Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1524863
96 M PS E . O R G combinations to consider. The goal was to create something that is very detailed and connected to the environment, but didn't dominate the audioscape, and gave enough frequency space for all the other elements. We went through a lot of iteration on the assets, firstly, to get the tone and frequency range right and also to balance all the different material rain to balance against each other. Also, one major concern was player fatigue—listening to rain for hours can get grating on the ear. So, we wanted to create a system that is changing in tone, volume, and positioning when moving through the environment and through the different gameplay sequences. For instance, during combat, we lower the weather sound volume to give enough space for the other cues. Then we use a lot of the usual tricks of frequency and volume ducking for dialogue, weapons, and important gameplay cues. Like mentioned earlier, for the rain bed, we started looking into ambisonics as a possible solution but this didn't work, as it felt like you're in a rain bubble rather than in a world where it's raining. We ended up with a pretty simple 2D cross-blending bed for the different intensities of rain. For outdoor rain spots, we then went through a whole host of different system designs. Detecting different material types around the player and systematically placing positional sounds based on the material. We tried tagging and playing sounds from the props in the world. But we kept coming up with the same issues. Either there were too many sounds playing and they were jumping position or Diagetic sound from TVs that appear within the game form part of the rich, meta-fictional tapestry of sound sources. In live-action sequences, David Harewood plays Warlin Door, a mysterious traveler between dimensions and host of the surreal talk show In Between With Mr. Door. Alan Wake 2's story is told not only through traditional gameplay and cinematics, but in snippets of live action, written material, and even original song.