and the Letters

Status

Released

My Role

Voice Recording

Voice Acting

Client

CGL and Video Games Without Borders

Tools

Logic

Antura and the Letters is a free literacy and language game for children developed to aid refugee children mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

🎗️ German Developer Award 2022

My Responsibilities

I was in charge of recording and producing the voice lines for several languages – Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, and German – working with volunteer voice actors, all native speakers of their respective languages. This work included recording, selection of takes and comping, editing, and preparing the assets for implementation adhering to a strict naming convention. For the German language version I was asked to record myself as the voice actor.

Adventurers' Advocate

Status

In Development

My Role

Music Composition and Production

Client

Spoonful Games

Tools

Logic

Adventurers‘ Advocate is a narrative fantasy puzzle game where you play as Featris, a kind-hearted shopkeeper in her 50s. You plan quests for your customers using a magic puzzle board that has you strategically manipulating movable pathways to your advantage, while collecting resources and information on the whereabouts of your estranged daughter. A cozy stay-at-home adventure with plenty of food for thought.

My Responsibilities

For Adventurers‘ Advocate I was tasked to compose a Main Theme and an In-Game EP that was meant to convey the cozy, warm atmosphere of the game. The style for the EP was supposed to be Pop Music – but with Renaissance and Medieval instrumentation. For the Main Theme I could expand on the same instrumentation with more traditional cinematic orchestration to convey a magical, hopeful mood.

Below, you can listen to the different stages of two sample tracks from the first pitch to the final product.

Prey & Promise

Status

Student Project

Prototype

My Role

All Programming

Music and Sound Design

Scope

Duration: 7 weeks

Teamsize: 3

Tools

Unity

Fungus

Prey & Promise is a 2D narrative point-and-click puzzle adventure. Step into the shoes of a down on his luck scam artist seeking to change his fortune, solve intricate puzzles, and explore your ideas of hope and morality.

My Responsibilities

Editor Programming

First, I built the inventory system and the infrastructure to deal with all interactable items. I built a custom editor and wrote a work-sheet to make the designer’s work implementing the different puzzles and items easier,

Dialogue System

We used Fungus to implement the different branching dialogues in the game. I also wrote custom code to integrate the dialogues with the rest of the game logic (i.e. items collected unlock dialogue options, etc.).

Music and Sound Design

We wanted all sounds in the game to have a tangible feel to them, so I assembled and recorded different tactile sounds for the game.

The music needed to reflect the main character’s emotional journey, so I composed a different score for each chapter in our game. They are variations of the same theme, but because of different arrangements they convey different emotional stages.

YETI

Status

In Production

My Role

Sound Design

Scope

MA Project

Tools

Logic

YETI is a stop motion animated short film which is currently in production.

My Responsibilities

YETI is a student project from Master students at the Cologne Game Lab. I was asked to provide the Sound Design for their stop motion Yeti character. This project is still in development and currently being cut and edited.

Bevoiced

Status

Student Project

Prototype

My Role

Gameplay and Audio Programming

Music and Sound Design

Scope

Duration: 7 weeks

Teamsize: 5

Tools

Unity

Bevoiced is a 2.5D level-based puzzle-platformer in which the player uses their voice to change the environment. The pitch of the voice input is the core mechanic of the ludic gameplay.

My Responsibilities

Voice Input Mechanic

I used my experience and knowledge as a trained singer to help us construct the pitch-based obstacles. By singing and moving their voice up and down, the player alters the position of an obstacle accordingly. I remapped the spectrum data to more accurately reflect the range of the human voice. One thing we struggled with was how overtones occasionally messed with the movement, so we built in a round off for higher frequencies.

Contact

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