Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538144
72 M PS E . O R G Genre Flexibility & Creative Direction "In horror games, the sound design and music usually take a more prominent role than Foley in establishing a suspenseful mood." How do you modify your Foley recording techniques to suit the varying requirements of different game genres, such as action- adventure versus horror? Caron: For the Foley recording, it is mainly about making creative decisions with the Foley artists—choosing specific prop combinations, adjusting microphone placement, and using subtle processing during recording. This is usually up to me as the Foley supervisor and the Foley mixer on the stage to decide on, along with the cinematic audio lead from the game company. On the sound design side, action- adventure games will usually have a lot more "organic" style sounds that are more grounded in reality, such as Foley and sounds with less synthetic processing. In horror games, the sound design and music usually play a more prominent role than Foley in establishing a suspenseful mood. However, Foley props—especially creaky or textural ones—can add an eerie layer to the sound. Many different kinds of Foley props can be recorded as elements to enhance the mystique of the overall sound design. The Impact of AI on Game Audio "If the machines create the sounds, then how do we retain a sense of feeling creative?" In what ways do you think AI will start to impact game audio in the short term? Caron: AI has already been a part of game development for years—for example, with background NPC characters being created on the fly and reacting to a player's input. More recently, there was a wave of controversy with Darth Vader in Fortnite, where an AI-generated voice created by Google Gemini and Eleven Labs Flash imitated the voice of actor James Earl Jones (who played Darth Vader in the Star Wars films). Players could speak with Darth Vader, and he would understand what you were asking and respond in-character, using a replica of his signature voice and style. It's a very interesting time to watch how all the cutting-edge AI and GAI (generative AI) technologies will affect game development and what legal issues will surface between game companies, actors, and the unions. SAG-AFTRA just ended a nearly one-year-long strike (which began in July 2024) against the major game studios, coming to an agreement on their interactive contract—which now includes AI protections. This is great news for the game industry, as a lot of actors and studios are finally getting back to recording dialogue and doing performance capture. I think we'll see a huge shift in the audio workflow. We're already seeing AI tools for sound from companies like Krotos Studio and Eleven Labs, which can create sound effects from text prompts, analyze video, and automatically choose sounds from a library—placing them in sync with the footage. So far, the results haven't been of very high quality, but they could be good enough for smaller budget projects or YouTube content creators. These AI programs will definitely evolve rapidly and are going to change how audio is created for both film/TV and games. That said, I believe there will still be high demand for creative audio "storytellers," as well as sound designers with strong technical skills— people who are experts at managing and using all these AI tools effectively. Staying Ahead of the Curve "AI hasn't made a huge impact in game audio yet, but I predict it will in the next few years." What are some of the current trends and technologies in game sound design that you're most interested in? Caron: Obviously AI, and needing to be up on the latest technology and how it is influencing the game audio workflow, is a big factor. AI hasn't fully hit the game audio space yet, but people are starting to use it. It's currently being used in dialogue to assist with localization and translation Krotos Studio, AI enhanced audio tool for generating sounds in real time.