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The outer worlds designer4/6/2023 The walla is more dense than it seems like it should be for the area, and its tone is relatively neutral. As for the town in the middle of this jungle, I wanted it to feel like a bit of a refuge from this hostile exterior. You can hear distant beasts that sound dangerous, a different flavor of alien birds, and at nighttime, you can hear some small critters come out and add a new layer to the soundscape that helps the area feel even more foreign. So I wanted the wilderness around this area to be very quiet, so the player can take in all the cues around them of where the enemy wildlife is. Roseway has this whole story around it of how it’s been sort of overrun by Raptidons. I made it much calmer and quieter to allow the player to really take in the beauty of the world around them and feel peaceful in a sense. This is reinforced by the changes to the ambience during night time. Overall, I wanted Emerald Vale to garner a sense of curiosity more than a sense of danger or fear. You can hear distant gunshots and battles, alien birds, and even some worldized sounds for a creature in our game called “Pterorays.” While I did include some fearsome large creature sounds into this area, I was sure to not let them dominate the soundscape. I wanted them to be intrigued by all the various birds and beasts they will hear occasionally in the distance. What does Emerald Vale sound like? Edgewater? Byzantium? Roseway? What went into the sound of those locations?ĭylan Hairston (DH): In terms of ambiences and emitters, Emerald Vale is the first area that our player gets explore, so I tried my best to make the ambience of this area invite the player to do just that. Let’s look at some of the locations in The Halcyon System. Ambient music instills a sense of grandeur and mystery to the world, inviting the player to explore as the story unfolds before them. Creatures can be heard in the distance, telegraphing their presence, and when confronted they aggressively challenge the player with a vicious roar. We also wanted to fill the player with a sense of adventure and wonder. ![]() Weapons pack a transient punch, are drenched in sci-fi details and empower the player, and their reports sound appropriate to the environment they’re in. Interactable objects have the appropriate weight and cadence to them, whether the player is opening and closing doors, or hoarding every last collectible item they can find. Not only did it have to sound realistic, but it had to behave that way as well…Every object in the world emits its own unique sound.ĪI character dialog (what we call “chatter”) provides moment to moment feedback that feels tonally and contextually appropriate, useful, and tactical in ways that both immerse the player and help them play the game better. Every object in the world emits its own unique sound. Wind gusts and wallas spill through open doors and become silent when they’re closed. Sound is everywhere you turn! Electronic equipment placed in the world hums with electricity, toilets leak, lights buzz, and scaffolding groans. Not only did it have to sound realistic, but it had to behave that way as well. JB: We wanted the soundscape of The Outer Worlds to feel realistic, organic, well-worn, and inhabited. What was the overall direction for sound on The Outer Worlds? How does the sound differ from other sci-fi / dystopian space games?
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