https://youtu.be/ARbj57w45-s
This week we look at how we are creating the WolfQuest 3 soundscape. In addition to adaptive music, we are building multiple layers of natural sounds – both environmental (wind, rain, etc.) and animal sounds – that help bring the WolfQuest world to life. Susan spent the last few months researching Yellowstone animals and gathering sounds that you might hear as wolf moving through the habitats of Yellowstone’s Northern Range. She sorted the sounds by season, habitat, and time of day, so I could then integrate them into the game, using a framework that our Unity developer Andrei built on top of a terrific plug-in called Master Audio. I create audio collections, then place audio emitters around the game map, which play the sounds in each collection based on defined rules (randomness, frequency, and time of day).
One challenge has been finding good, clean audio that was recorded by experts (who actually know the difference between a yellow warbler and a yellow-rumped warbler). Field recordings require good equipment, loads of patience, and long hours of analyzing and cataloging. We are grateful, in particular, for the work of Dr. Jacob Job, Sound and Light Ecology Team, Colorado State University/Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division of the National Park Service. Read more about this work at https://www.nps.gov/articles/deeplisteningbringsrewards.htm .
While you are waiting for the release of WolfQuest 3, treat yourself to a wolf serenade in Slough Creek at https://soundcloud.com/gaviaimmer/wolves-howling-at-dawn-in-yellowstone-national-park
__When?
We are getting closer to releasing the first episode, Amethyst Mountain, for PC/Mac on Steam and itch.io, as Early Access. That will be followed by Slough Creek some months later, followed by the mobile versions. We’ll then resume development of the next episode, Tower Fall
___How much will WQ3 cost?
WolfQuest 3 will be a free update to players who own WolfQuest 2.7. If you are buying WQ 3 for the first time, the cost will be more than the current game 2.7 (so it's cheaper to purchase it now and get WQ 3 as a free update). The Tower Fall expansion will be an in-game purchase (DLC).
___Will WQ3 be available on mobile?
WolfQuest is available for Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android & Kindle. So yes, WolfQuest 3 will be available for mobile phones and tablets...at least some of them, and/or in some form. Bigger maps and more animals may be too much for mobile devices with limited RAM memory. We'll do our best, but some low-end mobile devices will not be powerful enough to run the game. We will keep WolfQuest 2.7 (the current game) available as well (for both computers and mobile).