Gearing Up for Playtest Day: Haptic Waves in Full Swing
The countdown is on for Saturday’s highly anticipated playtest day, and the Haptic Waves team has been in full preparation mode all week. With two immersive experiences in development, our goal is to test both: our Navigation Through Sound VR experience and our Passive Immersive Nature Haptic experience.
Stripping VR Back to the Basics
For the VR experience, we followed our consultant’s advice and brought the level design back to basics. Instead of focusing on complex visuals, we simplified the environment using basic shapes. This shift allows us to zero in on the raw interaction between user and sound—exploring how people perceive and navigate spaces using audio alone. It’s a fascinating way to deepen our understanding of sensory-driven gameplay and refine the design with quick, focused iterations.
Immersive Nature Gets a Sound Upgrade
Our Passive Immersive Nature scene also got a major boost this week. We transitioned to a new mixing board and began setting up Benjamin’s evolving soundscape with our upgraded speaker system. The goal here is to create a rich, ambient environment that can be passively experienced through touch and sound, offering a unique and relaxing multisensory moment.
Underwater/Echolocation: A Medium for Understanding
The Underwater/Echolocation project continues to evolve into a powerful tool for the ETC team. It’s helping us explore how users navigate environments using only sound versus a combination of sound and visuals. This research will directly inform better game design, as we work on fast iteration techniques for building and refining levels. Ultimately, we aim to develop a flexible system that empowers the ETC team to quickly prototype new scenarios.
Surround Sound Setup Locked In
Big news on the hardware front: our multi-channel speaker setup in Room 3306 is now live. Channels 1 through 4 are active, and our floor haptic device is routed through channel 5. Dave Purta is currently working on channel 6, which will power the subwoofer. Dave also recommended moving away from a traditional 5.1 surround setup in favor of discrete 6-channel audio, giving us more flexibility in how we spatialize sound in the room.
As we head into playtest day, the team is excited to see how our ideas hold up in action. Whether it’s underwater echolocation or a tranquil nature scene, we’re one step closer to unlocking the future of immersive sound-based interaction.