Synopsis

• Extended Synopsis
  PLASTIC STARS is an alternative rap album whose sonic universe blends electronic instrumentals with dark and introspective lyrics. The album explores romantic suffering, a grueling work context, and family tensions, creating an emotional explosion comparable to a supernova. It follows three characters: the father, mother and child, the latter looking at the plastic stars on his ceiling to escape from arguments. This is included as a prequel to THE SUPER MEGA SHOW, a 16-track album/audio series without cuts in collaboration with voice actor Benoit Grimmiaux (BoJack Horseman, Pokémon, Rick & Morty...)

Key Challenges

• Music-switch system responsiveness
  In this game, players can switch musical tracks at will thanks to the switch system. For a smooth experience, a musical synchronization system combined with a cooldown system made this experience very satisfying for the player.

Pitch

• Project briefing
  We will need you to compose interactive music for our game with distinct phases. To do this, in the application, we will call a parameter that you will need to create that will contain multiple states. We have called this parameter INTERACTIVITY.
• [State 0] : Game opening: context setting
  Introductory music to establish the spatial game atmosphere
• [State 01 + 01.5] : Reflection/Idle music
  Calm ambiance for exploration and reflection phases
• [State 02] : Combat music with transition
  Intense and rhythmic music for combat sequences
• [Victory and transition] : 02 -> Win -> 01
  Positive musical transition after a combat victory
• [Defeat and transition] : 02 -> Loose -> 01
  Dark musical transition after a combat defeat

Key Challenges

Technical problems solved during development

• Composing in a "traditional" style
  The main challenge of this project was composing while respecting strictly traditional orchestration, excluding all modern instruments (guitar, synth...). Although this framework is far from my usual creative habits, which lean more toward electronic music, this challenge proved particularly stimulating and enriching.
• Synthesis... everywhere.
  I wanted to take advantage of this project to explore synthesis using Phase Plant to create most of the sounds like the golem, sword, magic stone, fire wings, etc... This choice required quite a bit of experimentation, but it proved very educational and above all integrated Phase Plant into my almost daily habits. Sound demos with their Phase Plant patches are available in the gallery

Key Challenges

Main challenges encountered during this project

• An album... and an audio series
  THE SUPER MEGA SHOW! is a hybrid project blending album and audio series. Several tracks are interspersed with short narrative episodes that anchor the story in the music. The challenge was finding the right balance between narration and songs to offer a smooth experience. A fixed tracklist was essential to guarantee continuity between each episode and each song.
• Casting
  The host of the 'Super Mega Show' was conceived as a both charismatic and strange character, requiring an ideal voice actor. This role was brilliantly performed by Benoit Grimmiaux (Bojack Horseman, Pokémon, Rick & Morty…). Collaborating with Benoit, first an idol then a creative companion, was an immense honor and a great pride for me.
• An album, an audio series... and then a film!
  The more we worked with Benoit, the more heart we put into this project. The desire to move to film was born during the audio recording, even if it seemed impossible: I had never written a script, storyboarded, assembled a team, designed a scene or handled directing. Yet, that's exactly what I ended up doing!

Key Challenges

Technical problems solved during development

• Detecting different cube types
  Developed custom 3D audio listener system that maintains spatial relationships regardless of world orientation
• Designing a sound played over fifty times per minute and making it pleasant
  Implemented audio pooling and LOD systems to handle complex 3D audio without performance impact
• Performance optimization
  Created parametric music system with vertical remixing for seamless emotional transitions

Major Technical Challenges

Key innovations from early development

• Drag & Drop Physics System
  Implementing a realistic drag-and-drop system for electrons while maintaining their orbital motion. Creating elastic snap-back animations, handling collisions during movement, and synchronizing with the GSAP orbit system for a smooth and intuitive experience.
• Dynamic Shell Generation from File Structure
  Creating a system that automatically generates shells from folder structure. Domain detection via numeric prefixes, dynamic naming assignment, and real-time visual adaptation. Maximum of 5 shells with elegant overflow handling.
• Circular Overlay Transition System
  Developing an innovative one-page experience with circular expansion from the clicked electron's position. Using CSS clip-path for the mask effect, precise origin point calculation, and smooth transition management without route changes.

Technical Challenges

Beyond a simple GPT wrapper

• 'Dual AI' Orchestration & Sync
  Complex synchronization between two AI brains: Gemini for emotional/pedagogical context and Sonar for factual research. Latency management and response merging for a fluid experience.
• Context Injection & Persona System
  Developing a system that feeds the AI with student context (Agenda, Notes, Tasks) in real time. Creating adaptive personas that shift tone based on academic level (6th grade vs PhD).
• Tiered Source System
  Filtering algorithm to minimize hallucinations. Prioritizing academic sources (Tier 1) over educational (Tier 2) and general sources (Tier 3).

Technical Challenges

• Cross-platform clipboard access
  Implementing reliable clipboard monitoring across different operating systems while preserving Reaper's responsiveness required careful threading management and API selection.
• URL format validation and parsing
  Supporting multiple YouTube and SoundCloud URL formats (short links, playlist URLs, timestamp parameters) while ensuring robust error handling for invalid links.

Technical Challenges

• Item collisions
  Handling cases where an item already exists at the beginning of a track; In this case, the selected item will be placed immediately after it
• Multiple selection
  When selecting multiple items from the same track, they will be positioned sequentially while respecting the original order.