HEX Update – Sounds Good to Me

Hi HEXers! Don’t forget about our big Constructed test tournament on the live server this Saturday at 11 AM Pacific. Make sure to patch if you need to and log in early to secure your spot. Also, there’s a video toward the bottom, you don’t want to miss out on a sneak peek at future PvE content!

Free Stress Test Tournament Saturday, September 5th

Tomorrow, we’re hosting a free Constructed (all sets) tournament in order to test tournaments with no player participation cap. We need as many players as possible in order to really stress test that system and find bugs in the system, so please come help. The stress test is taking place on the live server NOT the test server. The tournament starts promptly at 11 AM Pacific, so you should log in early to secure your entry into the event.

Prizes:

1st 150 booster packs of Armies of Myth.

2nd 100 booster packs of Armies of Myth.

3rd – 4th 70 booster packs of Armies of Myth.

5th – 8th 50 booster packs of Armies of Myth.

9th – 16th 30 booster packs of Armies of Myth.

17th – 32nd 20 booster packs of Armies of Myth.

33rd – 64th 15 booster packs of Armies of Myth.

65th- 96th 10 booster packs of Armies of Myth.

97th- 128th 5 booster packs of Armies of Myth.

129th – 256th 2 booster packs of Armies of Myth.

The format will be Constructed Swiss then a cut to top 8 which will be constructed single elimination. If the tournament does not start or we feel that the tournament cannot come to a proper conclusion, we will provide alternative compensation. Good luck!

The Voice of Entrath

In the Armies of Myth patch, you likely noticed all the new sounds in the game. Todd Castillo, along with Mark Doezé (known in the community as Elysion), are the ones behind the audio for the new set, so we took some time to sit down with Todd and ask him some questions on game audio in digital trading card games!

Q: Todd, what’s your title and role here at HEX Entertainment

A: I’m the sound designer and composer. That means I’m in charge of anything that comes out of your speakers.

Q: What’s your general philosophy behind audio in the game?

A: I’m in love with storytelling. Outside of game audio, I write speculative fiction. In fact, before this project, I was living in Brooklyn, New York, as a freelance writer. Those storytelling muscles came into play in the sound design process in unexpected ways, especially with the card audio–we really studied the art and lore of each card, and worked to tell that story.

My philosophy behind the audio is to help tell the HEX story, and create a more immersive gameplay

Q: Since Armies of Myth was the first patch to showcase the new audio work on a large scale, what changes can players listen for?

A: Card audio is the most noticeable change. In Armies of Myth, we took a “storytelling” approach to card audio, really striving to capture the spirit of each card. There was also a lot of live audio recorded in our studio included in the cards—from African djembe drums, to shakuhachi, to Native American flutes, to didgeridoo, to our actual voices. Using live audio is incredibly important in capturing energy that virtual instruments simply can’t reproduce. Plus it gives me a chance to play all sorts of weird instruments.

We gave each race unique audio features. Mark Doezé designed voice templates for each race, made up of a number of audio effects we process all vocals through. Here are Mark’s ideas behind the Vennen voice design: “We decided that the Vennen template would be based on the rattling and hissing sound of spiders. The cards communicate aggression with a spider hiss. While speaking, there’s more of a rattling sound to give it that arachnid feel.”

For the UI sounds, I worked closely with our intern audio programmer, Will Anderson, to create a more immersive gameplay experience. We replaced all the old audio. Our process is very collaborative, and often times, his programming ideas are incorporated into the sound design. Usually, our conversations reviewing audio go something like this: “That’s awesome, but wouldn’t it be cooler if…” and we don’t stop until things sound the best we can possibly make them.

Q: Tell us about collaborating with Mark Doezé.

A: Mark Doezé is a brilliant sound designer and composer from the Netherlands who approached us as a player who felt passionately about the audio in HEX and offered to help. Though our time zones are vastly different, we manage to meet up several times a week. We’re always pushing each other to raise the bar for sound design and music in HEX. Both of us are open to new ideas, to learning and growing, so even when we disagree, we never lose sight of our goal: make things sound amazing.

Typically, I’ll take the first audio pass on cards and scenes, and he’ll take a second pass to really make things shine. Mark is super positive person, and as deadlines approach, he’s usually the reassuring voice that everything-will-be-okay. Mark has been intimately involved in HEX as a player since the beginning as a kickstarter backer, and he brings that valuable perspective to the game’s audio.

Q: How do you decide what types of sounds should be reflected in a card or a location?

A: In cards, we look at three things: the art, the lore, and the gameplay. We want the card audio to translate all three of those elements. Usually, there is a focus point in the card, and we’ll use that as the base of the audio. For locations, such as dungeons or panoramas, we look for good sound sources in the scene. For example, the dwarven panorama: machines, a robot, hot lava, and crystals. That’s a great starting point. The next step is capturing the emotional elements through the sound design and music, to bring out the dwarven atmosphere. That’s a bit more abstract, but includes the industrial qualities of the dwarves, the relentless digging, living beneath the ground—all that is important. The music score will also highlight those elements with deep, guttural chants and horns and dissonant bells.

Q: If you have a unique sound for each race, how much does a location or dungeon’s visuals affect sound design?

A: With the dungeons and panoramas, the visuals will be the first consideration when putting together the audio. The unique sounds for each race is more of a guide, not a rule book. There’s a lot of flexibility as long as the end result works.

For example, for the Dwarf Quarry Panorama, the art feels warm, almost claustrophobic. We used lots of fire and crackling samples to capture that feeling, along with industrial metal hits and synth drones to represent the Dwarves. There are also vocals and digging effects in the background to really breathe life into the scene. Now we’re combining sound design with characterization!

With card audio, we look at each card like a mini movie we’re bringing to life. Duskwing Reclaimer, roughly four seconds of audio, contains about twenty five separate audio tracks. That includes armor foley, the creature itself, the sound of the knight getting snatched from the ground, and the ambience of flying through the air.

Nazhk Webguard is a great example of Mark’s amazing work with designing the Vennen voice. Along with the voice, we have armor foley, weapons, ambience, and synth drones. The sound design for many of the Vennen cards was inspired from 80’s horror movies, using lo-fi synths and dissonance to capture the creepy factor.

Q: Lastly, what new audio can we look for in the next release?

A: We’re working on a brand new music score. That’s been incredibly exciting. And with PVE, we’re emphasizing the audio storytelling even more. We’re also pushing card audio farther than before—new sounds, new instruments, not ideas! There is also some big audio surprises coming down the pipeline we can’t talk about yet. Lots ahead!

Interview with Todd about Audio and PvE Sneak Peek!

Watch the video to listen to how the audio for the game is created and how it breathes life into HEX. After, the short interview, enjoy a sneak peek of a Dwarven Quarry for upcoming PvE content!



Constructed VIP Results

On Monday, we posted the undefeated Constructed decklists from last week’s VIP tournaments. Take a look!

ESL Tournaments: HEX Beta Cup

The ESL team has done an excellent job with the HEX Kick-Off tournaments. After receiving a lot of feedback from the community they’ve made a few changes and are ready to announce the next step, the HEX Beta Cup. It’s free and has awesome prizes!

Sign up for your region at ESL http://play.eslgaming.com/hexshardsoffate/

That’s all for this week. Please leave any questions or comments in the forums, and don’t forget to Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitch, and register on our forums.

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