February 26, 2013 - Austin, Texas - Experimental game designer Robin Arnott is proud to announce the first look at his upcoming ambient visual experience, SoundSelf.  The audio designer behind the critically acclaimed Antichamber and award winning thriller Deep Sea is currently working on the visually stunning game, which is set to be available to the public in early 2014.  SoundSelf is now seeking funding through Kickstarter to finish the ambitious project.

SoundSelf  is a sensual exploration game about the intrinsic pleasure of playing instead of the rewards of winning. You use your voice to explore a hypnotic world of sounds and visuals that feel like they are emerging directly from your body. Each tone will navigate you through strobing tunnels-of-light, impossible shapes, and into a meditative trance. The result is an elegant symmetry of image, sound and body: an entirely new experience of yourself and your world. Each play-through lasts one extremely intense hour.

There is no right or wrong way to play SoundSelf; players can experiment with different sounds and watch the game react.  SoundSelf can be played independently or a shared experience with friends - no two players will have the same journey.

Backers of the exciting new Kickstarter will receive a plethora of prizes; from early access to the full game to a unique image made from the backer’s own voice tones.  The image can be hand printed on hoodies and made into 3D stainless steel pendants.  “We’re trying to actively disengage a player’s intellectual relationship with the experience… even their emotional relationship with it, so all that’s left is raw physical sensation, like the thrill of a rollercoaster or the come-up of an acid trip.”

The innovative game currently has a working prototype, but the funds from Kickstarter will allow the developers to create more content to support longer, more intricate experiences, and experiment with more elaborate interactivity.  Supporting the game at a developer level gives backers access to tools created within the game’s development.  As the game continues to go through the development process, more tools will be created:

• Trioxy: A powerful, reconfigurable FM synth styled after the Sega Genesis chip, with updates throughout development.
• Whispertron: A rack of harmonic resonators that users control with a keyboard and microphone -- these turn claps and whispers into music.
• Sandbox: An interactive harmonograph similar to the ones used to generateSoundSelf's imagery. Users can explore it’s shapes using a computer keyboard, and customize it for live performance.

SoundSelf will be available in early 2014.  Public interested in the game are encouraged to visit the Kickstarter page and Steam Greenlight page.  

About Robin Arnott:

Robin Arnott is the sound designer for Antichamber, and the creator of “ the scariest game ever” and " the dumbest game innovation that actually exists," Deep Sea. Deep Sea is an audio-only game that has terrified people at No Quarter, E3, SXSW, Fantastic Arcade, Gamercamp and SXSW (where somebody fainted after playing it).

He is now using his powers for good. After developing Deep Sea, Robin put his mind to elaborating on the experimental techniques that made that game so immersive to create an experience as powerfully positive as Deep Sea was powerfully negative. The first production of that drive was Synapse, a performance installation for Burning Man in 2011.