Kaiju Hero K.O.! – Cycle 2

One of my main aims for this latest version of the score was to incorporate desired sound effects and audio clips to enhance the experience with my rudimentary setup from Cycle 1.  I received assistance from Michael  on the necessary components for not only playing the sound but also at specific times.   I also wanted to update the “boop” sound of contact by swapping it out with combat-esque sound effects.  Using the keyboard from Garage Band on my iPad I chopsticked up a composition for the background music.  It became more and more clear this needed to have the feel of a video game, so I kept certain motifs in mind as I prepared my media files.  Logic components were added to cue audio clips announcing the victory of the hero or kaiju characters once one of the bars reached all the way up to its threshold.  Unfortunately I had yet to devise a way for the game to reset automatically (I had to assign the “R” key to manually tap before another round wiped the slate clean), and there were other visual cues I wanted to add to correspond with the audio (ie: “VICTORY”, “KO!”, etc.).  I kept the same figurines, because the focus on this cycle was more on honing in on the audio element of this experience.  Updating the sounds and adding background music seemed to help the testers to feel more of the video game vibe, even though the rest of the setup had remained unchanged from Cycle 1, participants noted a significant improvement to the overall experience.  I noticed a more competitive nature emerge from the players in response to the updated combat sounds and victory announcements, certainly a good sign we were heading in the right direction. 

This experience needed, above all else, a fun gaming interphase, but safety also came up as an important factor.  My original idea for the thesis concept involved LARP (Live Action Role Play) foam armor and weapons – equipped with sensors – for the hero while an operator donned an inflatable suit (with sensors sewn into the ripstop fabric) for the kaiju.  Alex and others voiced this could present various complications to implement safely, the risk may outweigh the payoff.   Talks of perhaps making the kaiju more like an inflatable puppet that could be operated from a safe distance offered interesting potential I really hadn’t considered seriously before, but the more I pondered over it, the more appealing a puppeteering operation became.                                      

Other great suggestions from the class provided valuable insights into what piqued their interest.  One suggestion included to pit the characters with their respective players from across the table rather than side by side.  Another was to involve some kind of shield/blocking feature to enhance combat strategy.  The endearing background music also could potentially intensify the experience if it sped up over the course of the battle round.