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MechAssault
Game: 08 Apr 2003
By: Tawm Perkowski
N/A

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/mechassault/default.htm

Peter Comley and Tawm Perkowski used Kyma for the sound design on the new XBox game, MechAssault. As one might expect from an action game centered on 40-foot-tall robots, explosions are large and frequent. The game is a near-constant barrage of debris, dirt, and flames being cast about with extreme force. Most of these sounds were created with Foley and recorded sound elements. However, to convey the advanced technology behind the weapons found in the Battletech universe (and the sheer chaos of the explosions) Peter and Tom wanted lots of unusual synthetic elements... so naturally they turned to Kyma.

Discussion (Descriptions, reviews, discussion):

Outrageous zaps, drones, and sub-bass sounds were integrated with the more traditional sound design and Foley elements to create some intense, cutting-edge audio effects that don't lose their impact even after being heard thousands of times. Filtering, pitch enveloping, granulation and waveshaping/distortion were key elements of the Kyma sounds which were used in processing field recordings and generating textures. Nearly every sound utilizes a carefully crafted low frequency element generated by Kyma to fill out the bottom end of explosions, building collapses and weapon-firing sounds. The game has been getting great reviews for the sound effects (e.g. from XBox Addict's Gamer Reviews: "This is mastered in Dolby 5.1 and it sounds like your right in the middle of the action. I use my surround system and it kicks freakin' !&%$@# like no tomorrow.")