Inspired by Dutch artist M.C. Escher, Devil's Tuning Fork (DTF) challenges players to rescue children whose spirits are trapped in a lightless – and sightless – 3D world. Created by a 15-student development team in DePaul University's Game Dev program, the free PC game was developed in less than five months, with students working nights and weekends in the University's development and animation labs.
In DTF, creative graphics and immersive sound design turn the typical first-person shooter upside down. Instead of shooting their way though the map, players must navigate a dream-like maze guided only by the sound waves emitted by the Devil's Tuning Fork. The game has players "see" through a simulation of the echolocation perception used by dolphins and bats, a mind-bending twist on the FPS genre.
Since word leaked out in November 2009 – as students let friends know about their feat – the trailer for the game has received more than 63,000 views on YouTube. DTF has also been heavily downloaded from numerous game sites around the world. Recently, the game was updated to version 1.21.
"When we set out to create DTF, we had no idea gamers would be so welcoming to a free, student-made first-person shooter with no guns," said Matt Lazar, producer. "I guess you can say we have been blown away by the response."
DePaul Game Elites, the student team behind DTF, first began development in June. Targeting the 2010 Independent Games Festival's Student Competition at GDC, the team has worked virtually nonstop since then.
"Typically, a game like this can take anywhere from 12 to 36 months from concept to completion," said Alex Seropian, lead faculty advisor for the DePaul team and one of the creators of Halo. "That these students went from a vague concept to finished product in just five months is a tribute of their commitment to the project."
Other faculty advisors were industry veterans Joe Linhoff (technology), Scott Roberts (art and story advisor) and Bill Muehl (production) and Patrick Curry (game design).
DTF team members were selected from 40 applicants to the project. Both graduate and undergraduate programs supplied students with backgrounds in game development and animation at CDM.
To learn more about Devil's Tuning Fork visit DevilsTuningFork.com.
PC users can download the game from DevilsTuningFork.com for free. A low-end graphics card (NVIDIA GeForce 8000 Series or ATI Radeon X3650) with support for OpenGL 2.0 is required.