Making a World Dance with Figment 2: Creed Valley

Figure 2Our surreal musical journey through the human brain was something that we wanted to have as much impact as possible with regards to the music and sound design. One approach is to incorporate it into the game’s environment. This is done by having the lightbulb blink to the beat, piano key bridges that will play music when you step on them, or bosses who sing to you their theme song during battles. We also have music that varies depending on where you are, reflecting your environment. Dusty, The Courage of Mind, is the protagonist of this sequel. We follow him on his journey to the deepest corners of our subconscious.

We analysed background music to make it more in sync with the environment. To do this, we found the loudest sections of the track. This data can be used to do a variety of things, such as animate the objects in the scene or play sound effects. Cocobulbs are the lights that hang from two of the trees in this picture. The Cocobulbs will blink when the music is loud enough. This can be seen in the picture below by the green triangles, also known as peaks. The world will move and dance to the rhythm of the music.

Another part of Figment’s design where we found room for further experimentation in the musical department was general combat encounters. Specific enemies get their own music layer that is added to the existing (base combat music). Also, they attack at different times and in different bars.

Figure 2The enemies are all new. The light attacker that often charges, the one that is more powerful and has longer periods of being invulnerable, as well as a turret with ranged attacks and an immobile position, and finally, the heavy attacker with its high damage.

Combat choreographer, which is a tool to tell all the enemies in a certain area when to attack. This tool takes into account how many of each type there are, what happens when that number goes lower or higher, and can also change their attacking “rhythm” when those values change.

Then the enemies will sync up to the track that’s playing and attack. The lighter enemies will attack more frequently, and the larger enemies on the more important beats such as the first bar of the track.

The tool helped us better sync enemies with fights, and create a flow for the players when they are in battle. Dusty can be attacked by a different enemy or chased repeatedly if that fits better with the song.

The new game tools, and the overarching implementations of design in general led to some new ideas regarding boss battles. This was a David and Goliath battle. The Nightmares are brought to the forefront through music and a new setting.

Nightmares physically manifest in the mind, and since you’re the courage defending it, you must face them through fights and puzzles to understand why they’ve appeared. The Jester represents the anxiety of having to deal with responsibilities and not being able to have fun anymore. Oddballs can protect Dusty from Dusty’s attacks and be used against him.

There were times when enemies and levels would influence the sound of music. Here, the music and design of the game influenced each other. The Oddballs spread out and slowly surround The Jester in your first battle. The same as everything else. Figure 2, they also move and bounce in sync with the world’s rhythm. In another encounter further down the line, the Jester has a new song with a different rhythm with further evolution of the story – and the old design of the Oddballs didn’t work anymore. This song, which was much faster, had an angrier pace. So we needed a new mechanic to reflect that.

In the encounter below, the design team came up with the idea that The Jester could “shoot” the Oddballs that used to protect him. He’s angrier, looser in fighting style. It was necessary to express this in a more creative way. As if six rounds were fired from a revolver by The Jester, he shoots all the Oddballs.

The smallest piece is the most important. Figure 2’s universe is musically attuned with its surroundings. The players are sure to enjoy Creed ValleyBest of luck saving The Mind when Game Pass releases it on the 20th July.

Creed Valley

Bedtime Digital Games

☆☆☆☆☆
38

★★★★★

$24.99

$19.99

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

Creed Valley, an adventure-action game that takes place in the mind of a human being. The nightmares have spread chaos throughout the once peaceful lands. Join Dusty, The Mind’s courage, as you make your way through puzzles, musical boss fights and unique environments. Take on your fears.
Even though the Moral Compass is still intact, Nightmares are causing The Mind to be unable function. Dusty and his ever-optimistic sidekick, Piper, must travel to Creed Valley, where The Mind’s ideals are formed to restore peace. There’s a journey full of musical challenges and puzzles that will challenge your mind.