Ark One Studios will be presenting a series of videos explaining different techniques and strategies applied to breathe life to your productions, the first of which is Vertical Mixing.

A critical element to make great even better

Great music and sound effects usually elevate a game. The opposite is also true. Poor design and uninspiring, detached music spoil what can be an otherwise great product. Industry leaders know that the smart implementation of interactive music enhances the immersion experience of any given game. By adapting the music to what’s happening on-screen or to what the player is doing or experimenting with, we get music that behaves and adapts organically. The result? We, as players, are more easily convinced that every element of the game shares a deep and natural integration with the universe of the game, thus making our gaming experience unique.

Creating the audio for a game is about trying to provide compelling soundscapes throughout dozens of hours: they are bound to set the mood, enrich the aesthetic experience, set the tone in which the narrative should be read by the audiences, and, if successful, convince the audience that the world in which the story is set is real.

Vertical Mixing

In our first video of a brand new YouTube Video Series, our Music Supervisor, Juan Schweizer, introduces the Vertical Mixing concept. And he does it by analyzing a wonderful example of great sound design: Super Giant Games’ Transistor. Great games become better by implementing techniques that revolve around User Experience. Audience engagement reaches new heights thanks to brilliant Art Direction and the intelligent use of technology.

Super Giant Games makes sure Sound Design and Music Composition go hand in hand with gameplay and narrative development from the early stages of the whole process. Therefore, acknowledging the importance of integrating all these elements from the very beginning. That’s one of the reasons we feel happy to take them as a reference.

Feel free to enjoy this first entry, and share it with friends and colleagues if you find it interesting. Don’t forget to activate English subtitles if necessary!