Agenda
Focus Mixing: Making the Right Sound Matter in 'ACE COMBAT 8''s Aerial Battles
Ryo Watanabe (Audio Director / Manager, BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.)
Pass Type:
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Track:
Audio
Audience Level:
Intermediate
Format:
Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: Intermediate
ACE COMBAT 8 is built around the feeling of being the hero in a huge aerial battle. Audio Director Ryo Watanabe explains how Focus Mixing helps players hear what matters as music, radio, engines, and explosions compete for attention. The session explores mixing driven by mission states and Wwise music events, distinctive engine and flyby sounds that reveal ace aircraft by ear, and why music takes the lead across the final ten missions as attention shifts from the physics of flight to the characters' emotions. It also examines how the Immersive, Fun, and Feedback pillars shape controller haptics, including a runtime vibration synthesizer, and how HDR, harmonic enhancement, clipping, and spatial audio help the mix stay readable. He also shares the less glamorous side: a system first nicknamed 'AI Mixing' that depends on scripts, hand-authored rules, and a great deal of listening.
Takeaway
Attendees learn how context-specific sound assets, game parameters, routing, and playback priorities work together to create cinematic mixes without restricting player freedom. A/B comparisons and mission-wide reviews show how the team balances clarity, battlefield density, and responsive feedback, while managing the workload and complexity of constant tuning.
Intended Audience
This session is for technical sound designers, audio programmers, sound designers, and audio directors building dynamic mixes for action games. Familiarity with middleware, routing, priorities, HDR, or RTPCs is helpful but not required; the framework and production lessons apply beyond ACE COMBAT.