Q&A with Michael Henry, Audio Manager
Another Q&A was just published over at the Champions Online website. This time it's with the Audio Manager, Michael Henry. Audio plays a very important role, read on to find out what Michael has to say!
Q: What do you do on Champions Online?
A: I am the audio lead on the project. My audio partner-in-crime Joe Lyford and I are responsible for all of the sounds in the game.
Q: How long have you been in the gaming industry, and what did you do before working on Champions Online?
A: I've been working with games for 12 years. (Has it really been that long?) Prior to that, I spent about 10 years working for a company in Chicago that was involved in commercial music production for TV, radio and film.
One day I was contacted by a headhunter looking to fill a composer/sound designer position at Viacom New Media, and I thought: "Why not? This would be a great way to marry my interests in audio, music and technology." So I made the leap, and I've never regretted it.
My first gig in games was working on an interactive music title for MTV. I've worked on quite a few titles since, from coin-op to console and PC. After a couple of years, I moved out to the Bay Area to take a position at the legendary Atari (later Midway) Games. The last title I worked on there was with Ed Logg, who programmed the original Asteroids – 25 years later and he was still with Atari!
Q: What role does sound play in exciting gameplay?
A: A bigger role than most people imagine. For me, audio is somewhere between 30 to 50 percent of the gaming experience, perhaps even more (depending on context). It's just like film or other mediums.
In games, audio often works on a subconscious level. If it sticks out it gets annoying and distracts you from the visuals. For things like ambience, if the audio is just right, your ears tend not to notice. You brain takes the sound for granted.
And music can completely color or change the feeling behind visual images. Try thinking of the shower scene from Psycho with the Bernard Herrmann music score replaced with some goofy, light-hearted Danny Elfman-esque music. The frightening terror of the scene would vanish, and the scene would be perceived with a whole new meaning.
Check out the full Q&A here.
