Dust and Birdsong

At this stage I want to add two things that I have been determined to do since deciding to create a garden level.

1) DUST.

Pollen, bugs, particles of dirt; all gardens have them. I want my dust to look lazy and subtle. I want them to float around mysteriously and catch the eye when you’re least expecting it. Ok, that sounds pretentious but I do think it will add a new dimension to my level. I used the tutorial to create my dust which seems to be the only one on the internet in existence. The tutorial is good but I had to get the material instructions off of a forum, and was surprised when it actually worked! I love the effect it gives. I would post a picture, but it’s only really effective in gameplay. You can see the guys results on the video though.

2) SOUND

There is no silent garden in existence, so I was certain I wanted to add some sort of background noise to my level. I have this thing about pigeon noises. When I was a kid there was a pigeon that used to nest in our chimney stack which was right above my bedroom. This pigeon used to sing all day in the summer and he was there for so long (or at least a pigeon was there, I have no idea how long they live for) that we named him Patrick. Now, whenever I hear a pigeon coocooing I am reminded of home and my childhood. I promise this story is relevant. Any way, I really wanted a garden soundtrack starring a pigeon because of how warm and fuzzy it makes me feel. After trawling the freebie websites I stumbled upon a US site and found exactly what I wanted.

Here is the track:

I am so dedicated to Patrick that I paid around £2.50 for the privilege and was forced to edit out German guy shouting and slamming doors that features at the start, around 1:45 if you’re curious.