Getting the Job

    Riding high on the success of their Wild Earth line of educational motion simulators, Entertainment Technology Corporation (EnTCo) took the brand a step further by developing an underwater version. Wild Earth: Deep Ocean Safari (WEDOS) is an interactive deep ocean exploration that takes place off the coast of California.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) directed all subject matter relating to marine life and helped ensure that the ride is truly accurate in teaching children and adults about marine life and conservation.  Philippe Cousteau and his organization EarthEcho International have also taken a front-seat in shaping the game's conservation message.

Phillipe, grandson of famous captian Jacques Cousteau, is best known as the Chief Ocean Corespondent for Animal Planet and his production work on award-winning documentaries and special programs.

          Idryonis' job came into play near the end of development. EnTCo required vast amounts of sound design work, including species sound effects, ambient sound design, triggered sounds, and a custom-composed dramatic score. EnTCo has had plenty of experience working with Idryonis in the past; and every project was an astounding success. In fact, when this project was in pre-production over two years ago, Idryonis had bid for the development of the entire production. Unfortunately, due to previous contractual obligations, we were unable to develop the software component. In the end EnTCo came back to us for the music and audio portion because Deep Ocean Safari needed Hollywood-quality sound and music at a budget price. 

 

The Result

In June of 2009, Idryonis Studios wrapped up production on the sound design and music aspects of the ride.

The original soundtrack consists of 4 main tracks, and "overture" which is played when the ride is idle, and a short cue for the final ascent. The entire score is written for full orchestra with a subtle blend of synthesizers and unique percussion elements. When combined with the visuals, the dramatic music creates a truly immersive deep-ocean experience. From the light piano, celeste, and classical guitar in the coral reef to the menacing synthesizer and hugely dramatic sweeping strings in the shipwreck, the music alone can truly transport you to another world.

The individual sound effects and environmental sound design was another challenge. Usually this is a job that the Idryonis Audio Team can produce very quickly. But when marine life specialists and conservation experts are checking your work for 100% accuracy, things become difficult. Idryonis had to research and locate - and in many cases create - sounds from obscure fish and marine animals that were main focal points of the game. After many rounds of revisions on several species, Idryonis finally accomplished the sound design with a perfect blend of accuracy and drama.

The third big task was editing, processing, and mastering the voice over recordings... in two languages! Our goal was to process the VO so it sounded as though the narraraters were above the ocean surface communicating to the research submarine via wireless radio. In real life, the wireless transmission would lose some clarity and quality as the sub descends lower and lower. The Idryonis Audio Team conceived a process consisting of 6 different digital signal processers and effects in a thoughtfully arranged chain to attain the perfect level of "distortion" depending on how deep the sub is in the game. However, after rigorous play testing and internal testing we found that this "perfect" and accurate level of distortion in the game was distracting and just made you think, "Wow! What an awful broken speaker!"

This is one of the many cases where you have to sacrifice accuracy for the overall sanity of the riders! In the end, we toned it down a lot to give the impression of the transmission losing quality without making it such a focal point of the game.