FEATURE GAME AUDIO Key Questions
Steve Brown, associate audio director, Lionhead Studios, creator of the renowned Fable series, highlights the key questions to ask when setting up a new facility for game audio production.
“How many staff do you have in your project and are you planning for long-term or for the immediate short-term needs of the team? Will it be in-house talent using these facilities or will you have external partners utilise them as well? “Does the design have flexible spaces –
can it be used cross-discipline, for example, a large mixing space that can also function as a high-performance dialogue recording area/ Foley recording area. Do you need Foley pits etc? Should you have additional, adaptable acoustic treatment or fixed? “What type of connectivity do you need between the spaces? How many
different people work in the same rooms? If many people work in the rooms a good way to ensure maximum productivity is to have each room mirror hardware and software if possible. People should in theory be able to ‘plonk down and play’. However that Holy Grail is rarely achieved – there’s always something going wrong or failing in a large audio facility – having the odd spare monitor and patch bay is always useful!”
Little Tearaway
Kenny Young, head of audio for Media Molecule (developer of LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway) on design considerations for the four interconnected audio production suites in MM’s office.
“My primary concern was maintaining collaboration with the team, and that’s infinitely more important to the end result of the audio experience in our games than having a perfect monitoring environment. Te two really are totally at odds with each other – soundproof rooms scare people, and that’s not good for teamwork. So, our rooms are not soundproof – it’s important for me that we have an open door policy as much as is practical rather than being hermetically sealed off. And our rooms have windows facing onto the dev floor – this compromises the acoustics but makes us feel part of the team. “Gear-wise, I like having a mic set up permanently and being able
to record when inspiration strikes, not writing down that inspiration and booking some time for recording, and I make sure everyone in my department is set up to work that way too.”
Environmental Issues
Alan McDermott, audio manager, Sony’s Evolution Studios (creators of DRIVECLUB PS4 and the Motorstorm series) discusses creating the right environment for cutting-edge racing game audio.
“Te main consideration was the use of space. We had a small area to begin with, so it was about building a room into that space that would be comfortable for my sound designers to be in for long periods of time. Next was the acoustics of each room – I didn’t want them completely dead. I wanted them to have a touch of life, hence working with Te Studio People closely to ensure we didn’t pack the walls out too much. In terms of gear, we tried to future proof ourselves as far as cable runs and sockets. As for gear, I knew what systems I wanted each room to have and I wanted each room to be exactly the same in terms of kit: Genelec monitoring with surrounds built into the walls, mounted TV for Sound to Picture work and game sound design, and enough desk space to accommodate an array of outboard gear.
XBOX Audio Kristofor Mellroth, senior audio director, Microsoft Studios, cites need, speed, and acoustics as primary considerations for their facilities.
1. Need – “Is this gear needed this year? Is it needed by only one person or useful to all? When outfitting 25 workstations, everything adds up and you won’t get enough money to do it all. Someone might need a special
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soft-synth for this one effect. But would everyone use it? Make sure you maximise your dollars every year. Ubiquity is fairly important for a large facility so avoid the tendency to buy a bunch of random stuff.”
2. Speed – “Plug-ins and tools that are overly complex and esoteric, you probably don’t want to invest in. Get stuff that is generic and fast that everyone can easily put to good use quickly.”
3. Acoustics – “Soundproofing is less important while to me, acoustics are more important. Bad reflections, resonance, and bass response kill time – and time is both money and quality.”
July 2014 23 Outsourcer’s Perspective
Tim Bartlett, co-founder Of UK outsourcer The Audio Guys (whose credits include Sonic Jump & Sonic Dash, Surgeon Simulator 2013, and Forza Motorsport 5 On Xbox One).
What were your top three design considerations when putting together your
own private workspace and equipment? 1 “Make an outhouse functional to work from. Tis involved building a room inside a metal barn. Tis was all done with wood, due to cost, and the fact that it works well
for audio.” 2 “Given that each of us in Te Audio Guys needs to build up our own facilities, the ultimate aim is to end up with a room that is reasonably ‘dead’ and functional for audio. We then need to get everything we are likely to need… in each location. Te basics are obviously a workstation… TV on
wall… multiple monitors, etc, etc.” 3 “As far as gear goes… we use PCs, but our rooms are not really studios as such. We have very little outboard gear [as] most is done in software. Te vast majority of our gear is dedicated to our recording exploits… and this involves tons of stuff… five recorders, many (20+) mics, blimps, cases of cables, DIY kit needed for cars and building mic rigs etc, furry stuff for wind protection… stands, chargers and all kinds of accessories.”
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