Sound Effects

The sound I wanted when clicking a button on the screen was to be simple and upbeat, similar to other [official Barbie and Myscene] dress-up games. There will be more of a focus on music and isn’t necessary for there to be UI sounds for every button during the dress-up and makeup segments. Fran Bow, another point and click game, has very simple and limited UI sounds, rather the sound is in the music and environment. “Mundane” sounds such as footsteps would be sampled multiple times to avoid repetition and fatigue.

This audio snippet is from a Barbie mix-and-match game with the UI clicking sounds (ignore music and popping UI sounds).

Music

Throughout the game, I wanted the music to have a soul/funk and jazz undertone, although it would change slightly depending on the mood to set the tone (especially when Genevieve is having hallucinations or there is an intense scene, the music will be less upbeat, becoming more eerie and discordant. The music would take inspiration from 50s-era music and instrumentals by 50s/60s-inspired artists (e.g. Amy Winehouse, Lana Del Rey, etc.). It can be rather simple, focusing on one main melody in each with a strong beat (see Music page in Research for examples).

The only music/sound that may include “vocals” will be during the rhythm minigames as well as from TVs, radios, etc, however, it should sound distorted and muffled (like music when heard through a gramophone) so the player can’t comprehend what is being said – almost like they’re speaking gibberish. The subtitles and dialogue will be on the screen for any crucial information that adds to the story. This is a short recording from a five hour vintage music playlist by Lepreezy on Youtube.