Description:

Resonance is a platforming game built in Unity for Global Game Jam 2017. The theme for that year was “Waves”, and with that concept in mind, we explored the idea of using sound as a game mechanic. The core gameplay is matching the resonant frequencies of glass enemies to proceed. The player can change their character’s frequency with the ‘a’, ‘s’, ‘d’, & ‘f’ keys. An enemy is defeated when the players frequency is in harmony with their own, causing them to shatter. Movement speed is affected by the frequency as well, which adds some additional platforming challenges. Some jumps can only be made at the highest frequency.

We realized near the end of development that in a way, the player is composing the soundtrack as they play, which isn’t a feature we intended, but it is a great example of a feature emerging from gameplay that adds to the experiences.

My Role:

• Player Controller and Movement System
• Frequency Changing and Matching System
• Miscellaneous Obstacle Design
• Sound Design

What I Would Change:

• Enemies don’t really fight back, so it feels kind of bad to kill them for doing nothing other than being in the way. If I could go back, I would have devoted time to creating enemy AI.
• I wanted to create a type of enemy that is paired with another enemy, and the only way to defeat them is to complete a major chord with them to cause them both to shatter. I think this would add potential for much more challenging puzzles than we shipped with.