Over the last few years, the audio experience in massively multiplayer
online games has become a much more integral part of the entire MMOG
package. Rather than being a mere href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side_dish" target="_blank">side
dish, audio has become a more
prominent target="_blank">entrée, especially as
companies continue to push
users toward a story-based gameplay that includes dialogue and
immersive music. For 38 Studios, that desire has become incredibly
important, and they've gone out of their way to hire an innovator in
the industry in former EA Tiburon audio director Aubrey Hodges. Ten Ton
Hammer recently had an opportunity to chat with Aubrey, and we've got
the exclusive interview for you!

"Now, as far as doing things that haven’t
been done before,
the truth is that I wasn’t seeking to be groundbreaking when
all those things were done," he continued. "But, at the time I saw a
need and did whatever it took to make the features happen. In the case
of Doom, for example, I decided to create an ambient soundtrack because
I wanted the experience to be enjoyable even while playing the game for
extended time periods. I didn’t believe that I could meet
that goal with the technology at the time in the rock genre. So I
improvised. It’s not something I can predict because I am not
even sure what challenges I will find in front of me. What I can
promise is that I will make every attempt to craft a believable and
extraordinary audio design that will immerse the player in the world we
are creating. If that means I have to push the boundaries of current
methods or technology then so be it, as long as the end result is a
fantastic-sounding game."

• target="_blank">To read the rest of the exclusive 38 Studios
  interview, click here!