Mixing It Up
The Last Great Challenge For Game Audio
Garry Taylor
Audio Manager – WWS Creative Services Group
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Overview
• Introduction
• What Is Mixing?
• Getting The Tools
• Monitoring & Standards
• Case Studies
Introduction
• Lots of money is spent on recording/acquiring
audio assets
• Implementation of the assets is just as important
• In the past, mixing has not been given enough
attention
What Is Mixing?
The technical answer:
• Achieving clarity
The artistic answer:
• Focusing and manipulating the player
What Is Mixing?
• Active Mixing
– Triggering changes in the mix through in-game
events
• Passive Mixing
– Routing and the configuration of dynamics
processors and how they interact with each
other
Getting The Tools
• Prioritization of Sound Effects
• Effective Sub-Grouping
• Mixer Snapshots
• Dynamics processors
Getting The Tools - Sound Effects
Prioritisation
• Audio engine may have limited number of
channels available
• Potentially 100’s of sounds playing at once
• Important sounds should be played, unimportant
sounds should not.
Getting The Tools – Effective
Subgrouping
• Similar sounds should be grouped for easy
manipulation
• Each group should be pre-mixed, allowing the
final mix to be simplified
• Allows dynamics processing on whole groups
Getting The Tools – Mixer Snapshots
• Gives you the ability to load and save snapshots
of all mixer settings
• Different snapshots are recalled via triggers from
the game
• Ideally, you should be able to make mix changes
in real-time, without restarting the game.
Getting The Tools – Dynamics
Processing
• Dynamics processing is about control
• Compressors and limiters work best at the group
level
• Used correctly, they will help you to maintain
clarity
Routing Example
Monitoring
• Ideally, you should mix your game in a critical
listening environment
• If you don’t have a suitable room, hire one!
• Consumer surround systems are very variable.
Standards
• No definitive audio standards exist for video
games
• Most platform holders are moving towards a
standard of -20dB RMS for dialogue
• Reference level for monitoring, roughly 79dB.
Case Studies
Case Study
• 12 Vehicles
• 12 Surfaces
• Mix states for each type of
event (i.e. Heavy Collision)
• Configurable transition times
between states
Case Study
• Maximum of 192 Voices
• Maximum of 31 Subgroups
• 3 main mix groups:
Music/Dialogue/SFX
• Mixer zones specified within
Maya correspond to mixer
snapshots
• Cutscenes have their own
mixer snapshots
Summary
•
•
•
•
A good mix is extremely important
Mixing = clarity and focus
Invest in the right tools
Monitor in an accurate environment
Thank you
Garry Taylor
[email protected]