Audio games aren’t new, but what about if an ”audio only” adventure was based around a fantasy RPG? A Kickstarter campaign for Three Monkeys has just begun with UK indie Incus Games asking for £28k.
With that they’ll release Three Monkeys Part 1: Into the Abyss, which takes place in the dark and cursed land of Byzantia. Three Monkeys won’t use horror and scare-tactics but ‘player empowerment’ to strike first.
We play as Tobar, a blind hero who must journey across the world of Byzantia, where the sun has been taken from the sky. The team behind it all wants us to be pro-active in the fantasy RPG, and not flinching in fear. They say they use the ‘most powerful graphics card’ of all; the brain.
”…and we want you to create the world of Byzantia for yourself. Just like you’d conjour up the imagery to accompany a good book, we want you to bring our world to life, too. We’ll help you along the way, of course.” It wouldn’t require any visual input in order to play as we hunt, fight and solve puzzles.
”Three Monkeys takes advantage of Binaural Audio techniques to immerse you in a highly reactive 3D world - meaning you’ll need a pair of headphones to really get the most out of the game. The mechanics combine timing-based responses, relying heavily on human reactions,” explains the indie team.
”For example, if you hear a sword swinging towards you, you have a number of choices about how you choose to respond. The game provides the player with the ability to react in the way they desire.”
It’s an interesting idea certainly, and would be quite a departure for many gamers to only rely on their ears and not take any visual cues. Check out the Three Monkeys Kickstarter campaign for more.
