After the first gameplay of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was revealed, the game received particular praise for its sound design, with many fans excited. Now the developers have provided insight into how much effort goes into the sound.
What is the praise about? Recently, there were first insights into the multiplayer mode of Call of Duty. In a live stream and a 4K gameplay video, the multiplayer mode Gunfight was presented. The sound, among other things, received a lot of praise from fans.
Modern Warfare sounds fantastic. The weapons sound very realistic, the environment and many other factors have direct effects on the audio landscape, all of this contributes greatly to the desired realism and creates moments of goosebumps.
Where does the information come from? This aspect is precisely what the creators of Modern Warfare addressed in their latest developer blog. Stephen Miller, the Audio Director of Infinity Ward, explained there what effort goes into the sounds in the upcoming “Call of Duty” installment and what everything is possible with the new engine.
The Sound in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is So Elaborate
So much detail is included: The weapon sounds in the Modern Warfare reboot are noticeably more detailed than in previous versions. Each weapon has its own 3D sound model, a unique voice that interacts with the environment within the framework of the new engine. Many small details are also considered and contribute to the overall atmosphere.
A weapon with a bolt-action system sounds significantly different from a weapon with a gas piston. But you hear far more than just the shot of a firearm. You can also hear cases being ejected, how they move through the air and finally hit the ground. Thanks to the new engine, all of this is also calculated physically correct – including the sound of each individual shell.
The details go so far that you not only feel the recoil of a shoulder stock in your body, but also perceive it acoustically through a corresponding sound. All of this adds to the realism.
This is how the sound is recorded: To create a realistic sound landscape, a lot of effort is put in.
The weapon sounds were recorded by the developers in the desert, in the mountains, and under many other conditions. About 90 different microphones were used for each shot.
These recorded the shots specifically for various perspectives. Alone, 20 microphones recorded for the player’s view. Shots sound different from the observer’s perspective than they do for the player himself. And even for him, the shots sound different in the aiming view than when firing from the hip.
This is how the new engine contributes to realistic sound: Every shot in Modern Warfare 2019 also acoustically interacts three-dimensionally with the environment and is correctly reflected. It makes a noticeable difference whether a weapon is fired in the desert, in the mountains, in a warehouse, in a subway tunnel, next to a car, or between buildings.
But not just for the shooter himself – it generally makes a difference how and where you hear a weapon. Every projectile moves through the game world, and the game knows thanks to the new engine where the sound interacts with what environment and then plays the corresponding sound at the right locations – and that for each weapon.
Even the speed of sound is taken into account and plays a role in when you hear a shot. For example, you hear a loud booming echo in open terrain and a more muted, crisp, and less reverberant sound in densely populated areas.
But not only in the weapon sounds has a lot of work been invested. Such sound effects can also be found in other areas of the game, including explosions.
Does the elaborately staged sound make you want to see more after this insight? Or is this aspect not important to you? What do you think so far in general about the new Modern Warfare?
