[Post-Mortem] Rogue Trooper
We sit down with the Lead Designer, Audio/Music Lead and Head of Production to get the skinny on what went into making one of this year's best third-person shooters.
Published: June 19, 2006
TPS: The audio plays a very key role in building atmosphere for the game. What tools were used to create some of the sound effects and is there any one effect or bit of audio that you guys are especially proud of?
Tom Bible: There are a lot of aspects of the sound that we are proud of, as Rogue Trooper required a lot of attention to detail in order to create an immersive audio experience. A couple of aspects of the audio that stand out for me are the sound of Gunnar which took some time to perfect as most of the iterations of his sounds just didn’t sound ‘powerful’ enough, regardless of the ‘beefiness’ of the individual sounds themselves. In the end I discovered that the feel of Gunnar could be greatly enhanced by using a kind of ghosted additional firing sound for every shot, so that Gunnar feels like he’s firing at twice the rate. Other standout aspects of the audio would be the work that the team did for 45 minutes worth of cutscenes featured in the game, as well as the fantastic performances of the voice cast, which really gives the game character.
TPS: What tools and software were used for crafting the music? We noticed it's a little dynamic, but it seemed based on trigger points throughout the level.
TB: I wrote the music using Logic, Acid, Live and Sound Forge. I also designed a dynamic music system for the game’s Asura engine, which handles seamless transitions between music tracks even on a relatively low-end sound system such as the PS2. As I knew the music system so well I was able to compose the music specifically to work within it rather than attempting to retrofit the music into the game after it had been written. This meant that I was often designing the music as much as I was composing it.
In terms of the actual implementation some of the music triggers are linked to specific events or locations in the game but others are linked to the state of multiple AI characters meaning that the music could react to the situation that Rogue finds himself in at any given time. There is a lot of music in the game but you’ll only hear each piece once or twice as the system is designed to minimise repetition of music.
MB: I love the fact that different players will have experienced different music crafted on their own style. Going in guns blazing leads to quickly triggering action pieces while stealthier approaches have their own tracks being called up.
TPS: Would you mind going into a little detail on how the main theme for the game was created? There's a recurring note string that makes appearances throughout what seems like every level.
TB: When I begin working on the music for a game I often start by trying to establish a main theme, which in this case was the theme for the main character, Rogue. After a meeting with the other leads we decided that my brief was to create a score which had elements of an atmospheric film score with both military and middle eastern elements, an epic sound and some unusual sonic textures in order to reflect the feel of the comic. I was quite influenced by John Powell’s work on the Bourne Identity and Peter Gabriel’s seminal soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ in terms of the actual sounds and textures I used. As for the actual main melody itself I wanted a simple and catchy, yet sombre tune that I could use in a number of places in different ways and after a little experimentation I managed to find something that both I and the leads were happy with.
TPS: In case you can't tell, we're fans of the soundtrack. And plans for a proper release -- either via brick and mortar record stores or online?
TB: We have been talking to a record label about releasing a CD soundtrack, and I actually have all the tracks ready. However, currently the issue is sitting with the legal people so I’m afraid I can’t confirm anything at the moment.
TPS: The online mode seemed a little skimpy, was it something that was added towards the end, or was there just not enough time to complete it? The co-op approach is great, and we hardly expected it, but it seems like using the whole cover mechanic would have made for some awesome deathmatch modes.
MB: Rogue Trooper is a story of one GI’s battle and deathmatch seemed to clash with that right from the start, so we were looking for an alternative take early on.
AM: Also balancing a game for deathmatch is a completely different beast to balancing a game for single player, and we only had the time to do one properly, which led to the co-op modes in the final game.
MB: It was a great chance to drum home to the player the tale of the Quartz Zone Massacre and the fate of all those other GI’s that didn’t make it.
AM: I’m happy with the result, but do wish we’d had more time to expand the levels and let players really play with the features of each character to the fullest.
TPS: Have you guys had a chance to goof around with any of the next-gen consoles? We're obviously partial to the PS3 around here, but it'd be interesting to hear how you guys feel about things like storage mediums and what the newer hardware does for things like compression and surround sound.
AM: Work is being done on the next generation of consoles, and they’re proving to be impressive pieces of kit indeed. The amount of RAM and sheer horsepower under the lid is allowing us to do a lot more with games with regards to really immersing the player in the worlds we create. It’s exciting and challenging to try and figure out how best to use them to bring players the next level of gaming.
TB: With next generation kits supporting surround sound it is obviously something that we are aiming to make full use of. However, what I’m really excited about is the larger amount of memory available for sound and the potential for lots of real time DSP effects operating in a way that’s not been possible before. All this should really allow for the bar to be raised significantly for console audio.
TPS: Any plans to bring Rogue Trooper to the PSP?
AM: Not that I’m aware of Control wise it’d require a big rethink, which would impact on some of the features, but we’ve released several titles on PSP already using the Asura tech so technically it could be done.
TPS: Typical final softball question: is there anything in particular that you'd like the player to take away from the game besides the obvious "have fun"? Any little easter eggs that we should be on the lookout for as we play through?
AM: If you’re a fan of the comic we hope you noticed our homage to Buzzard 3, in the form of the crashed satellite that plays the backdrop to mission 7. This was chosen because we knew that we couldn’t realistically do the proper Buzzard 3 scene in space – just creating all the Souther Generals would have taken months of work for a very short set piece. So instead, we tweaked the story to have the player shooting down the Traitor General and causing his burnt face, and then getting captured by him in the very place that he is originally revealed in the comic.
MB: Some of the layouts for cut scenes were lifted directly from the comic. Even casual fans will probably have spotted the “IT’S A TRAP!” landing pod frame
AM: Adding into that is the encyclopedia – a lot of time was spent putting that together and having it unlock as you play through the game, and I feel it adds a lot to the depth and quality of the license. Overall though, we just hope that players enjoy the game and feel we have done the license justice.
