I may or may not get some flack for this comment, but for me, right now, the pinnacle of game car audio is Forza 3, by Turn 10 Studios. In my opinion, Turn 10 managed to blend the line between “simulator” and “game” — or between “real” and “perceived” — and the audio from the game is no different. Therefore, the audio team from the game, including Mike Caviezel, Greg Shaw, and a host of other recordists should command respect when it comes to how they do what they do. Fortunately, Mr. Caviezel wrote a
fantastic article about how he started recording cars in a rather obscure book called Audio Anecdotes II by Ken Greenebaum and Ronen Barzel. Fortunately, Google Books has the entire article available for your reading pleasure (it’s about 10 pages long). One of the more interesting facets is the physical challenge of trying to operate recording gear while being tossed around in the cars. If you’ve never had the joy of riding in a race car, it’s quite a bit like being in a roller coaster, maybe without the height changes; the lateral G-forces of a properly prepared car can reach nearly 2.0.
…we’re both thinking, “Man, how cool is that?” This sentiment immediately changed when we saw Bob’s face after the car pulled over, tires smoking from the fast laps. Bob didn’t bother with the window, he just opened the door and leaned out, definitely a little green around the gills. We asked him how he felt , and he said that the straightaways are OK, but that the S-curves feel like a horrible G-force-laden ride at the fair that you can’t stop.”
The article highlights some ingenuitive recording techniques as well which make it worth reading. But the biggest lesson I think we can all agree is, it’s worthwhile to take a few rides in a race car and decide if you have the stomach for it.
