THE AUDIO OF FABLE 2: LARGE
SCALE COLLABORATION
Kristofor Mellroth
Audio Director
Microsoft Game Studios
Fable 2 Sound Supervisor
Intro
The perfect storm
Time (marketing)
Pride (quality)
Resources (headcount)
Intro
 What is “Large scale
collaboration?”
Intro
Leveraging three S’s
Structure
Specialization
Scale
…like a great turducken
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken
Key roles for the 3 S’s
Sound
Editors
Sound Design Supervisor
Sound Mixers
Composer
Audio Director
Music Supervisor
Orchestrator
Casting
Director
VO Supervisor
Performance
Director
Schedule is a feature
 Start date: January 4, 2008
 Stop date: June 23, 2008
 6 months…
Audio Design Pillars
Music
Environmental
mood
Ambience
Dramatic
tension
Cinemas
Action
reinforcement
Combat Music
Audio Design Pillars
Dialog
Dramatic
reinforcement
Casting
Create
interesting
characters
Writing
Seamless story
and simulation
Systems &
Tuning
Character
performance
Direction
Audio Design Pillars
SoundFX
Identity
Player
Change
RPG
Perspective
Distance +
Position
Detail
Content
Postmortem: What went right?
What went right? - Circle of trust
Lionhead
MGS
Soundelux
Soundlab
What went right? - Implementation
 Paper design first
 Flexibility through assets
 Progress despite dependencies
 Area specialization
 One mix
 Single screen co-op
 Online co-op
 Single player
What went right?
 Using a sound design vendor
 Scale
 World-class assets
 Outsourcing is honest
What went right?
 Next-Gen Communication
 Totally decentralized production
 Communication complex but effective
 Weekly Conf Calls
 Regional Team Meetings
 IM
 Email
 Bug Database
 Webcams
What went right?
 Project tracking on a shared
*Excel™ spreadsheet
 Visible to the entire team
 No “black box” schedule
 Lets you iterate before you start
*click here to buy
What went right?
 Audio quality
 Ambitions met
 Acknowledgments
 GANG
 Bafta
 Spike
 Elan
 Bottom line…it’s a dream game to do audio
for!
The important bit…
What. Went.
Wrong??
Challenges
 Tool set
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1 configuration supported
Steep learning curve
Unique terminology
Slow build times
Bugs
 Lessons Learned
 Complex tools take commitment
 Monolithic tools = audio tool compromises
 Proprietary tools don’t scale
Challenges
 Team proximity
 Email tone (humour VS humor)
 Tools required Lionhead infrastructure
 Lessons Learned
 Face = context, context = understanding
 Tools due diligence required
 Beware of tools that “manage everything for
you”
Challenges
 Memory Management
 Early assumptions proved false
 100% over budget
 Audio memory prediction is hard
 Lessons Learned
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Solve in preproduction
Build to capabilities
20 mb is NOT enough
You CAN squeeze 13 megs of blood from a stone
Leave room or have a plan for DLC
Challenges
 Co-Op
 Came in very late
 Online complicated to test
 2 players on a single screen causes havok
 Lessons learned
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Check all mixes against 2 player
Need lots of variation
2D sounds break everything
Network sound messages
Challenges
 Reference materials
 Vid caps, anim renders, docs, etc
 Time not accounted for
 Documentation lapses late
 Lessons Learned
 Have an audio associate producer!
 Asset wrangler
 Follow up with devs
 Dept advocate
Challenges
 O.C.Detail - AKA “things not heard”
 TV vs Home Theater mix
 Game Economy (Thanks Pub Games!)
 Interactive music intensity can be
unique
 Co-op camera
 Lessons learned
 Nothing, it is totally worth it. (mostly)
Techniques
SoundFX
Dialog
Music
• Identity
• Change
• Perspective
• Detail
• Reinforce the drama
• Create interesting characters
• Create a fully integrated experience
• Character performance
• Environmental mood
• Dramatic tension
• Action reinforcement
Techniques
 Change? Everything changes
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Player gender
Clothes and boots (Leather, Armor, Naked)
Good/Evil alignment
Player skill = new move sets
Blunt/Sharp/Choppy melee weapons with 7 types and 5 levels each
Pistols/Rifles/Crossbows with 10 types and 5 levels each
9 different spells with 5 levels and 2 types
Day/Night
Player/Henchmen
NPC Heroes – diff spells, abilities
Corporeal/Incorporeal Baddies
Human/Monster/Giant Baddies
Story - FMV, In-game cinematic, cut scene, scripted
Techniques
 Case study: Weapons
 RPG - Change
 Rusty
 Master
Techniques
Ranged weapon perspective
(Steel Flintlock Rifle)
Trails
Shot
Damage
Sweetener
Bullet impact
Bullet Whiz
Dry Fire
0
100
Listener
200
300
400
Techniques
Melee weapon perspective
(Legendary Katana)
Block
Enemy Damage
Strike
Flourish
Strike Ring
Scrape
Swipe
Flourish Ring
Swipe Ring
0
10
20
Listener
30
40
50
60
70
80
Techniques
 Case study: Ambience
 Bowerstone Market
 Seamless time of day
 Rich atmosphere
 Clock tower
 Good
 Evil
Techniques
 Case study: Spells
 Sword of Damocles
 Perspective
 RPG
Techniques
 Case study: Music
 Action reinforcement
 Crescendo Music system
Techniques
 Case study: Character Performances
 Reinforce Drama
 Character Performance
 Stats
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370 000 words
100 studio days
50 actors
4 directors
2 casting directors
38 hours of voice recording IN GAME
Techniques
 DSP
 Wavearts
 Final Plug – Reduces overall dynamic range
 Custom
 Harmonic Exciter – Creates “variation”
 Princeton Reverb
Questions?
