Remembering is back! Three years ago we created a small game that got people pretty excited. We put it online for free, received a lot of lovely comments and even won an award. And that was the end if it. Or so we thought. Because it never let go. It was clear that Remembering had a lot more to tell and that we were not done yet.
The advent of VR was the tipping point for us. The ability of VR to completely isolate you from the real world, and place you in virtual one, was exactly what we had always envisioned for a game that is about using your senses in a different way. We decided to join forces again to create a new Remembering for VR.
The new Remembering, just like its predecessor, tells a story through sound, music and abstract shapes. It is a slow, poetic journey about the beauty of conception and the trauma of being born. During this almost lucid dream-like experience, you have limited control, and your gaze controls what you hear.
Most virtual reality is about looking. Remembering is about listening. By building a world based on sound instead of visuals we have created a place that relies on association rather than observation.
Part experiment, part art project, with Remembering we are researching the physical connotations and impact of sound in VR, an area in games that hasn’t been much explored yet.
In an effort to bring people in a more open receptive physical state, the game can be played lying down. This open, more vulnerable body posture helps the experience a become even more dreamlike. The connection between embodiment and sound in VR has been our main focus. Embodiment, or the sense of physically being somewhere, can be heavily influenced by sound. By connecting associative sounds to various forms of physical impact, we explore how sound can play a bigger role in the sense of being ‘here’.
Since this was an experimental project, we have a lot to share about the process of building this VR game and developing the audio. We will update the blog with our insights and keep you updated!
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The first prototype of Remembering (2013) can be downloaded here:
Windows / Mac
~Monobanda