Raccoon ToolsRaccoon Tools is a set of audio tools for Unity. It's designed to make it easy for non-programmers to get their sound working exactly how they want it, and to make it easier for sound designers and game developers to collaborate.
It's similar in that regard to Wwise and FMOD, but not all teams can use those tools either for monetary or technical reasons. And some teams just don't want to. This tool aims to give people that freedom, that power, and that ease of collaboration, but within native Unity.
Where we're atThis tool's skeleton is working well, and it has been through a round of user testing. People with programming experience tend to have an easy enough time with it, but the consensus is that the interface is not a joy to use. However, users did agree that the tool let them do the things they wanted to do once they got the hang of it.
For more information about the current state of the tool, check out the Pre-Alpha users guide below:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1UdMCH5v8eRVONzm2GYta-5xA7CuFV06v(This doc is by no means exhaustive, but is a good overview)
What I'm looking forI want to collaborate with someone who has a deep understanding of Unity's Editor GUI, and will bring ideas and execution to make Raccoon Tools as easy to use as it is powerful. I understand that this skill isn't very common and is highly valuable, so I would offer a slice that reflects that value. I'd prefer to discuss specific numbers in PMs though.
Why listen to me?I've been a technical sound designer for four years, and have worked on games like Rapture Rejects, the Endless Mission, and Undermine. My other experiences in the games industry include functional QA testing, composition, and sound design.
I believe there is a market for Raccoon Tools. I'm connected to a network of sound designers and game designers, many of whom work in Unity and would be potential customers for this. I also think that this would be something to consider for the Unity asset store. We might not be the only audio tools on the asset store, but I think we'd have a chance at being the best.
What does your thing do, again?Many, many things.
- Randomized and sequential playlists of sounds (for realistic footsteps and impacts)
- Modulate pitch and volume based on random numbers and parameters
- Crossfade between sounds
- Control sound FX like reverb and distortion
- Allows for polyphonic events
- Provides and easy-to-implement code interface that manages the complexity of the system
- Use both local parameters and global states
- Play it's complex events out of the box with provided prefabs
- Use animation curves to evaluate parameters
- Easily cook data with parameters with independent ascent and descent rates
- Work with everything that's already fantastic about the Unity Audio system
- Provide deep controls for when and how sounds in an event should play and stop
- Allow multiple controls, players, parameters, sound clips, and even players to exist within a single event
And all that without external .dlls, just scripts and scriptable objects.
My ideal collaborator would be...I'd like to work with someone who has experience in Unity Tools, especially Unity's Editor GUI. An ideal collaborator would also have a conversational understanding of audio, and will have worked with a DAW like Reaper, FL, Protools, etc. But it's not strictly necessary.
I'm open to collaborators who are early in their careers, because although I've been working on games for a while, this is my first attempt at marketing a tool like this.
That's my pitch!Let me know if you have questions, PM me to discuss numbers.
Jobs
