The Look and Sound of Collectibles
Remember, remember… all of November! We certainly do, as we’ve been busy polishing both our Christmas ornaments and our collectibles so they’ll shine (and sound) just right for the holidays.
Lean in for a quick scoop from our Art Director and Sound Designer on what to expect from the collectibles in Scratch The Cat.
Collectathon Platformer
Scratch is on a quest to retrieve his scattered record fragments – and along the way, the happy collectathonner will find lots of goodies, some crucial for progress and some just for fun. As our Art Director Christian Weatherley puts it:
“[…] other collectibles add fun new flavor and incentivise exploring the world to its fullest.”
Fragments of Records
These fragments once powered the world through Scratch’s DJ sets at The Hub – making them the game’s most essential collectible.
“Scratch must recover the fragments to reassemble his records, allowing him to visit new worlds and thus progress through the game.” – Christian
How do they sound? Our Sound Designer Casper Taro went straight to the source:
“The sound effect for these was heavily inspired by vinyl scratching and sample chopping, using bits and pieces of old timey vinyl record-like samples, orchestral stabs and heavy 90’s boom bap drums.”
Pulling inspiration from all over the musical map, Casper adds:
“I wanted it to sound like it was made using an old akai MPC sampler, just like how the 90’s hiphop legends did it; Common, Biggie Smalls, MF Doom, Nujabes, J Dilla and that kinda thing.”
Juke Bucks & Wardrobe Tags
Bling! Ca-ching! Our shiny coins – known as Juke Bucks – are the most common collectible. Casper ensures the bling won´t leave your ears ringing:
“For the SFX I wanted to make it simple and clean. Think Super Mario coin. Middle of the road, nothing too elaborate or attention grabbing. Since you’ll be picking up quite a few of these it shouldn’t be over the top and ear fatigue inducing.”
Collecting Juke Bucks pays off in more ways than one, both in currency and exploration:
“For completionists, collecting all coins will have the player visit most parts of each level. Additionally, Juke Bucks assist with progression, as collecting certain amounts allows Scratch to exchange them for rewards from Jukie.” – Christian
Next up: Wardrobe Tags – inspired by the ones lost (or found) at concert venues.
“These collectibles are generally hidden in optional challenge areas of levels, to incentivise and reward the player for exploration.” – Christian
Casper added a hint of mystery to distinguish them:
“I threw in a bit of receipt printer, paper rips and cloth flapping sounds. Also I wanted to give a bit of a mysterious and magical feel to it […] Seeing as clothing can be a form of self expression, I felt it would be a good match.”
Milkshakes and… a Giraffe?
My milkshakes brings… all of my life back! Or in other words, they restore Scratch’s health – though, as Christian clarifies:
“Technically not a collectible in the same sense as for example Juke Bucks or fragments.”
Casper mixed up something refreshing, pulling inspiration from surprising places:
“The sound for this would of course have to contain some delicious sounding & thirst inducing water and ice cube recordings! I was also thinking a bit of the 90’s game ‘Hercules’… Danes who have played it will definitely remember the sound effect of picking it up. ‘Herkuladedrik! SLUURP!’”
And finally: how is a giraffe a collectible? Meet G-Raf – tagger, and wanderer, one of the supporting characters:
“He is a graffiti artist who goes to each level to tag areas with his graffiti art… If the player finds G-Raf, the player can expect an interesting reward! Think of him as the ‘Where’s Waldo?’ of the Scratch universe.”
What’s Next?
We can’t spill everything yet – but keep an eye on our social platforms for more fresh beats, sneaky peeks, and collectible teases, as more content is coming soon!
Thanks for listening – and remember:
Stay groovy. Stay scratchy.
Curious to meet more of our herd? Want to know more about the horsepower behind our pixels? Alright, no more horsin’ around!