More information has slowly begun coming out regarding the EA Originals title Fe, first announced at E3 2016. Over at the EA blog, Joel Bille – the composer and sound designer of the game – takes players through the technical aspects of what it’s like to create the sounds of a world teeming with nature.
According to Bille, the game’s core gameplay is centered around sound, and because of that, designing the sound for the game comes with a special set of challenges. When trying to figure out how best to approach it, Bille discovered that allowing the audio to be “complex and textured” made for a better sound. “We wanted it to sound realistic – or at least realistic if the world were to look as it does in Fe.”
When trying to record the ambient noises you hear in Fe, Bille said that the sounds of frogs or crickets heard in the game were actually recorded during a trip to Thailand. “Me and my fellow sound designer Oscar Rydelius went on a couple of field sessions, venturing deep into national reserves to get away from sound pollution from human activity. We even did one session out in the jungle at four am to catch the sound of nature without disturbing cars and people. The waterfalls were also recorded during this trip.” The entire blog post is certainly worth the read if you’re curious about the upcoming game, so make sure to give it a look.
For more on the game, check out the official description of the upcoming title:
In Fe, players will be enchanted by the natural surroundings as they uncover secrets, complete side quests, and meet the mystical creatures of the forest. Players will climb, glide and dig as they voyage through the open experience meeting, interacting and rescuing plants and animals from the Silent Ones, the machine antagonists that are threatening the forest. Through unparalleled freedom of exploration in a world full of discoveries to uncover, players will become Fe and never want to leave.
“We wanted to create a game that gives the feeling of exploring something special,” said Zoink Games CEO Klaus Lyngeled. “We would spend hours in the woods as kids, and while it felt scary at first, eventually the strange sounds became familiar – you become part of nature and the forest feels like home. Players will realize similar feelings as they play through Fe. Wherever and however the game is played, we ensure it will be a unique experience of discovery, unlike anything played before.”
Fe is set to release in early 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
