Bubbling pools of lava. Rushing water echoing throughout a cavernous aqueduct. An eerie graveyard. A lonely mountaintop buffeted by unrelenting snow.
For the longest time, Jack and I imagined these sounds in our heads as we played the development build of Where Shadows Slumber. Neither of us have any formal audio training, so our game was a silent vacuum waiting to be filled with lively sound. We imagined footsteps clattering on tile, creepy birds in the distance, and the distant growl of mysterious beasts as we dreamed of a day when our game felt complete. Finally, that dream has come true!
To be sure, this game is still very much in development. But we’re finally ready to show off some of the sections of our game that have complete sound. It’s taken many months of recording and composing by Alba S. Torremocha and Noah Kellman, our powerhouse audio team, to get here. All the while, Jack has been diligently programming a complex system of triggers to ensure that their sound plays correctly during the game.
I underestimated the amount of work it would take to set all of this up! But I was right about one thing – our game feels so much more alive now that you can hear things like the crunch of grass under Obe’s feet. Every visual element in the game has taken on a weighty-ness that gives it a sense of place, whereas before everything just seemed to float. If you normally don’t play mobile games with your phone’s sound on, you’re going to want to reconsider when you download Where Shadows Slumber next year.
Without further ado, let’s watch some videos of the game in action accompanied by a brief interview with Alba and Noah.
TURN YOUR SOUND ON! ([ ^_^]);
At a planning meeting, we discuss scene audio transitions.
Interview With Alba and Noah
FRANK. What was the name of that event you guys went to?
ALBA & NOAH. The event was a GANG (Game Audio Network Guild) monthly panel and feedback meeting, one of the only venues where us audio nerds can safely enter the outside world and socialize.
F. How secret was it? Can you tell us anything?
A&N. We can tell you that Tom Salta (Composer for Killer Instinct, Prince of Persia, Halo), Jason Kanter (Audio Lead at Avalanche) and Gina Zdanowicz (Owner of SerialLab Studios, Sound Designer for Best Luck) were all there to give us feedback, and they all had great things to say about the game! They also offered us some really fantastic feedback with good ideas to help us continue to improve the soundscape.
F. What parts of the game did you show off?
A&N. We chose one Level from each of three Worlds (World 0, World 2, and World 6) and demonstrated how the audio interactivity works, as well as our aesthetic sound choices so far.
F. How much audio is done – what have you done so far?
A&N. It’s crazy to say, but we’re almost finished with our first pass of sound for every World except World 7! Whoa. Once that’s done, we’ll head over to the UI sound design and the cutscenes, while continuing to make improvements on the rest.
F. What part of the game are you working on now?
A&N. We’re finishing up music and sound for World 4 and we have some crazy ideas that might hold back the schedule a bit… (oh crap, I hope Frank and Jack aren’t reading this…)
F. What audio features are you most looking forward to creating?”
A&N. We’re really excited to freak out our neighbors with a bunch of strange, deep grunting sounds while we work on Obe’s voice and character sound design. And also, wait, did someone say… string quartet?
What Do You Think?
We’re very proud of the work that’s been done on the game so far. That doesn’t mean the game is finished, though! We’re also not above taking criticism or honest feedback. Now is the time to tell us what you really think – don’t wait until the game is on the store, and you’re agonizing over whether to give it four stars or five stars…
Leave a post in the Comments section below and let us know what you think!
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Thanks for checking out the game’s audio in this blog post update. Please leave a comment to let us know you’re not a Russian Twitter bot scanning this page for mercenary purposes. You can find out more about our game at WhereShadowsSlumber.com, ask us on Twitter (@GameRevenant), Facebook, itch.io, or Twitch, and feel free to email us directly at contact@GameRevenant.com.
Frank DiCola is the founder of Game Revenant and the artist for Where Shadows Slumber.
Game Revenant 