Once again Joe aka Zomb0 is asking the questions that some of you are likely curious to know. This time around we get to hear a bit about the man behind the sound, our lead sound engineer Ulrich.
JoeH04: How do you produce the sounds for the weapons?
Ulrich: For weapon sounds I primarily put sounds together from libraries and edit, filter or change them the way I want them to sound. Ambient tracks and foley sounds I record by myself in the studio (but also here, sometimes, libraries are used).
JoeH04: How do you make them sound realistic?
Ulrich: The first thing is the way of impact a weapon should have. So, for example, when you shoot a Mossberg the attenuation level is not as big compared to a KG-9. In general, the dynamics, the level and the spatial image of a weapon are things you have to keep in mind.
JoeH04: What is your favourite weapon in Contagion?
Ulrich: I personally like the AR-15 the most. It's fast and accurate ;)
JoeH04: What type of sounds do you think is the most fun to work with?
Ulrich: In my opinion it's the sum of different sounds which create a soundscape. A sound itself can be interesting, but it really comes to life when you script it with other sounds and put properties like pitch, random placement and level to them.
JoeH04: Is it a long process when it comes to actually making the sounds?
Ulrich: I would say 40% research, like, hearing or creating sounds, 40% of editing via sequencers and 20% tweaking in the source engine via scripts. Sometimes, most of the time is spent listening and going through libraries just to find the perfect fitting sound.
JoeH04: A lot of games tend to have constant background music. Will this be the same in Contagion or will the music be action-triggered? For example, will there be different music for when you're being outrun by zombies compared to when you're walking around in a meadow?
Ulrich: Dynamic music is something we really think about, and we'll definitely use it in Contagion.
JoeH04: Where do you get your inspiration for creating the music?
Ulrich: I listen to a lot of different horror soundtracks, other games and compilations of horror sounds. Just to get a feel how scary moments and scenes can be created. I mean, being scary is a total relative experience. Not everybody gets scared by the same things so you have to think about something which can create a fearful scenery in everyones head. In the end it's just everyones imagination which you have to fill out.
JoeH04: Any music groups you like? *Cough Cough” The Temptations!
Ulrich: I'm a big fan of bands like Sevendust, Karnivool and Deftones, but I'm also listening to a lot of Kings of Convenience and John Mayer. Actually, I like stuff from Henry Mancini to Daft Punk. It depends on the day and the mood I'm in. Yes, on Mondays I'm listening to other stuff than on Sundays ;)
JoeH04: Finally, we, here at Contagion Fans, would like to thank you for taking time and answering our questions and we wish you the best of luck in the continued development!
You're welcome! Thanks for the Interview and hope you have a loooot of fun with Contagion once it's released! Oh, and don't forget to register on our forums as we'll soon invite more playtesters! :)
