Comments on: The Witness Audio: 1000 Subtle Layers

By: matthew

matthew — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 02:09:47 +0000

sound is probably more important than visuals for authenticating an environment, yet its something i often feel is largely neglected (intentionally or not)

but as long as you guys are giving it attention with specific purposes in mind then that’s all i need to hear to not be worried

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:26:11 +0000

You had me at the 792nd footstep sound.

The posts about tree and terrain generation led me to believe that there would be no such thing as a background in this game with even grass given such painstaking detail, and it’s good to see the audio is getting a similar treatment. Usually, decisions about what sensory input is important aren’t left to the player, and I’m looking forward to reading more about what that means in terms of sound.

By: dan

dan — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:14:54 +0000

Hey Jon, please (if you can) use lossless sound files. Playing games with a good headphone setup can really bare the distortion and fatiguing qualities of .ogg or even 320kbps mp3 files. FLAC is a good choice for balance between space and compression as they decompress in real time as you listen.

By: Spencer

Spencer — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:27:54 +0000

“there isn’t a gigantic speaker system in the sky fed by a mic’d orchestra”

Judging from the trailer, it’s a small record player in the stump of a tree.

By: Andrew Lackey

Andrew Lackey — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:24:51 +0000

In reply to Aaron Jean. Indeed, silence is a great artistic choice in cases. The absence of something important sends the mind in all kinds of interesting directions.

By: Joshua Brandner

Joshua Brandner — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:48:58 +0000

Just wanted to say your hard work on the audio won’t be going to waste! I’ve never been excited to hear a game before, I can’t wait to see all the detail the team is pouring into this project. I hope The Witness is received well after release, because I’d love to see more game studios adopt the “every element has purpose” philosophy. Keep up the good work guys, I’m looking forward to giving you my money whenever you’re ready to take it haha

By: MrPapillon

MrPapillon — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:46:13 +0000

I really appreciate that sound crafting is such a big consideration for this game.
I myself advocate sometimes about the importance of “game sounds” which includes charismatic sounds (half life, nintendo), gameplay sounds (quake, …).
I dislike the tendency to put movie sounds like orchestra and voice acting.

By: Sami

Sami — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:51:18 +0000

I’ve never actually thought about music in The Witness. From everything I’ve seen, it just doesn’t seem like it’s a game that would want, let alone need, music.

By: Micah

Micah — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:57:29 +0000

Thanks for posting this Andrew good sir. It excites me to hear you say that this is the biggest creative challenge you’ve ever worked on. I appreciated to hear your mentioning of how The Witness has an inverted approach that is geared towards focused precision and functionality rather than the most aesthetic grandness you can cram into a package. That’s a good clarification to ponder. I’m very excited to see a game where ideas reign instead of a superficial fantasy world that bears no useful connection to our own, and I haven’t been excited about a game in a long time.
Cheers

By: Aaron Jean

Aaron Jean — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 04:59:35 +0000

“Silence is not only a bad artistic choice, it’s untrue.”

It’s funny- I was just playing Noctis IV. Silence was perhaps more of a resource constraint at the time, but it’s a game that flourishes without sound, and still manages to be one of the most artistic games of all time.