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This project was something a little different for myself, and James Walker, the sound designer. Nest was an abstract art installation that consisted of a tryptich video arrangement with a Foley and atmosphere-based soundscape. Francesca Carr approached James about this project and when I was contacted about being involved, it was something I couldn’t turn down. Since the first time we met about the project I had ideas floating around my head, and just couldn’t wait to get started!

Nest was a personal project for Francesca and the use of items belonging to people in her family, along with her connection to them. This brought about the idea of using some contact mics on some of the props we used to convey that close, intimate sound they provide. This turned out well and acted as a form of percussion at times. The sound effects I was recording was Foley in a sense, the manipulation of props, specifically not in sync, to create rhythm and let the timbre evoke certain emotions.

This project for us was almost a crossover between music and film. There were elements, such as atmospheres and Foley, that brought about a film feel, while the mix and percussive nature of the piece echoed music. We approached the mixing and mastering in a musical direction, while the editing took a more film-style approach.

After the pre-production elements had taken place, it was time to make a start on recording. Below I will describe several elements of the process; the recording environment, microphones and workflow. This should offer some insight into the technical and practical features involved.

Recording Environment

As pictured in my previous blog post about Last Man on Earth, prop testing began in the recording space I was to use - a room in my house. This was the obvious choice for me for a number of reasons. Firstly, I was able to store many props and utilise a number of items already in my possession. secondly, it’s extremely convenient to be able to leave set up, and record for extended periods of time. Lastly, it is fairly isolated from the outside world, besides a few uncontrollable environmental factors; draping duvets and curtains on reflective surfaces helped the absorption.

Recording Equipment

I used a Michael Joly modded Oktava MK 012 in hypercardioid for the majority of recordings, switching to cardioid for some elements and also to a Michael Joly MJE "Hulk 990" where necessary. Either of these mics were running into a Roland Quad-Capture UA-55.

Workflow

“Last Man on Earth is a short pre-apocalypse sci-fi thriller about a team of virologists searching for a cure to cancer.  It's a film about decisions and their consequences.” This was taken from the film’s crowdfunding page which finished on July 17th 2015 with the production itself being shot the same month.

‘Teim’ is a multiplayer dungeon trawler game designed for 3+ players. Each player will have individual objectives to complete within the dungeon, which may differ from the objectives of the other players. These objectives often require teamwork to be completed and after each objective, the difficulty will increase. Each objective that is completed results in points that could eventually lead to the ‘Ultimate objective’ containing the boss. However, there is only one sole winner and players have the ability to betray one another – refused to help another player complete their objective.

Within the dungeon, the players will face randomly generated traps, secret staircases, curses, mysterious doors, treasure, and mini-games. The player has the ability to play mini-games in order to gain prizes. Other players can join, but the original player may decide to keep the reward, denying the other player than contributed any share. The items collected have individual effects and specific stats – speed, health, damage, range, and gold gain. Below is an image detailing the inventory.

Game Design Team 

Emil - Game Design 

Ryan - Game Programming and Mechanics. 

Corey - 3D Design and Level Design

Gavin - 3D Design 

First Sound Ideas

Ambience samples to set the location - each room the players enter. 

 Weaponry sounds are a must. The players fire arrows, therefore will require arrow fire, hit, and projectile samples. 

Simplistic music score to avoid other samples being drowned out. Music may not be triggered continuously to avoid the issue of sounds being inaudible when played in conjunction with others. 

Will need alternative concept for the ‘footsteps’ of the characters, as they’re cubes, therefore they may not have actual footsteps. 

Prototype 

The Prototype is scheduled to be completed by 20/11/15. Below is what is expected to have been completed by this date. 

Mechanics - Shooting - damage - Health 

‘Spoopy’ is a family friendly game based around ghosts and ghost-busters. As a ghost character, the objective is to scare every civilian out of the town in order to graduate from ‘Spoopy School.’ However, there are Ghostbusters prowling, attempting to locate the ghosts to exterminate them, which must be avoided. If caught, the game ends. 

The Ghostbuster character has radar equipment to aid them in locating the ghosts, along with vacuum-like exterminating equipment. The ghost players have the ability to hide for limited amounts of times, so they can avoid the approaching Ghostbusters. In order to scare the civilians, the ghost players have the ability to possess furniture.

The game could potentially be a multiplayer in the prototype. This could dramatically alter the sound content that could be implemented for the game. Certain sound cues could be over-shadowed by other triggered sounds or result into too many samples being played simultaneously, which could become confusing for the player. 

The AI will have random movements, moving around the game locations. The AI will either in a state of wandering or fleeing. The AI will have a ‘Scare meter’ – the higher it is raised, the better. The Scare meter will be used to determine the high score.

Game Design Team 

Victoria - Concept Art, 2D Art, and Texturing.    Will - Concept Art, Environment Design, and Texturing.

Sam - Level and Environment Design

Kirsty - Game Design (Mechanics) 

Phil - Environment and 3D Design. 

First Sound Ideas for Spoopy

Ambience samples to set each location within the game - cathedral, School, etc. 

Simplistic linear music (potentially interactive) that could be utilised to alert players of an approaching enemy. This could be integrated into Unreal Engine 4 using FMOD. 

Sounds triggered when ghost characters possess furniture and objects.

Automated low-pass filters on exterminating equipment to signify the draining of the items power to the players. It cannot be used continuously. 

Potential studio recorded dialogue, but the dialogue will not be spoken word. Similar style to The Sims and Pokemon. 

Prototype 

The Prototype is scheduled to be completed by the 21/11/15. Below is what is expected to have been completed by this date.  Mechanics - Character - Movement, Possession of an object (float and transform), Power meter for possession/cooldown, travelling through walls (ghost character only). 

A.I - Movement - Point-to-point inside navigation mesh.  A.I - Reaction States - Wandering, scared, and fleeing.  A.I - Scared level metering.  Multiplayer - Working LAN - Single Player Movements (Ghost players). Ghost Buster Players - Movement (sprint) - Scanner - Radar which reveals position of ghost players and traps them within a room.  Ambience and atmospheric sound cues, basic character sound cues, and sound cues for possession of furniture and objects for ghost players.