Hands (and Face)-On With SoundSelf: A Technodelic

There was no way to miss the Andromeda Entertainment booth at PAX South this year. While the surrounding booths featured the typical demo layout of big screens and up-front action, Andromeda centered their booth around a tea ceremony. People walking through the hall at any time of day could see company founder Robin Arnott or one of the other employees pouring small cups of tea for folks waiting to experience one or both of the VR experiences at the booth.

I was there primarily to experience SoundSelf: A Technodelic, a meditative experience which pushes the boundaries of what constitutes a video game. While perfectly playable on a regular computer monitor while using a pair of headphones and a good microphone, at PAX, SoundSelf was presented in VR and further enhanced by having users lie on a vibroacoustic sound lounge bed. Passers-by could see what players were experiencing visually as the VR display was replicated on a dome over one of the beds.

By the time I got to try out SoundSelf, it was partway through the second day of the convention. I was tired, I’d been on my feet for way too long, and I was pretty close to sensory overload from the Expo Hall. In short, a pretty normal PAX experience. By that time of day, I would have welcomed any opportunity to relax for a few minutes.

I laid down on the bed and, after some help adjusting the VR goggles, was told to give a thumbs up once I saw a tree. Easy enough. In the virtual space, I found myself laying on the ground at the base of a tall tree, starring into a night sky. A disembodied voice told me to take a few long, slow, centering breathes, then begin making a humming noise as I exhaled in time with a tone. When the microphone caught the hum, the bed vibrated slightly, and my virtual-self began rising towards the top of the tree. As I got closer to the branches, I could see that some of them formed a spiral. More humming moved me into the spiral, and then out into the sky. The sky then exploded into an aurora of cascading colors, all matched with the timing of the tones and my humming.

For a few minutes, I nearly forgot where I was. I could still hear the noise of the Expo Hall floor leaking in around my headphones, but it was easy to get lost in the simple act of breathing in, humming out, and moving along in the colorscape. It was a remarkably soothing experience.

In most yoga classes, the last couple minutes are reserved for a series of long stretches, culminating in practitioners lying flat on the floor, eyes closed, breathing peacefully. It’s a reward to the practitioner’s body and mind for the work it’s just been through. The end of SoundSelf felt like that. Peaceful. Relaxing.

Is SoundSelf a game? I’m not sure. There’re no scores, no levels, not even a story like most walking simulators have. However, it’s definitely something I would happily put on in my darkened office at the end of a long day as a way to help relax and breathe out my troubles.

Follow SoundSelf, and Andromeda Entertainment on Twitter, and check out SoundSelf on Steam. SoundSelf’s official release date is planned to be sometime in Spring 2020.