Delve
The Game
Delve is a first-person exploration and traversal experience developed as a Master’s thesis project by a five-person team. The game centers on light-based mechanics, environmental navigation, and a dynamic sanity system that influences how players perceive and interact with the world.
Players rely on a flaregun capable of switching between crystal and fire states, using light both as a navigational tool and as a mechanic for managing psychological stability while traversing increasingly hostile environments.
Design Focus:
Dynamic Soundscapes • Movement Mechanics Feedback • Middleware Architecture
Role: Audio Designer & Composer
Engine: Unity
Middleware: Wwise
Team Size: 5 developers (Masters Thesis production)
My Contributions
Role & Scope
I served as Audio Designer, Composer, and Audio Systems Implementer within a five-person Master’s thesis team.
My responsibility was to design and build the game’s interactive audio architecture — ensuring the soundscape functioned as a responsive gameplay system rather than a static atmospheric layer. This included designing the middleware structure, implementing reactive systems in Unity, and supporting gameplay readability through adaptive audio feedback.
Interactive Audio Architecture
I built the full Wwise project structure from the ground up, designing event hierarchies, state groups, RTPC logic, and bus routing to support a systemic gameplay framework.
The goal was to ensure that audio responded dynamically to gameplay states such as player traversal, sanity shifts, and flare usage. Rather than functioning as linear playback, the audio systems were designed to adapt in real time to environmental conditions and player actions. These modular systems allowed the soundscape to shift alongside the player’s psychological and environmental state while maintaining clarity for gameplay feedback.
Middleware & Engine Integration
To integrate audio behavior directly into gameplay systems, I implemented Wwise within Unity using both native middleware workflows and a custom audio tool developed by the lead programmer. This involved connecting gameplay triggers, state transitions, and event calls through Unity while writing and adjusting integration logic to ensure consistent communication between gameplay systems and audio responses.
Throughout development I conducted in-engine debugging and iterative testing to refine synchronization between audio systems and player interactions.
System-Responsive Design
A core focus of the project was ensuring that audio systems reinforced the game’s psychological and environmental mechanics.
I designed adaptive audio feedback for:
• Sanity state transitions
• Flaregun crystal and fire modes
• Environmental progression
• Player traversal and spatial awareness
Because the game blends exploration and survival mechanics, it was important that atmospheric soundscapes remained immersive without masking gameplay-critical feedback. This required careful layering and dynamic control to maintain readability during high-intensity gameplay moments.
Composition & Sonic Identity
I composed the full musical score for the project, developing thematic material that supported the game’s shifting tone between exploration, tension, and environmental unease.
The music system was designed to coexist with reactive environmental audio without overwhelming player feedback, using layered structures that could adapt to gameplay pacing and environmental transitions.
Collaboration & Production
Working within a small multidisciplinary team required close collaboration across design and programming. I worked closely with the lead programmer to integrate middleware systems into Unity and ensure reliable event communication between gameplay mechanics and audio responses.
During early development phases, I also participated in discussions defining the core game loop and progression flow, contributing insights on pacing and player perception from an experiential design perspective. Continuous in-engine testing allowed me to refine spatial placement, cue timing, and system responsiveness within the context of full gameplay.
Design Reflection
Delve strengthened my ability to design interactive audio systems within a broader gameplay framework. Building the middleware architecture required thinking in modular systems that could adapt dynamically to gameplay states, while maintaining clarity for player feedback.
The project reinforced how audio, mechanics, and player perception must operate as interconnected systems — particularly when designing experiences where environmental atmosphere and gameplay readability must coexist.
