Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1524863
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 73 organic whoosh textures—whales, tigers, fire, and feedback FX. Pete's finishers are very 'down to business' with more flange and phase textures and almost trailer- esque impacts. The last layer that defines them are their thwips which I touched on earlier, but listening to those back-to-back, you can really hear the distinct sound sets. There are so many components to hero combat, I could go into greater granular detail, but I'm concerned I'd be here for a few days. Given the action-heavy sequences and constant fighting, how did you address the challenge of ear fatigue for players? Were there specific design principles or techniques you employed? Blake Johnson: Some of this needs to be done on the asset level for sounds that are frequently heard. Being particularly mindful of the 2khz-4khz range and removing layers or aspects of sounds that just contribute to the noise are two big hitters. Something we also incorporate is a very slow and subtle volume reduction based on how long combat has been going on. An important principle of mixing games that I've found is that the default or 'global' level you decide to put combat sounds in should rarely need to be raised. If they're having a tough time popping through, look to see what's distracting from them or bringing up the noise floor, then reduce or kill those elements either dynamically or permanently. "Turn it up" is oftentimes not the answer! One thing that made a notable difference for ear fatigue was multiband compression in the endpoint mastering. Especially controlling that 2khz-4khz range is vital. When things get crazy in the mix, this multiband compressor was our saving grace. Can you touch on the use of dynamic mix systems in Wwise and how gameplay and engine information were used to inform the mix? Specifically, can we talk about gameplay mixing? What were the key challenges and benefits of using this approach? Blake Johnson: I love the process of mixing gameplay because it has such a unique set of problems compared to mixing linear media. When mixing gameplay, I try to look at decision-making through two main lenses. Firstly, 'If this were linear, how would a film mixer mix this?' and secondly, 'What is most important to the player?' From