That’s it, I want this gig. I don’t know squat about audio recording, but I’m willing to learn. I’m talking about how Playground Games, the studio behind the acclaimed Forza Horizon video game franchise, records car audio. Lead Audio Designer Fraser Strachan stars in a new video published this week showing us how the studio enlists real-world cars (amazing cars at that) to record and translates them to the digital world in Forza Horizon 5.
Some really obscure and excellent cars show up in the video, including my personal favorite, a Jaguar XJ220. To be the people in charge of saying, “Yeah, gun it down the straight” to accomplish a task sounds like a real treat. Anyway, mics and equipment strap onto the various cars as drivers speed along on closed courses, drift around and do donuts for good measure. Gamers will be doing a lot of crazy things in Forza Horizon 5, so it’s paramount there’s audio for nearly every instance. And we’re talking about a seriously wide variety of cars. From the mentioned XJ220 to a Lancia rally car, a Toyota Supra and more, it’s nice to see the team sweat the details on these rides.
It’s not just engine and exhaust noises, though. If you’re familiar with the Forza series, you know players can get hands-on within the game to open the doors, pop the hood and more. Heck, you can even plop down in the driver’s seat and fire the car up. We see a couple shots of the team getting these audio clips as well, which is fascinating. So, know that when you shut the door on a Volkswagen Golf GTI in the game, it’s the real deal. Forza Horizon 5 launches Nov. 9 on Xbox consoles and PC, so that’s when we’ll be able to take a crack at the latest entry. Oh, but do check below to see how the real world audio translates to some game footage in a separate video. It’s pretty neat.