ZODIAC ISLAND is a digital manifestation of the song "Zodiac Shit" by Flying Lotus. Players traverse a secluded wilderness where every sight, sound, monument, and texture is choreographed to match the emotional beats of Flying Lotus' trippy electronic melody. ZODIAC ISLAND is not without its own secrets, as players come across evidence that they may not be alone on this mysterious rock. 

"Zodiac Shit" runs at a length of 2 minutes and 42 seconds. Since the goal was to time the player's journey exactly to the length of the song, I spent a lot of time sketching out the critical path and experimenting with different walk speeds before adding any elevation or textures. This ensured that the player reaches the end of the island just as the song comes to a close.

Once the critical path and the song length were synced, I sculpted the terrain and added details to the island's points of interest using Unity3D's Standard Assets Package. These special areas represent different parts of "Zodiac Shit" as the song shifts and crescendos. The elevation, detailing, and textures used in these areas also help direct the player and keep them on the critical path. I was very much interested in using the terrain architecture to naturally guide the player in a way that didn't feel forced, while at the same time making it clear as to where to go next. 

Zodiac Island was created in Unity3D for USC's Level Design for Video Games course (Spring 2015). The game can be downloaded by hitting the button below. You'll be provided with a zip file containing an HTML file and a Unity3D file. Open the HTML file with a web browser that supports the Unity Web Player (Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari) and the game will automatically start. 

Use the Arrow Keys to move and Spacebar to jump.