The July’s Issue of Develop Magazine is now available for download. In the Heard About section, John Broomhall has published an article about the sound of “Split/Second“, from a talk with audio director Steve Emney and audio programmer Andy Hutchings. Let’s read:
The high octane, high stakes and high drama Split/Second, is a riotous, explosive, adrenaline-pumping racing game. You can tactically deploy powerplays to trigger jaw-droppingly impressive environmental events and effects – while knobbling your opponents progress to boot, gaining precious seconds of lap time and even opening up new routes.
All well and good – and clearly rich pickings for an audio team with both excellent pedigree and a hunger to push the envelope. Right from the outset, however, Steve Emney and Andy Hutchings knew they faced the danger of racing game audio overload. Given the sheer saturation of sound events involved – not to mention numerous car engines and Nimrod’s kick-ass music score – getting the mix right was a big challenge. Its anti-cacophony strategy entailed a close, harmonious working relationship and shared vision between coding and sound design, the like of which racing game veteran Emney hasn’t previously encountered.
Download: Develop 107 – July (PDF)