2017-11-09 18:55:26 (edited by Everbyte 2018-12-11 17:03:14)

Update:
Hooray! The German Version is now available on iOS & Android.
iOS Download: https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/sound-o … 1440471673
Android Download: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta … undofmagic

I will keep you posted about the upcoming English Version!


Original Post:

Sound of Magic Logo
My name is Jan and im developer at Everbyte – a three people indie game studio based in Germany. We’re currently working on an audio adventure and we want to use this thread to keep you updated about development and the current state of the game. We decided to post in the "New Releases Room" even though the game is still in beta, but this way we can make sure all information is available for you in one single place.
I will call the game Sound of Magic in the following context, but it’s very likely this name will change before the game is released. Enough, introduction – lets move on to the interesting stuff!

Current progress of development:

  • Gamedesign: 100%

  • Story and Narration: 100%

  • Programming: 100%

  • Sounddesign: 100%

  • Visual Effects: 100%

  • Localization  & professional voice acting (English): No Date yet

  • Professional voice acting (German): 100%


Platform & Language:
Primary target platform is iOS and Android but we plan to also support Windows, Mac and Linux. Sound of Magic will be released in English as well as in German.


Story and Setting:
Sound of Magic takes place in a medieval fantasy world called Azalen, where you play the most evil wizard the world has ever seen. Everyone knows about you and your evil business that Azalen has suffered from for countless years … except you since you just lost your memory. 


Gameplay & Mechanics:
The closest description would be “Immersive First-Person Audio Adventure with the mechanics of a traditional point and click game combined with a magic system but without any need for graphic” - but that might be too long and confusing to put it on the cover so I will try to break down our core vision.
We mainly focused on combining fluid and highly interactive first person gameplay with the toolkit from classic adventure games (use, combine, …). Since you are a wizard there is a unique magic system on top that extends your abilities even further while you progress through the game.
Although the overall storyline is linear, you will be able to move freely to discover the world of Azalen!


Visual appearance & Accessibility:
I’m proud to announce that we might have the best graphic engine in world – your imagination. Jokes aside, there are visual effects in the game for example when you cast a spell, but typically for audiogames they play a minor role. To be honest some of our beta testers didn’t notice since travelling through our fantasy world works best with headphones and closed eyes.
We also carefully took blind and visually impaired people into account since day one of this project. By that, we managed to completely get rid of an accessibility mode and designed the game, that everyone has the same experience.


Sound:
Sound design is crucial to bring Audio games to life. We spared no efforts to handcraft thousands of sound effects and cut our programmers food ration to half to be able to hire good composers. All characters and creatures will be voice acted by professionals to get them the quality they (and especially you, the player) deserve.


Thanks for reading/listening! Feel free to ask whatever you want to know and we will answer if possible smile

We use Twitter and Facebook and would be happy if you start following us and our project! You can find our Website and other projects here.

2017-11-09 19:33:36

Sounds awesome. Will definitely be keeping close tabs on this one!

2017-11-09 20:10:21

Hi Everbyte!
I am from germany too. So if you are interested in getting in closer contact with blind people of our incommon nationality you can send me a mail:
[email protected]

I am following computer and videogames more than 25 years and would be very happy to answer your questions or help you in any possible way!

Best wishes to you and your team!

2017-11-09 20:26:06

Thanks you two!

@Joseph Westhouse: This counts for both partys - we can't wait to get our ears on your upcoming release!
@firefly82: This sounds very promising! Thanks in advance, i will contact you via mail.

2017-11-09 20:55:47

Hi there, I'm from the Us, Unfortunately I don't know a word of the German language, but, the way the game sounds, I so wish I could play it. If you have any questions, you are more than welcome to email me at
chipper01822gmail.com
Thanks and hope to hear from you soon. Keep up the awesome work you have going for this game.

2017-11-09 21:20:05

But, this game will be for blind? Because, here are mainly games for the blind and visually impaired people.

Ja volim samo kafu sa Rakijom.

2017-11-09 21:38:44

@Sean-Terry01: We're doing our best to push the game towards the state we can localize all dialogues and get the english voice actors! The kind words from you make us work even harder. Thanks!

@Giovani: Yes, we carefully took blind and visually impaired people into account when we designed the game. By that, we managed to completely get rid of an "accessibility mode" and everyone plays the same game smile
I will update my description above with more information on that.

2017-11-09 21:57:27

Thank You a lot for this information, because I know some persons, which have tried to create just audio games. Audio games without knownledge about blind people. So please, try find somebody, which can programming and if He is blind. Maybe He/she could helps You.

