Sentris

Sentris
Developer(s) Timbre Interactive
Designer(s) Samantha Kalman
Engine Unity
Platform(s) Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Ouya, PlayStation 4
Release date(s)
  • : August 12, 2015 (Full release)
Genre(s) Music video game
Mode(s) Single-player

Sentris is a music video game where players solve puzzles by composing musical loops. Following a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in October 2013, an early access version of the game was released for Linux, Microsoft Windows and OS X in August 2014, with an official release in August 2015.[1] A PlayStation 4 version is planned for the future.[2][3][4] An Ouya version was in development, until the Razer acquisition rendered the contract void.[5]

Gameplay

In Sentris, players drop musical notes from various instruments onto a set of rotating concentric circles, these circles represent musical loops which replay the music to the player. Within these circles lie puzzle targets, players must drop the correct note onto the target to succeed. Aside from the puzzle gameplay, Sentris also offers performance and remix modes.[4][6]

Development

Sentris is designed and developed by Samantha Kalman, founder and director of Timbre Interactive. While Kalman had prior experience shipping software as QA director at Unity, Sentris is her first commercial video game.[7] Given her experience, Unity was a natural choice for the game engine, Kalman also cites Unity's low cost as an important factor in her decision.[8]

Kalman began working on Sentris full-time in the Summer of 2013. She had first attempted full-time games development in 2011, and though that attempt failed, it did produce Sen,[lower-alpha 1] a free music video game with many of the concepts that would be found in Sentris.[7][9] Kalman was inspired to make a music video game by her time spent playing in a band, she wanted to create a game which captured the joy of creation she felt during jam sessions. Kalman is collaborating with musicians, Danny Baranowsky, Disasterpeace and Kasson Crooker on the game.[7]

A well received showing of a Sentris prototype at the 2013 Seattle Indies Expo encouraged Kalman to seek funding on Kickstarter. The crowdfunding campaign began in October 2013 seeking to raise US$50,000, it concluded in November 2013 with US$56,361 raised. Though the campaign was a success, Kalman found it challenging to shift from developing the game to marketing it. She said that if she were to run future Kickstarter campaigns, she would have more help, and better plan the announcements during the campaign.[2][7]

An alpha version of Sentris was released as an early access title in August 2014.[3] The full version was originally intended for a 2014 release, but has since been delayed until Summer 2015.[7][10] Planned updates include an engine upgrade to Unity 5, which will allow Kalman to access "the [new] audio mixer, new audio effects, and a ton of under-the-hood audio improvements."[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Sen". Kongregate.

References

  1. ↑ "Sentris". 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  2. 1 2 Kalman, Samantha (2013-10-22). "Sentris: Unleash Your Inner Musician". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  3. 1 2 Smith, Adam (2014-08-22). "Dreamers Of Dreams: Sentris Early Access". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  4. 1 2 Kalman, Samantha (2015-03-04). "Musical Performance Puzzler Sentris is Coming to PS4". PlayStation Blog. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  5. ↑ "Giant Beastcast Episode 12".
  6. ↑ Griliopoulos, Dan (2013-11-11). "A sound pitch: audio puzzler Sentris threatens to unleash your inner musician". Edge. Archived from the original on 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Alexander, Leigh (2014-01-08). "Art and tech come full-circle in Sentris". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  8. 1 2 Batchelor, James (2015-01-19). "Unity Focus: Making music with Unity". Develop. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  9. ↑ Kalman, Samantha (2014-04-02). "One Year Indie Anniversary". Samantha Kalman Development Blog. Retrieved 2015-03-23.
  10. ↑ Sarkar, Samit (2015-03-20). "Sentris' latest update brings the game near the finish line". Polygon. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
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