Interviews: Zoo Games - Auditorium HD

The unique-looking Auditorium HD is just a few short days away from its release on the North American PlayStation Store, so we drummed up some questions on this musical medley and fired them over to senior producer Alvin Muolic from Zoo Games.

Movemodo: Can you please describe Auditorium HD to gamers who are unfamiliar with the game?

Alvin Muolic: Auditorium is a puzzle game where you transform light into sound. In each level, you direct and guide a stream of light particles we call The Flow into "audio containers". Do this successfully and the music will play. At first, you'll start off creating simple melodies. As you progress, these build up into a musical symphony. Auditorium also becomes more challenging as you go, as we add a variety of different controls and obstacles for you to experiment and play with.

MM: Is the target audience aimed closer to music gamers and/or the indie gamers who enjoy games such as Flow and Flower?

AM: Auditorium HD is aimed towards everyone! If you like music games and/or indie games, we’ve got you covered.

Auditorium isn’t just about playing the game, it's also about the journey of exploring, creating and expressing in your own way. Some players may end up just selecting a level, uncovering the challenges it has to offer, and letting the music play for awhile before even considering the next one.

We like to say that there are no right or wrong answers and no way to “lose”; there are many ways to solve every puzzle and make things happen.

MM: The game includes the original levels from Auditorium as well as new stages. What fresh features are introduced in the new levels?

AM: Auditorium HD has been given a visual overhaul compared to the original game to make it look great for consoles. Some of the “Auditorium Classic” mode levels were tweaked in subtle ways; they’ll feel familiar to players who played the original, but a little different at the same time.

And since we’ve shown a bit so far, we don’t want to continue to spoil anything, but let’s just say that the “Auditorium Modern” mode certainly has plenty of new challenges, along with even more stunning music than before.

MM: How difficult was it to incorporate PlayStation Move into Auditorium HD, and which of its features were you able to exploit?

AM: From a conceptual standpoint, it wasn’t really difficult at all. We just had to figure out the best way to implement and execute, and our developers, Empty Clip Studios, did a fantastic job there.

The PlayStation Move lets you manipulate the controls in the game with more immediacy. To some, this will be more intuitive than using the R1 and L1 buttons, though the DualShock 3 works just as well. It’s a matter of personal preference, really.

MM: Obviously Auditorium HD is reliant on cool visuals as well as sounds – were you able to pull off any interesting tricks with the PlayStation Move’s glowing orb?

AM: I don’t believe we did anything with the glowing orb, but since I’m playing a not-yet-final build, I can’t confirm 100% for sure. It does have a nice purple-pink hue to it, when you’re playing, though.

MM: How does playing in stereoscopic 3D enhance the game?

AM: We decided to go with a more subtle approach make stereoscopic 3D compliment the game and music instead of having it “take over” completely. If you’ve got the hardware, it’s a nice treat to see the Flow and the background in that extra dimension.

Christopher Ingram contributed to this interview.