Safecracker: Exploring Immersion Through Audio and Object-Based Controllers
Mary Jo Dubina, Henry Duhaime, Kelsie Thomas · 2020
We outline the ideation, development, and gameplay of Safecracker, an interactive heist game. The game provides immersion through a multisensory gameplay experience. Players are engaged in thematic, audio-based mechanics while interacting with a tangible controller. Players attempt to break into a life-sized safe by determining its 3-number combination. Their primary crime-committing tool is a stethoscope, which listens for audio cues as they rotate the safe's dial. Headphones embedded within the stethoscope play distinct sounds when the dial approaches each number in the sequence. Once the player has identified all 3 numbers in the combination, the safe unlocks and opens, revealing different treasures depending on the selected difficulty level.