Tom Bible: There are a lot of aspects of the sound that we are proud of, as Rogue Trooper required a lot of attention to detail in order to create an immersive audio experience. A couple of aspects of the audio that stand out for me are the sound of Gunnar which took some time to perfect as most of the iterations of his sounds just didn’t sound ‘powerful’ enough, regardless of the ‘beefiness’ of the individual sounds themselves. In the end I discovered that the feel of Gunnar could be greatly enhanced by using a kind of ghosted additional firing sound for every shot, so that Gunnar feels like he’s firing at twice the rate. Other standout aspects of the audio would be the work that the team did for 45 minutes worth of cutscenes featured in the game, as well as the fantastic performances of the voice cast, which really gives the game character.
TPS: What tools and software were used for crafting the music? We noticed it's a little dynamic, but it seemed based on trigger points throughout the level.
TB: I wrote the music using Logic, Acid, Live and Sound Forge. I also designed a dynamic music system for the game’s Asura engine, which handles seamless transitions between music tracks even on a relatively low-end sound system such as the PS2. As I knew the music system so well I was able to compose the music specifically to work within it rather than attempting to retrofit the music into the game after it had been written. This meant that I was often designing the music as much as I was composing it.
In terms of the actual implementation some of the music triggers are linked to specific events or locations in the game but others are linked to the state of multiple AI characters meaning that the music could react to the situation that Rogue finds himself in at any given time. There is a lot of music in the game but you’ll only hear each piece once or twice as the system is designed to minimise repetition of music.
MB: I love the fact that different players will have experienced different music crafted on their own style. Going in guns blazing leads to quickly triggering action pieces while stealthier approaches have their own tracks being called up.
TPS: Would you mind going into a little detail on how the main theme for the game was created? There's a recurring note string that makes appearances throughout what seems like every level.
TB: When I begin working on the music for a game I often start by trying to establish a main theme, which in this case was the theme for the main character, Rogue. After a meeting with the other leads we decided that my brief was to create a score which had elements of an atmospheric film score with both military and middle eastern elements, an epic sound and some unusual sonic textures in order to reflect the feel of the comic. I was quite influenced by John Powell’s work on the Bourne Identity and Peter Gabriel’s seminal soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ in terms of the actual sounds and textures I used. As for the actual main melody itself I wanted a simple and catchy, yet sombre tune that I could use in a number of places in different ways and after a little experimentation I managed to find something that both I and the leads were happy with.
TPS: In case you can't tell, we're fans of the soundtrack. And plans for a proper release -- either via brick and mortar record stores or online?
TB: We have been talking to a record label about releasing a CD soundtrack, and I actually have all the tracks ready. However, currently the issue is sitting with the legal people so I’m afraid I can’t confirm anything at the moment.
TPS: The online mode seemed a little skimpy, was it something that was added towards the end, or was there just not enough time to complete it? The co-op approach is great, and we hardly expected it, but it seems like using the whole cover mechanic would have made for some awesome deathmatch modes.
MB: Rogue Trooper is a story of one GI’s battle and deathmatch seemed to clash with that right from the start, so we were looking for an alternative take early on.
AM: Also balancing a game for deathmatch is a completely different beast to balancing a game for single player, and we only had the time to do one properly, which led to the co-op modes in the final game.
MB: It was a great chance to drum home to the player the tale of the Quartz Zone Massacre and the fate of all those other GI’s that didn’t make it.
AM: I’m happy with the result, but do wish we’d had more time to expand the levels and let players really play with the features of each character to the fullest.
TPS: Have you guys had a chance to goof around with any of the next-gen consoles? We're obviously partial to the PS3 around here, but it'd be interesting to hear how you guys feel about things like storage mediums and what the newer hardware does for things like compression and surround sound.
AM: Work is being done on the next generation of consoles, and they’re proving to be impressive pieces of kit indeed. The amount of RAM and sheer horsepower under the lid is allowing us to do a lot more with games with regards to really immersing the player in the worlds we create. It’s exciting and challenging to try and figure out how best to use them to bring players the next level of gaming.
TB: With next generation kits supporting surround sound it is obviously something that we are aiming to make full use of. However, what I’m really excited about is the larger amount of memory available for sound and the potential for lots of real time DSP effects operating in a way that’s not been possible before. All this should really allow for the bar to be raised significantly for console audio.
TPS: Any plans to bring Rogue Trooper to the PSP?
AM: Not that I’m aware of Control wise it’d require a big rethink, which would impact on some of the features, but we’ve released several titles on PSP already using the Asura tech so technically it could be done.
TPS: Typical final softball question: is there anything in particular that you'd like the player to take away from the game besides the obvious "have fun"? Any little easter eggs that we should be on the lookout for as we play through?
AM: If you’re a fan of the comic we hope you noticed our homage to Buzzard 3, in the form of the crashed satellite that plays the backdrop to mission 7. This was chosen because we knew that we couldn’t realistically do the proper Buzzard 3 scene in space – just creating all the Souther Generals would have taken months of work for a very short set piece. So instead, we tweaked the story to have the player shooting down the Traitor General and causing his burnt face, and then getting captured by him in the very place that he is originally revealed in the comic.
MB: Some of the layouts for cut scenes were lifted directly from the comic. Even casual fans will probably have spotted the “IT’S A TRAP!” landing pod frame
AM: Adding into that is the encyclopedia – a lot of time was spent putting that together and having it unlock as you play through the game, and I feel it adds a lot to the depth and quality of the license. Overall though, we just hope that players enjoy the game and feel we have done the license justice.