EVERYTHING WE DO IS MUSIC

Solo Project

Unreal Engine 5

Blocktober 2024

First Person puzzle game

EVERYTHING WE DO IS MUSIC is a first person puzzle game and was created for Steve Lee's blocktober event 2024 around the theme 4:33. EVERYTHING WE DO IS MUSIC is a prototype and not a finished game.

During the development of EVERYTHING WE DO IS MUSIC my goals was to focus on:

Creating different environments that each convey different emotions and ideas while still being just blockouts.
Creating interesting puzzle designs and ideas with level design as a focus.
Using the same mechanic in multiple different ways, for both level design and puzzles.

Concept:

EVERYTHING WE DO IS MUSIC is a puzzle game that interprets the idea behind John Cage's 4:33 and the idea that "EVERYTHING WE DO IS MUSIC", by showing how music can look at a abstract level . It intends to show how I interpret and visualize different states of music in my mind, since that also has to be included in music, would the statement by John Cage be true. The project was divided into three different levels, each supposed to represent a different state of music.

Level 1:

The first level represents the feeling of bliss when listening to music. Using the lights in the distance to create a strange but settling universe worked well as most people tested the level had a positive reaction towards the striking space.

Level 2:

The second level of the game represents music you don't really understand from the start, and instead requires multiple listening to like. The puzzle represents the weird way music can unveil itself as you figure it out.

Level 3:

The final level represent music that you don't like or understand. The level takes the form of a claustrophobic maze where players traverse multiple rooms that rotate around. Trying to find a way to the end of the level, it reflect how listening to a song can be annoying, frustrating and confusing.

Working on EVERYTHING WE DO IS MUSIC forced me to think outside the box as the theme was very abstract. Looking back at the project, I would have liked to incorporate the theme more into the design of the mechanics so that it could also impact the level design.

Redoing the project, I would probably have scoped it down to focus on player anticipation and readability of the level. In its current state its difficult for players to understand the objective of the levels as well have a clear idea or hint towards how a puzzle should be solved, as soon as entering a room.

During this project I'm happy I got to work more on creating puzzles in combination with level design. Rotating platforms is to me such an interesting mechanic with the amount of uses and scenarios it can give players, and something I would like to revisit in the future.