2019-03-01_PC_Gamer

finds videogames the most challenging. “In games you

need to record and design sounds for all possible

scenarios,” he says. “Movies and TV shows are linear, so I

mostly work based on the picture. No matter how many

times you watch the movie, it’ll sound the same. But when

a first-person shooter game requires close and far

perspective gunshots, we need to record multiple

variations to excite your ear.”

And, as that yacht incident illustrates, field recording

also means getting your hands dirty. “This is one of the

most difficult industries I’ve tapped into,” says Wu. “Some

of the most exciting games I’ve been hired to work on

involved recording an M

Abrams battle tank and

other armoured vehicles. It

took a lot of phone calls and

emails to acquire

permission to record

sounds on a US Marine

Corps military base, but

they eventually let me in,

and I actually got to ride on, and record, a moving tank.”

Wu also spent time at the Sebring International

Raceway while working on audio forProject Cars 2.“I

was asked to record the onboard and external sounds of

Red Bull race cars,” he says. “The 600-horsepower Honda

Civic rally car was so violent that it broke the battery

cable powering my large multitrack field recorder.”

GO IT ALONE

But of all the situations Wu’s job has landed him in,

having an entire theme park to himself has to rank highly.

For the game Planet Coaster, Frontier asked him to record

a variety of coasters and rides without the ambient noise

of a busy theme park. And so, after making a few phone

calls, he found an out-of-season park in Indiana that let

him and his many microphones in to do the job.

“This was an incredible experience,” says Wu. “I still

can’t believe I got to record on all those crazy rides

without anyone else around. It took a lot of careful

planning and rigging to capture clean sounds without

wind noise and water smacking against the microphones.”

Wu works remotely in his own studio, and I wonder

what his working relationship with developers’ in-house

sound designers is like. “It depends on the company I’m

working with,” he says.

“Some companies only want

raw recordings because the

audio team wants to do its

own editing, while others

want fully designed files.

Phone calls are crucial, as

sometimes I want the audio

director or audio lead to

give me examples of what they’re after, even if they have

to make the sound with their mouth.”

After talking to Wu, whose passion is infectious, I have

a newfound appreciation for the work that goes into

providing sound for videogames. It’s an aspect of

development most people take for granted, but now

whenever I pilot a boat in a game I’ll think of him

retching over the side of that yacht. A small sacrifice,

perhaps, but an example of how much of themselves

developers put into the games they create. And if you ever

need someone to vomit quietly, you know who to call.

Andy Kelly

FAR LEFT: Wu

records the sound of

a roaring crowd for a

sports game.

LEFT: Next time you

do a wheelspin in a

driving game, think of

this photograph.

KITTED OUT Some of Wu’s field recording gear

GAFFER TAPE

Beingafieldrecordistinvolvesalotof

taping microphones to things, so Wu

alwayshasafewrollsofthistohand.

HYDROPHONES

Designersloveunderwaterlevels,which

is where these specialist underwater

microphones come in handy.

FOLDING CHAIR

Wu’sjobtakeshimto some isolated

places, and having a chair to hand is

essential for long recording sessions.

PORTABLE RECORDER

Wu carries a high quality portable

recorder for whenever he hears an

interesting sound.

“THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST

DIFFICULT INDUSTRIES I’VE

TAPPED INTO”

Photo credit: Seth Johnson Photo Credit: Tiffany Karamitsos

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