Welcome to sonus
The Game
sonus:portals is an innovative game that relies on a haptic controller as the only input device. With the help of three-dimensional audio and the haptic feedback it is possible to navigate through levels without seeing anything!
Throughout five different levels you have to learn to solely rely on your hearing and sense of touch. Your objective is to access the portal of each level in order to reach the next dimension. The organically shaped levels can be imagined as labyrinths with obstacles in place. In order to pass you will have to "feel" them with the help of the haptics-enabled controller.
The dimension portals themselves are sending out three dimensional soundtracks which are unique for each dimension. You will hear a base of instruments no matter where you are but the closer you get to a portal the more instruments you will hear it sending out. The five tracks in the game exclusively have been produced and set up for sonus:portals.
It is also possible to play sonus:portals with other people. The game supports an unlimited amount of players that can take part in one round where the goal is to reach the portal first. Which makes it kind of a race.
Story
You and your competitors are trapped in the dark between space and time. The only way to get home is to be the first. Your journey leads through unkown dimensions where you experience new forms of sound and touch. Left with no sight at all, your only help is your electronical emergeny device. Reach the dimension portals by locating their unique sound and feel the force fields to avoid them.
How to Play
When you start the game you will hear a base soundtrack. This is the ambient sound which you will hear no matter where you are. The goal is to locate the portal specific sound and navigate to the portal. With your haptic device you are able to move your player. The further you push the controller to the front the faster you will move. The same is for walking sideways (strafing). As soon as you are moving you will feel a haptic feedback from your controller representing your walking movement. To rotate use the left and/or the right button.
In the beginning it may be helpful to rotate around a few times to extract the portal sound out of the soundtrack. If a obstacle is in your way you will recognize it by two circumstances: There will be no haptic feedback for walking since you are not moving and you will feel the texture and the direction of the obstacle. You may push against the obstacle and slide along it causing you to feel the texture as you are moving.
If you reach a dimension portal you will feel a strong vibration of your haptic controller and hear a warping sound indicating that you have reached the dimension portal. As soon as you hear a new soundtrack you have reached the next level and are ready to play.
News
sonus:portals is finally available for download!
Check out the developer and press stuff, too.
Back from the fmx/08!
Read the report in "Exhibitions" section.
We are invited to the FMX 2008 in Stuttgart to present our project sonus.
The new sonus homepage is online! For now only in English.