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Dolby Atmos powerslides into arcade racing

Michael O’Kane of Level 91 Entertainment and and David Baxter of Boom Clap Play explain how they implemented Atmos into twin-stick racer Inertial Drift

Above (from top) Michael O’Kane and David Baxter Inertial Drift is a dual stick arcade style racer inspired by classic drifting games. The audio goal was to reinforce and enhance the stylised visual aesthetics and gameplay.

We leveraged Wwise for audio authoring and became aware of the potential of Dolby Atmos and the available Microsoft Spatial Sound Platform Plugin in the early stages of development.

We tested the configuration across full 7.1.4 studio monitors, a top firing consumer system, stereo monitors and the headphone renderer. Without changing the mix implementation across any testing scenarios, we found pleasing results with negligible issues.

AMBIENCE DESIGN

Using Wwise’s automation panel we created vertically layered ambiences for the game. By setting the positional behaviour to follow the orientation, regardless of positional distance, we could define a zone and fire it off on a single game-object, containing a fully spatialised ambience that reacts to the player’s camera orientation. We then blend between various ambiences as the car moves around the track.

For tunnels, we implemented a simple acoustics solution using the built in Wwise surround reverb that feeds into all front and side channels. Sounds are sent to the reverb effect as an auxiliary bus, allowing us to

curate what sounds are impacted by reverb and by how much. We primarily used reverb to enhance the engine sounds when in tunnels, making them sound louder and more powerful.

WIND SYSTEM

After experimenting with a few different vehicle wind systems, we moved towards a proximity based spatial approach. The distance from the car to the walls is calculated and used to control procedural wind layers in the side channels. The distance to overhead obstacles can also be tracked to provide a layer of wind through the overhead channels enabled by Atmos. This gives the player a lot of feedback about the environment around them, rooting them further into the space.

VEHICLE DESIGN

Stylised engine sounds were an important part of our audio design. We used a mixture of multi-sampled static RPM loops from library sources, personal vehicles, synthesis and even guitars. After creating a library of mechanical and electronic types, we assigned various characteristics in a procedural manner to each vehicle to create a variety of sounds.

To provide detailed road feedback to the player, surface sounds are synthesised per wheel. Each tyre reacts to whatever surface it is in contact with, playing rolling and sliding sound effects based on the speed and slippage.

HITTING THE APEX

We definitely feel working with Atmos enhanced the audio experience of Inertial Drift, and we were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to implement. In some respects it is as easy as just switching a plugin on, however we would definitely recommend seeking access to an Atmos equipped mixing room for at least some of your tuning sessions to give you a full perspective on what’s going on. The headphone renderer is great for day-to-day work and definitely enhances the experience, however it doesn’t compare to the imaging you get from a full monitoring solution.

A Swift Spotlight: Into Games

With an aim to support young people from primary school age through to their first industry role, how has Into Games evolved over the last year?

BORN from the frustration at the lack of diversity and pathways into the games industry, co-founders Declan Cassidy and Kirsty Rigden married up their teaching and professional experience to create a movement which helps to build partnerships between the games industry and UK educators.

James Bowers from Aardvark Swift speaks with Brandon Cole, partnerships lead, and Millicent Thomas, social and content lead, about Into Games’ past, and what the future holds for diversity and inclusion.

“We have an industry which is 90 per cent educated to at least undergraduate level, with a very high socioeconomic barrier as well,” states Brandon. “When we first started, young people weren’t getting industry touch points. There was a real lack of resources and industry engagement. Declan and Kirsty undertook a long research project to determine what the core pillars of Into Games would be and how we could ensure we had the biggest impact possible.”

The preparation phase seems to have worked wonders. With an expanding base of original and informative content – including a new podcast series, industry Q&As, regular game jams via Side Quest, and a free online platform for connecting youth organisations with the UK games industry (the Video Game Ambassadors) – they’re firing on all cylinders to ensure that the video game industry is accessible like never before.

“We started doing live Twitter Q&As with industry professionals. We’ve now got an amazing database, just from asking people to be available for half an hour to answer questions from people looking to get into similar careers,” says Millicent.

“It is so valuable for young people to be able to ask questions directly to their favourite artists and designers.” Allowing young people to ask questions and receive honest and transparent answers will surely work wonders for the next generation of game development. Couple that with the pathways for every industry role being mapped out on the Into Games website, and you can really begin to see the value in this free resource.

“Guidance and information are Into Games’ founding principles. There’s so many young people who maybe wouldn’t usually get involved in projects, who become really engaged once they learn there’s more than just programming roles out there. When kids realise they want to be a level designer or work in marketing for games, it is a really cool feeling knowing you helped them come to that realisation,” adds Brandon.

The reactive nature of filling a specific niche is something this small and remote team excels at. Despite global lockdown affecting a large portion of the industry, with most events postponed or cancelled, a digital offering has actually streamlined the Into Games process.

“Our work is in a better place because others have moved in-line with us. More often than not we’ve found that remote engagement is better as it is so easy for anyone to get involved and just have it sat there whilst they get on with the rest of their day, like our Into Games Mentorship program which runs over Slack,” states Brandon. Their Into Games Mentorship program has been an incredible success. Seeing a number of mentees go on to exciting positions within the industry.

A more remote studio culture also provided Into Games with an opportunity. “For Side Quest, we decided that there were a lot of digital tools out there that we could be using, with a huge network of people who had committed their time to supporting social impact projects and who could now do that more easily. It has been really great to work with the industry more, as well as being a fantastic tool for schools and colleges to use as a regular game jam platform. It has informed some of the future projects we have planned for sure.”

You’ll be able to listen to the full conversation with Brandon Cole and Millicent Thomas in an upcoming episode of the Aardvark Swift Podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, third party apps, and the aswift.com website.

Above: Brandon Cole, Partnership Lead

Above: Millicent Thomas, Social and Content Lead

HOW TO PITCH YOUR GAME

While some in the industry have seen thousands of indie game pitches, many others rarely come across these often secretive documents. Here Stephen Hey shares his pitch for Trailer King, a game that never was, in order to give some pointers on where you might be going wrong

Start BIG • Present the game with (as complete as possible) key art and logo • Have an X-statement • State formats

On one sheet summary • WHAT is the game? • WHO are you? • HOW are you going to make it? • WHAT do you need from a publisher?

Emotional sell • Communicate the ‘feeling’ of the game • Use a video, a gif, a mood board or even hand them the game (in some cases)

Core loop• What is the core loop?• What does the player have to do in the game? • How does the gameplay continue?• Add screenshots/mock-ups to illustrate each stage

The game • Tell me as much about what it will feel like to play the game • What are your 3-4 design pillars • Clear up any potential ambiguity • Add any other selling points (Airstream)

Budget • Total necessary • What are you going to deliver for this? • Breakdown • Any existing/regional funding • Burn rate

Timing • Timeline from a potential start date • Make this realistic • Place key milestones but no detail • Show an understanding of the process • Add post launch DLC and support if appropriate