Ja volim samo kafu sa Rakijom.

2017-11-09 22:02:40 (edited by Everbyte 2017-11-09 22:19:12)

We're currently looking for blind beta testers to validate that everything works flawless. I can assure you that this has high priority for us and we already received a few emails even though this post is only a few hours old smile

2017-11-09 22:27:35

You should talk to Gortholon at dragonapps.org if you haven't already, he is a native German speaker, audio game developer, gameplay streamer, sound designer and somewhat of a musician.
I believe Oriol Gomez can speak German as well, though he isn't a native, you can find him at Oriolgomez.com, and he is also an audio game developer, a bit of a sound designer, a bit of a musician and he sometimes does internet radio shows.

2017-11-09 22:32:13

So, this is from someone who's about to release a game that will very definitely have separate visual / non-visual modes, so I know it's a bit ironic...but I love that you have made this game universally accessible in its design. I think that, any time the nature of a game allows, that's absolutely the best way to go for accessibility. A separate accessibility mode is fine, and great when it's necessary—but any time that developers can make a game that can be played in the same way, by a variety of people, I think that's a huge win.

2017-11-09 22:33:11 (edited by Everbyte 2017-11-09 23:18:21)

@defender: Thanks for pointing out! This community is amazingly helpful smile
@Joseph Westhouse: Yep, we got a bit lucky that in the end there were only a few major problems that had to be solved. But i also have to admit that only a few blind gamers played our beta version yet and that this is definitly too less to validate we did a good job in all areas.

2017-11-09 23:09:35

I wish you well and can't wait to play. I'm beginning to wish I'd taken German instead of French, smile.

2017-11-09 23:17:31 (edited by Everbyte 2017-11-09 23:18:01)

Thanks for your interest! Every coin has two sides and french is known as the language of love, right? wink

2017-11-10 01:48:01

The game sounds fantastic and I'll be looking forward to it when an English version comes out.
Ironically, my wife is fluent in German having spent 17 years living there, but I can only sing the odd song in it not play games big_smile.

Still I'm definitely interested in the fp adventure format and the plot sounds quite unique, so please keep us posted.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)

2017-11-10 02:13:06

@Everbyte: I am really interested in this project and I am looking forward to the english release as I don't know German sadly even If I had a lessons in school. lol

I'm from Poland and BTW if you will need any help with sound design, voice acting just let me know. I am voice actor and I have a bit of experience in this area.

Also, will the game be playable with controllers? especially DXImput base like X360 or DS4 (PS4 controller) I am playing video games and I am usig cotrollers mostly. smile

Also, if you need feedback give me a shot, I am experienced player so I believe I can help as I am playing games over 20 years. smile

Welcome on the forum and thank you for appearing here, this project sounds really amazing!

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2017-11-10 09:59:05

Hi.
Wow. The game sounds fantastic. Sadly, I don't speak German, but I would like to help if needed regarding the Mac version if it comes available. I have used Mac for a lot of years, and I think it's important to get more games for the Mac. If I can be helpful in any ways when I don't speak German, then please let me know. Keep up the great job guys.

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soerenjensen

2017-11-10 13:21:16

@Dark: Haha! Thanks for you interest and please say hello to your wife smile

@Lirin: Thanks for your offer and the kind words. We're currently focusing on the mobile version first, but controller support is planned for the the PC/MAC/Linux Versions. With the exception of the magic system, this shouldn't be a big deal to implement.

@SLJ: I'm fairly new to the mac world (bought an used macbook pro a half year ago). If we face any problems, i will hit you up smile

2017-11-10 15:27:56

Yeah, I can test / play the game on my IOS device, no problem but I was talking about PC port. smile

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2017-11-10 19:15:28

This is great! Let me know when an English version is ready!

Journalist and gamer

2017-11-10 19:39:28

So, this may be a rather generic question but, if it's not to much to ask, have you determined a price for the full game as yet?

Heroes need foes to test them. Not all teachers can afford to be kind, and some lessons must be harsh.

2017-11-13 14:13:06

@Thork: Thanks for the kind words!

@Dragomier: I can't tell an exact price, since we don't know yet but with the plan in mind to also reach players that usally don't play audiogames i expect it to be relatively low.

2017-11-17 02:26:16

Just wanted to chime in and say that I'm really excited for this game smile.

2017-11-20 13:05:12

Glad to hear that, Ross!

2017-11-24 14:50:45

Is it too late to sign up to the accessibility beta? I speak german.
Ist es zu schpet om zu anmelden zum barieresfreiheit beta? Ich spreche deutsch.

skype name: techluver
Feel free to add me.