As I was starting my first job in the interactive audio industry, independent boutique sound libraries were just peeking out from behind the major distributors. I remember how excited I was to hear about the first releases from Rabbit Ears Audio and Tonsturm. Each category of sounds they chose to explore was a new surprise. They were treasure chests of source material; a launching point for endless design possibilities as well as something to learn from and grow with. 

Over the last ten years, I’ve watched this industry explode into a galaxy of unique sound library offerings. Do you need a collection of human stomach sounds recorded with a stethoscope? Done. Would you like two thousand recordings of insect wings? No problem. What about the sounds of throwing raw bow-tie pasta at a butter covered Giraffe? Probably!

Throughout this revolution, I watched from the sidelines. I’ve cumulatively spent enough money on these libraries to have bought a nice used car had I been less inclined to add to my growing sonic collection. Using sound libraries has taught me about design, field recording, and inspired me to create in times when I was in desperate need of inspiration. 

Ever since my first library purchase, I’ve thought about making one. There was something thrilling about the prospect of releasing sounds into the world for others to create with, and watching those sounds leave their digital nest to have lives of their own. First, the question I needed to answer was: “how could I create something that would stand out as unique and useful amidst the overwhelming array of libraries that already existed?”

I figured I had two options; 1) make a library that was unlike other libraries in that it dealt with rarely recorded sounds. Or 2) create a library in a common category with a new angle or twist. After weeks of brain grinding, I decided that I would take the terrifying plunge into the already ubiquitous category of sci-fi weaponry. Some incredible libraries already exist in that genre, so I knew I had to approach it in a unique way if I was going to get any attention from potential users. 

As an interactive sound designer I was taught to think modularly. From the beginning of a design task, I want to know how a composite sound needs to be split up in order to give me the most dynamic control over it in a game engine. Unlike in linear media, interactive audio design is a living breathing thing, adapting in real time to the inputs of the user or to the parameters of the game world. Since this is what I knew how to do, I decided it would be how I approached the library: as if creating a set of dynamic interactive content for a game. 

For energy weapons firing, my first step was deciding on the modular categories of sound I would need to divide the content into. These categories, once created, would be ideal for layering into unique weapon designs. This technique, used for giving us game audio designers more flexibility in-engine, would maximize the design possibilities of the library in the hands of the end user. 

The core categories I decided on were as follows: 

1. Pulse Energy: This is the body of the shot, meant to represent the sound of energy being released from the weapon. It contains the majority of the character of the weapon and acts as the foundation of the composite sound.
2. Mech: This is the sound of the moving parts of the weapon. It helps to ground the firing and reloading actions of the weapon in reality. 
3. LFE: This is the low frequency thump of the weapon energy release. It’s useful for adding weight to the shot, or to sweeten heavier mechanism sounds during reloading. 
4. Tails: This is the sound of the weapons reverberation in the environment when fired. In games we typically separate tails because it gives us the flexibility to switch between them depending on what environment we’re firing the weapon in. For example, you’d have a discreet tail for shooting outdoors vs. in a large room. 
5. Charge: This is the sound of the weapons power source ramping up. It’s useful for making traditional charge sounds or for using small segments of it as a split second pre-firing sweetener. 

Once I had filled these categories with content, the next step was to create the designed composite versions of the weapon firings to prove that the modular categories worked together. In game audio I would do this by layering the modular components in blended randomized “containers” within a popular middleware program called WWise. Each randomized container would contain a set of variants within a single modular category (like mech or tails), and the parameters of those containers could be modified in real time using information sent from the game engine. This is useful for doing things like switching tails based on the environment or mixing in more of the mechanism sound when aiming down sights in a first person shooter. 

Fortunately, there is a great tool for imitating this dynamic behavior in a DAW. Weaponiser, by Krotos, allowed me to use the interactive workflow to rapidly generate weapon variants using my modular components. The combination of modular content and a tool like Weaponiser which allowed me to layer it within a traditional workflow was a match made in heaven. I could generate 50 unique composite weapons in just a few hours. I found it so useful that I decided to create presets and pitch the library to Krotos as something to be included in their online store. Fortunately they were open to the idea and the product became Pulse Energy Weapons. 

Using an interactive approach to sound effect library design has become my template. Since Pulse Energy Weapons I’ve created a Sci-Fi vehicle propulsion library (Advanced Propulsion) and an energy beam library (Beams). I’ve navigated each new library design in the same way, leveraging my knowledge of dynamic systems and creating something more versatile for both interactive and linear designers as a result.

Paul Stoughton is a Sound Designer currently working as Audio Lead in the Immersive Audio dept at Skywalker Sound. His projects include the Golden Reel winning VR experience Star Wars: Vader Immortal, Halo Wars 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Transformers VR amongst other titles.

https://paulstoughton.com

https://www.krotosaudio.com/products/pulse-energy-weapons/

https://paulstoughton.com/sfx-libraries/beams/