Story

It’s a quiet evening, or at least it was supposed to be. You’re lounging on your couch, remote in hand, trying to drown out the noise of life with your favorite mid-life crisis evening show. But no matter how much you crank up the volume, the pounding bass from next door infiltrates your living room like an unwanted guest. Your neighbour—always with his wild parties—has pushed you to the brink.

You try to ignore it, but the sound keeps digging into your peace, mocking your attempts at relaxation. That’s it. Enough is enough. You decide it’s time to take matters into your own hands.

With a determined sigh, you stand up, crack your knuckles, and head next door. This is no ordinary confrontation—this is war. And you’ve got a secret weapon up your sleeve: the ability to conjure balls out of thin air, perfect for taking out those obnoxious speakers.

As you approach the chaotic scene, you notice something strange. Your neighbour, crafty as ever, has added a twist to the game. Each speaker is now surrounded by a shimmering, magical barrier—vibrant and colourful, each one numbered like a puzzle. You realise the trick: only a ball of the same color and with the correct number of bounces can penetrate the barrier.

Challenge accepted.

With a flick of your wrist, you summon a glowing ball into your hand, its color shifting through the spectrum. You spot your first target: a bright red barrier marked with a "3." You know what you need to do.

You take aim, bounce the ball off the floor, then the wall, and—bam! It hits the speaker dead-on. The barrier shatters in a burst of red light, and the bass finally dies down by a notch.

But you’re just getting started.

One by one, you work your way through the house, performing trick shots that leave the party guests in awe. Off the ceiling, around the corner, through the gap between the dancing crowd—you’re on fire. With every successful shot, another speaker falls silent, and the noise pollution slowly recedes.

As you destroy speaker after speaker, the party-goers can’t help but stop and watch, mesmerised by your precision and flair. What started as a quest for peace has turned into an impromptu show of skill.

By the end of it, the house is quiet, and you stand victorious amidst the stunned silence of your neighbours' guests. You give a small nod, satisfied, and turn to leave. Back to your evening show—now in blissful silence.

As you walk away, you hear someone at the party whisper, “That was insane. Who was that?”

Just a neighbour trying to enjoy their evening.

What it does

The game is a progressively challenging experience that unfolds over multiple levels. As you advance through the game, each level becomes more difficult, introducing new obstacles and increasing the complexity of the tasks.

Level Design

Dynamic Speaker and Light Setup: In every level, a set of speakers and light spots is randomly placed throughout the room. The number of lights and speakers is determined by the size of the room in which the game is played. The placement and orientation of the speakers and lights are also randomized, ensuring a fresh experience with each play-through.

Music Synchronisation: The lights in the game are not just decorative. They dynamically change color and intensity in sync with the music playing from the speakers, immersing you in an audio-visual spectacle. Each light is linked to a frequency band, pulsing to the rhythm of the music.

Increasing Difficulty

More Speakers, More Challenges: As you progress to higher levels, the number of speakers increases, and the complexity of the bounces required to destroy them also rises. This means that more precision and strategic thinking are needed to hit the speakers with the correct color ball and bounce count.

Time Pressure: Each level comes with a time limit, adding urgency to the gameplay. However, completing a level rewards you with additional time, allowing you to continue pushing for a higher score. The pressure mounts as levels get harder, pushing your skills to the limit.

Objective

Highscore Focus: The primary goal of the game is to achieve the highest score possible. This is done by clearing levels efficiently, destroying speakers with precision, and making the most of the limited time available. The better your performance, the higher your score climbs.

Overall, the game is a fast-paced, skill-based challenge that tests your reflexes, timing, and strategy, all set to the backdrop of a pulsating musical experience.

How we built it

We built this game using a combination of cutting-edge Meta XR technology and creative design principles. Leveraging the Meta MR Utility Kit, we crafted a dynamic environment where speakers and lights respond to music in real-time. The game's procedural level generation system adapts to the physical space of the room, ensuring a unique experience every time you play. We synchronized audio data with visual effects, using frequency analysis to drive light intensity and color changes, creating an immersive audio-visual experience. Through careful iteration and testing, we tried to balance gameplay mechanics like ball physics, bounce logic, and time management to ensure a challenging yet rewarding experience.

Challenges we ran into

As a small team of inexperienced Unity developers, we encountered numerous challenges throughout the development process. Time constraints were one of our biggest hurdles—we had to learn Unity basics on the fly and implement them in ways that made the game functional. Early on, we struggled with setting up the room mesh and faced issues with the Passthrough technology, which led to frustrating problems like black screens. As we progressed, object collisions became another significant challenge, requiring several iterations to achieve the desired level of precision and responsiveness. Despite these obstacles, we pushed through and managed to build something we’re somewhat proud of or to look back at when we improve in the future and create something new in another XR Hackathon.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're incredibly proud that, despite being a small team of just three—consisting of a Unity novice student and two non-Unity developers with no prior or little experience in game development or XR—we managed to create a playable, fun, and engaging pre-alpha build. Coming together as total newcomers in this space, we overcame the odds and built something that not only works but has the potential to entertain. It's a testament to our teamwork, adaptability, and determination to step outside of our comfort zones.

What we learned

Embarking on this XR journey with Meta’s technologies taught us invaluable lessons about the unique challenges and opportunities in immersive development. We discovered the intricacies of integrating Meta’s Passthrough technology for real-world interactions and the importance of precise spatial awareness in VR. Handling object interactions and dynamic lighting in XR required us to master Unity’s versatile features and understand the nuances of VR-specific constraints. This project not only deepened our technical skills but also broadened our perspective on how immersive environments can be designed to create engaging user experiences. Our exposure to Meta XR tools highlighted the potential for future innovations and set the stage for us to explore even more sophisticated XR solutions.

Whats next for Balls of Silence

Looking ahead, we aim to significantly enhance the experience by incorporating several key improvements. Our next goal is to implement truly random level generation that functions seamlessly, ensuring each play-through offers a unique challenge. We plan to refine the physics to create more realistic interactions and introduce a wider variety of lights and speaker types to diversify gameplay. To increase the complexity and strategic elements, we'll add health points to speakers, making them more challenging to destroy. Additionally, we envision incorporating advanced Passthrough technology filters—such as blinding lights, blurs, or smoke effects—to provide visual feedback when shots miss their targets. Upgrading our graphic assets will also play a crucial role in enhancing the overall aesthetic and immersion of the game, making Balls of Silence an even more engaging experience for players.

Built With

• csharp
• unity