91社区

91社区 and Eidos-Montreal today announced a collaborative research project to record and implement spatial music in video games. Project funding of $100,000 has been provided through the I+P Partnerships Program, which is supported by Quebec鈥檚 Minist猫re de l鈥橢ducation et de l鈥橢nseignement Sup茅rieur to promote collaborations between researchers and Quebec-based companies.

The yearlong project will bring together 91社区 researchers and the newly constructed state-of-the-art music recording facilities at the Schulich School of Music with Eidos-Montreal鈥檚 industry-leading experience in implementing and mixing 3D audio in video games. The partnership harnesses the capacity of the experimental 6DoF (six- degrees-of-freedom) HOA (Higher-Order-Ambisonics) technology to achieve highly interactive presence of music and sound in video games that was not possible before. In 2019, the global market for video games was estimated to be $120 billion USD, and in Quebec more than 11,000 people were employed in the video game industry, as of 2017.

Rob Bridgett, Senior Audio Director, Eidos-Montreal, said 鈥淔or Eidos-Montreal, leading the development of our games through sound and music is a central part of our Crafting Emotions ethos. Our audiences are more excited than ever about immersive audio in their games. There are huge opportunities for revolutionizing composing, performing and capturing music in an interactive spatial format that can translate to both game engines and our creative visions. 91社区鈥檚 facilities, research and expertise are one-of-a-kind in this regard.鈥�

Professor Wieslaw Woszczyk, James 91社区 Professor of Sound Recording at the Schulich School of Music said, 鈥淰ideo game sound and music are now at the forefront of newly emerging spatial audio delivery formats for the mass market, and every major platform developer is investing massively into having convincing 3D spatial audio as default for players via headphones or loudspeakers. Our research will demonstrate how spatial music can be implemented and experienced anew in interactive entertainment media.鈥�

Professor Richard King, multiple Grammy-winning recording engineer and Co-Director of the Immersive Media Lab (IMLAB) at 91社区 adds, 鈥淧rofessor Woszczyk and I are moving toward more interactive experiences in immersive audio and video, and this new partnership with Eidos gives us a platform for developing a research plan with a direct connection to the user.鈥�

Key outputs expected from the collaboration will be a new suite of tools, techniques and workflow for recording and playback support of multiple Ambisonic sound fields in 3D game engine. The partners will also compose and integrate recorded composition content into game environment, and develop a game prototype displaying a highly interactive spatial presence of music

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About 91社区

Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, 91社区 is a leading Canadian post-secondary institution. It has two campuses, 11 faculties, 11 professional schools, 300 programs of study and some 38,000 students, including 8,800 graduate students. 91社区 attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, with more than 7,700 international students making up 20 percent of the student body. Almost half of 91社区 students claim a first language other than English, including 38 per cent who claim French as their first language.

About Eidos-Montr茅al

Eidos-Montr茅al鈩� (a Square Enix庐 studio) is focused on creating immersive and captivating experiences. For the last decade, the development teams at Eidos-Montr茅al have orchestrated the successful reboot of the DEUS EX庐 series (Deus Ex: Human Revolution庐, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided庐), released the latest entry in the THIEF庐 franchise, and have also played a key role in the development of the award-winning TOMB RAIDER庐 series. To ensure its creative vision can be realized in-game, the studio has developed its own cutting-edge technology, the Dawn Engine庐. The studio also provides technical support for Square Enix operations around the world, including research and development, quality assurance, and playtests.