50 points · 1 submission
with Zed
Hushfall is a small, polished stealth game built for the Zed + ElevenLabs Hackathon. You play as a Finder moving between a frozen living world and a fractured broken world to recover trapped memories while avoiding Echoes that react to sound. We built the project in Zed and used ElevenLabs to shape the game’s entire sonic identity, not as a layer on top of the gameplay, but as the system that drives it. ElevenLabs was used in three core ways. First, we created the game’s musical atmosphere: separate tracks and cues support the emotional contrast between the stillness of the living world and the tension of the broken world, so crossing between realities feels like a tonal shift, not just a visual one. Second, we used ElevenLabs-generated sound effects to build the actual stealth language of the game. Different surfaces produce different footstep sounds and threat profiles, object collisions create distinct noise events, and moments like mirror crossing, memory return, Echo alerts, and release beats all have their own sonic signatures. Third, we used ElevenLabs voice generation for the released souls, so when a trapped memory is restored, the player hears a fragile, personal response instead of a generic reward cue. That matters because in Hushfall, sound is the foundation of play. Footsteps on wood, rug, stone, grass, or water do not just add atmosphere, they communicate risk. Bumping furniture or breaking an object does not just make the scene feel alive, it can expose the player’s position and trigger pursuit. The emotional payoff also depends on audio: the voices of freed souls turn progression into something intimate and human. ElevenLabs let us make sound carry mechanics, mood, and narrative at the same time. Zed helped us move quickly and stay focused on a quality-over-scope prototype where every audio decision mattered.
Submitted 30 Apr 2026