In a three-part series, Audiokinetic shared a deep dive into the creative and technical processes behind Alan Wake 2's audio. Throughout the series, the site featured articles from a range of different audio engineers and designers about their individual crafts, from implementing immersive dialogue to designing the Echos, and the importance of QA.
While the audio has been touched on in previous Remedy livestreams and interviews, the nature of the website allows for more in-depth description into the processes. Each blog post allows the developer to recall the progression from early placeholders through to refinements, and to the final result.
Distinguishing Dialogue. In Audiokinetic's first Alan Wake 2 article, Arthur Tisseront & Taneli Suoranta, Senior Dialogue Designers at Remedy, wrote about the complicated and fine detail required for implementing dialogue. The game uses a number of different types of voice-overs; from Alan's internal monologue, to character conversations, Saga's Mind Palace interrogations, and the narration for the manuscript pages. In their article, Arthur and Taneli explores how they approach each with a different and clear distinction. You can read the first part, HERE.
Designing Echoes in Wwise. In the second installment, Remedy's Principal Audio Designer Tazio Schiesari focused on designing the sounds of those memorable Echos located around The Dark Place. They share a look at Wwise, the program used to create those bone chilling memories, and “how granular synthesis helped shape an evolving, interactive soundscape”. You can read the full piece, HERE.
The Role of Audio QA. For the third and final article, the spotlight is put on the quality assurance side of audio. In an article by Adam Butterworth (Audio Test Engineer), they explain the importance of dedicated testing when creating an audio landscape to ensure that each aspect of the audio complements the other. Read the final part, HERE.
In addition to the articles, this February, Audiokinetic also uploaded the talk by Josh Adam Bell (now Project-Lead Sound Designer) at GDC 2024. In their thirty-minute lecture, they explore the audio design behind Saga's Profiling feature, and the complexities of the task...
21st April 2025
Audiokinetic Explores Alan Wake 2 Audio In Three-Part Article Series
