Update #6 - Music & Audio Design

Hi everyone, today we take a more in depth look into one of the most important areas of the game's design, Music and Audio. If you think about any of your most memorable gaming experiences, I am sure all of us have a game soundtrack that takes you back to remember epic moments and feelings of nostalgia. This is what we want to achieve with Xenosis: Alien Infection, and I will let Alexander take over here and talk about this in more detail. But before I do, grab your headphones and take a listen to what we have been working on recently, this is a work in progress as Alexander and I explore different themes, instruments and emotive expressions. https://soundcloud.com/james-stone-23/audio-breach-in-sector-5/s-piskk Hi everyone, My name is Alexander Giacoma and I am composer and sound designer for Xenosis. Here’s a little backstory, in case you’d like to get to know a little about me and my inspirations. Here are four random things that I love in order of interest; Sound Design, Sci-Fi (books/movies), Video Games, and Stargazing. From a young age, I was known to toy around in various DAWs and Synths. Sound design is my passion and profession. Although I consider every genre under the sun to be an inspiration, my work has always been grounded in cinematic, ethno-classical, and electronic music. (and derived subgenres) Musical inspirations of mine span from John Williams, Thomas Bergersen, and Hanz Zimmer to Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (Enya)... all the way to Jack Wall, Martin O'Donnell, and older electronic music legends like Kraftwerk and Alphazone. Some of my all-time favorite soundtracks and fondest gaming memories come from the Star Wars Universe, the Halo Franchise, and the beloved Mass Effect Trilogy. The sound of Xenosis is mainly synth-based. Composers have used synthesizers as being representative of the cosmos and/or eerie and strange phenomena since the first sci-fi films hit theaters. But I believe that relationship goes far beyond a given connotation, as synthesizers are intensely mathematical and can shimmer ethereally and mysteriously like no known acoustical instrument. One of my greatest inspirations for this project is the cosmos, an unimaginably vast mystery that we often forget about just over our heads. On clear nights in my hometown in Connecticut, I sometimes emerge from the studio cave, and set up my reflector telescope to gaze up at planets, stars, and other distant spectacles.

So what is my role on the team?

Original Music and Sound Effects I know, I know, pretty obvious answer right? … (I am the composer after all!) but it really is more than that, it's more a role of creating immersion. Without a healthy emphasis on music and FX, immersion is lost, when sound is thrown on the back burner a game becomes unconvincing. If you don't believe me, see for yourself, load up any one of your favorite titles, and mute the music and FX in various stages, does the game retain its atmosphere? How about its sense of immersion? Because Xenosis is such a remarkably unique game, it demands unique music and sounds. Music, art, and story are often tied to rigid expectations and conventions, and so it is the job of people like myself to achieve stylistic goals while breaking free from the mold. In my experience as a composer, I’ve developed my own approach to production and my own distinctive sound. Through this, hope that I can bring something truly unique and custom-tailored to the Xenosis experience.

How are we approaching audio design?

James and I have created a dynamic audio system that reacts directly to the players situation, able to heighten intensity or increase mood and tension when required. We do this through the use of three techniques. Dynamic Audio Tracks By layering our music into separate tracks, we are able to build tension to react directly to the players experience. For example, the dynamic audio system ties directly into the players alert level. If you are exploring the ship without the attention of the inhabitants, we deliver a soundscape designed to create fill the space you are in. If enemies becoming alerted to your presence, we raise the tension by adding another layer of audio. Finally, if you enter combat, another layer is added, giving life to the combat, further intensifying the atmosphere. When combat is over, the tracks fade out, back to the base soundscape. The following are two examples of this in action. https://soundcloud.com/james-stone-23/dynamic-audio-example-1/s-49eUI https://soundcloud.com/james-stone-23/dynamic-audio-example-2/s-x9Npq 3D Positional Audio We place many sounds in the game to heighten the immersion, that react correctly to the players position. You will hear lights buzzing, machines whirring and the distant scraping of flesh on metal as unknown lifeforms move around the ship. This attention to detail is what makes the game feel alive, feel imposing and is core to delivering a believable player experience. Environmental Effects As you walk through tight corridors, your footsteps are muted and your shots ring down the hallway. If you enter a hangar, you hear echoes all around, you shots bouncing from wall to wall and you can feel the openness of the environment. We use cutting edge audio and reverb techniques to create realistic environmental sounds to build on the layers above, and its been commented that hearing doors slam in the distance can sound so creepy for a top down game.

What are our biggest challenges?

Thinking outside the box is a vital skill for the composer, especially when tasked with creating Sci-Fi sounds that lack any sort of semblance to known phenomena on earth. I expect that crafting the sounds and cries of the various inhabitants which have made the Carpathian their home will be no easy task. But it is certainly possible, and done right, will give the game an awesomely terrifying flavor with a bit of ingenuity. I have been known to smack large ovens, whip ropes around, bang all sorts of things found in junkyards, anything to create unique sounds. I will be working closely with a number of clients (talented in the art of foul noises) and traveling around industrial environments equipped with my zoom H6, in search of some of the weirdest noises that the Derelict Carpathian might make as it shifts and stirs through the lonely cosmos, and I cannot wait for you all to dive in and hear the Carpathian come to life! I hope that gives you a good overview of what we are trying to achieve, if you do have any questions or comments, please just leave them below or come and talk to us in Discord Kind Regards, Alexander Giacoma Composer & Sound Engineer

Xenosis: Alien Infection is being crowdfunded on Fig, visit the campaign here: http://www.fig.co/Xenosis