iSpooks: The Manor 1.0 Released

Interactive Institute has released a unique, experimental audio game for iPhone. iSpooks: The Manor is an adventure game where the sound is the primary gameplay driver. The game, over 200 MB large, has a surprising lack of graphics. Instead, nearly all the effort has been put into over a thousand sound clips, utilizing the latest in technology, to create a complex game world of sound.

"Sound is incredibly effective in enhancing a game experience since it triggers emotions. Games like this encourages the player to make an inner picture of the game world which we believe give a richer game experience", says Mats Liljedahl, researcher at Interactive Institute.

iSpooks takes place in a haunted house. The player has to solve a mystery via interaction with the resident ghosts. The over 30 ghosts live in a meticulously designed house, faithfully rendered in 3D. But, and here's the catch, if your not alert you'll miss all this graphic richness.


"iSpooks has raised some eyebrows because of its size over 200 MB, and yet the player view looks like something from a 70'a Atari game. Most of our effort has gone to designing the vast array of sound clips with extensive use of binaural recording, cutting edge technology and always with the sound in focus." says Nigel Papworth, lead game designer.

As well as the new use of technology, iSpooks also boasts some novel interaction ideas. The iPhone can play multiple sound files simultaneously, which is imperative in order to convey the mood, environment, events and objects in the iSpooks game world. The sound-scape, composed at any one time of up to five different sound sources, is manipulated and controlled in real-time by a game engine that is unique for a mobile platform. The Interactive Institute's Sonic Studio has for a number of years explored sound for information and experience in ICT and media applications. iSpooks: The Manor is a result of research designed to test the limits for using sound as a gameplay driver.

Pricing and Availability:
iSpooks: The Manor 1.0 is only $0.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category.

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