216.73.216.162
216.73.216.162
216.73.216.162
 
September 13, 2013

from array import array
from time import sleep

import pygame
from pygame.mixer import Sound, get_init, pre_init

class Note(Sound):

    def __init__(self, frequency, volume=.1):
        self.frequency = frequency
        Sound.__init__(self, self.build_samples())
        self.set_volume(volume)

    def build_samples(self):
        period = int(round(get_init()[0] / self.frequency))
        samples = array("h", [0] * period)
        amplitude = 2 ** (abs(get_init()[1]) - 1) - 1
        for time in xrange(period):
            if time < period / 2:
                samples[time] = amplitude
            else:
                samples[time] = -amplitude
        return samples

if __name__ == "__main__":
    pre_init(44100, -16, 1, 1024)
    pygame.init()
    Note(440).play(-1)
    sleep(5)

This program generates and plays a 440 Hz tone for 5 seconds. It can be extended to generate the spectrum of notes with a frequency table or the frequency formula. Because the rewards in Send are idealized ocean waves, they can also be represented as tones. Each level has a tone in its goal and a tone based on where the player's disc lands. Both play at the end of a level, sounding harmonic for a close shot and discordant for a near miss. The game can dynamically create these tones using the program as a basis.

I'm also building an algorithmically generated song: Silk Routes (Scissored). Here is an example of how it sounds so far.