 Thanks!
 Kristofm@microsoft.com
Appendix
Team Structure
 Russell Shaw – Head of Music,
Lionhead
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Composer
Music manager
Tools designer
The driving force inside Lionhead
Holds secret powers
Sound design
Team Structure
 Georg Backer– Associate Producer of
Audio, Lionhead
 Voice-over supervisor
 Attended all VO sessions
 Coordinated VO logistics
Team Structure
 Guy Whitmore – Director of Audio (MGS)
 Head of all publishing audio
 Ensures that 1st party games raise the bar
 Has production resources and budget
 Guides all products in MGS
 Keeps an eye on all 3 disciplines for Fable 2
 Music
 Sound
 VO
Team Structure
 Kristofor Mellroth – Sound Design Supervisor
 MGS Audio Director
 Managed sound design team and process
 Feature scoping, scheduling
 Specialized in systems design
 Sound designed the Dog
 Oversees other titles, must balance time
Team Structure
 Audio Implementation
 Kristen Quebe
 Specializing in mechanics sound and systems design
 Asset mastering
 Sound design
 Jeffrey Linsenbigler
 Specializing in world sound and systems design
 Asset mastering
 Sound design
Team Structure
 MGS Soundlab
 Ken Kato – Audio Production Manager
 Manages sound design team / recording schedules
 Keith Sjoquist – Sound designer / Recording
Engineer
 Peter Comley – Sound designer
 Mark Yeend – Sound designer
 Kyle Fraser – Sound designer
Team Structure
 Fable 2 Pub Games
 Mark Yeend – Audio Director
 Created sound design and implemented in XACT
 Supervised and ported entire project into Fable 2
Team Structure
 Soundelux
 Scott Gershin – Supervising Sound Designer
 All sounds ran through Scott
 Shannon Potter – Co-Supervisor
 Managed project and client relationship. Tracked all assets
and deliveries, sound design of farting & burping
 Sound Design team
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10 Sound designers
3 foley guys
4 Asset coordinators
VO / ADR folks
And 3 dog trainers
Team Structure
 Other contributors
 Shoko Iwano – Sound Design
 Neil Wakefield – Audio Programmer
 Kostas Zarifis – Audio Tools Programmer
 Jennifer Stanners – Associate producer
 Stan LePard – Pub Games Orchestration
 Allan Wilson – Orchestration
 SideUK – VO recording and editing
Tools
 Sound Design
 ProTools
 Audition
 Nuendo
 Mastering
 Audition
 Wavelab
 Sound Forge 9.0
 Composition
 Nuendo
Music
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Orchestral line up:
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16 first violin
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14 second violin
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12 violas
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10 celli
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8 bass
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6 horns
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2 flute (doubling piccolo)
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2 clarinet (doubling bass clarinet)
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2 oboe (doubling cor anglais)
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2 bassoon
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1 contra bassoon
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1 flugelhorn (doubling trumpet)
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2 tuba
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2 euphonium (tenor tuba)
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1 harp
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1 piano (doubling celeste)
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1 Timpanist
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2 x percussion
Music
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Credits:
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Fable Score
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Composed by Russell Shaw
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Orchestrated and Conducted by Allan Wilson
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Recorded and Mixed by Peter Fuchs
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Associate Music Production: Peter Fuchs
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Mixed at Phoenix Sound, Pinewood
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Orchestra
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Orchestra: Slovak National Symphony Orchestra
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Orchestra manager: Marian Turner
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Music Co-ordinator: Paul Talkington
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Recorded at Slovensky Rozhlas Studios, Bratislava
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Sound Assistants: Hubert Geschwandtner and Martin Roller
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Singers
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The Pinewood Singers
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Tiffin Boys’ Choir
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Tiffin Boys Choir Master: Simon Toyne
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Recorded at Phoenix Sound, Pinewood.
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Celtic/Folk instrumentalists
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Robert White & Brian Gulland