In a brief post on the company’s PitStop blog, Polyphony Digital reports they have received a “large number of applicants from around the world” for Sound Engineering positions, and that Kazunori Yamauchi and the Sound Production team are currently reviewing all of the resumes which have been submitted. They also thanked applicants for their enthusiasm for Polyphony’s “projects ahead”.
The post comes just over a month after Kazunori announced the company was recruiting sound production engineers while discussing engine sounds – which remain a significant pain point for many fans and critics of Gran Turismo – in a series blog posts earlier this year.
It’s not clear if they are still accepting applications, though I would still encourage any interested and qualified readers to send their resume to recruit_sound@polyphony.co.jp.
See more articles on Gran-Turismo-Sound, PitStop, and Polyphony Digital.
They do not need sound engineers, they need a program manager that knows what real cars sound like.
Kaz is the problem.
hire them all
This makes me feel as if my whole life has been wasted, and would’ve been infinitely better spent devoting everything to becoming a sound engineer who specializes in race car video games. = L
You guys keep going on about ‘racing sim’ when unfortunately that isn’t even what GT is about. Although the idea is stupid, they made it a driving sim with racing in it, which ends up having a very lacklustre feel when racing a car. This game is about finding out how cars drive that would normally be out of the reach of most of the population. Although I’m confident that improving the sound will help extraordinarily with the immersion of the game, i don’t think it will ever seem like a ‘racing sim’ until the AI actually try to race, and until the game develops that ‘racing sim’ feel, which means things such as different video effects for that high speed immersion effect
Racing sims that use tricked up video effects to emphasize any sense of speed are generally disliked by the fans, and I’m with them. Gran Turismo is plenty fast. The only thing PD needs to do is give us the options to introduce camera shake into the driver views, something which even the mild stuff in GT5 seemed to bother people, so they took it out almost entirely.
Everyone wants Gran Turismo to improve in every way because we expect perfection when we see such amazing graphics. Some put sound at the top of the list, but obviously we all have different priorities on that. In the case of sounds, many of us doubt much will change before GT7, so I’m one of those hoping to see GT7 as soon as possible. And all the other goodies PS4 will enable. But many of us have found our ways to have fun with this racer, including racing with the bots in lieu of hopping online on some race host’s schedule or hoping luck will favor us with a good room.
As for that “sim” thing, Kaz has always been edging in that direction, and now with the FIA partnership, we’re hoping that we’re going to get more league oriented racing. Sure, with faster bots that don’t give up when you get a one second lead on them, but they weren’t too shabby in Prologue, and that has to be easier to gene splice in than better sounds for several hundred cars.
Yeah i agree with you, what i meant wasn’t video effects but a view that’s a little more dynamic and less sterile than the current one. I feel like the current one is way too still, and i mean you can’t even look at the side of your car. I think a video effect like forza would work great, as you can really feel the speed and it’s more dynamic, and you can actually see the side of the car when you look around.
I’d sure like to see a link to a press release or some other official piece of communication that PD dropped camera shake because a handful of people on a fan forum complained in a thread about it.
OH my God! Yes! Heck the vehicles sounds on Gran Turismo 4 is better than 6 yo. haha. #roast but forreals!Hope this will be a production update to Gran Turismo 6
I’m eagerly awaiting teaser videos showing off the new sounds. We can’t all afford a Ferrari, but at least let us hear it’s other worldly exhaust notes in tunnels, off walls, etc.
Yeah wahooo hurray! Finally my NASCAR might finally sound like a V8 instead of a leaf blower! Thank you PD! Yeah you’re a little late but late is 100% better than never.
If you think the NASCAR cars sound like leaf blowers, you’ll never be happy. You need to play Forza 4, where even Beetles sound like death machines.
Sound makes a car feel alive, all the little hicks and blips that make it mechanical instead of sterile and fake need to be included. A small thing as a subtle rpm drop in a certain gear or the rumble of body panels when driving over a curbstone. More exhaust sound in the cockpit, less windnoise. And a better stereo sound stage that engulfs you into the sound experience.
When driving a car you need to have the hairs on your back stand upright, sound helps with that.
It’s to bad i didn’t study sound engineering because i would definitely have applied for this job. It’s been a dream ever since i played the first GT games because i’ve seen room for improvement with every GT game.
Wait there just now hiring for this Position now? great no GT7 till 2020 at best
How do you come by that figure? With the PS4 being easier to work on architecturally, I’d have thought sounds for GT7 would be on schedule, even with the engineers starting on it now.
If game design is anything like film, then sound tends to come last in the production list.
yes! Let the world fix your game PD… I mean it in a good way.. :D no game in the world is finished 100%, every one of them needs improvements!
As long as they they leave the large speaker dynamic range present on gt7 I’m happy.
Personally, I don’t have much of a problem with the sounds of GT. I hear enough differentiating engine notes durng a race to be satisfied. But I do understand what folks are complaining about.
However, I don’t care how much mula PD invests in their sonic reproduction for GT. Until they make a cultural change within it’s not going to change a thing. I recall, not long ago, PD illustrating the changes they made and explaining why it was better than before. The community continues to be unsatisfied. I didn’t notice a thing.
Old VHS recordings from my 90s racing library sound vastly superior to what GT has had to offer. But I still enjoy listening to what GT sounds like? I know this sounds crazy but I don’t expect much from what sounds emanate from my two channel television. LOL, plenty of folks here should hear me on that one ;)
Anywho, unless PD can do what none other racing game has yet accomplished, as far as I am aware of, it’s not going to make much of a difference to me. For example…
Echo effects. What we hear from the stands across the pits, grassy knolls, hillsides, and from inside the pits all have their own distinct… vibe(?) if can feel me.
Exhaust backfire. A nice touch many computer racers try to simulate. But where’s the real flame resulting from unburnt gas igniting in the exhaust pipes and more importantly, the BBBRRRAAATTTAAATTT!!! from the resulting explosions?
If anyone can recall the ending of GT’s first intro, you’d know how I felt ‘it was of something that never came’ ;(
It is truly interesting to me that PD has cleverly avoided replay action from places around the track that would demand these effects.
Culturally, these guys have a ton to learn and change. Unfortunately, it won’t happen before PS4. We’d be damn lucky to realize it in 7… or anywhere else ;)
You guys act like none of the sounds have improved since GT1. I suggest everyone who thinks so, to go to the sound thread in the Kaz Q&A section and listen closely to the GT2 replay. Then take every one of those six cars and race around your track of choice for one lap or so. Then watch the replay and listen to that.
There are some good sounding cars in this game. There are quite a lot of decent sounding cars, and yes, some stinkers. But carrying on as if they all suck… well, let’s just say I can’t take any of your criticisms seriously. I don’t think trying to shame PD into doing something by exaggerating the problem, especially not having a clue how PD is working, will impress anyone but the fellow sound haters.
Name another console game from the last 5 years with worse sounds. Case closed.
Johnny, you invariably seem to completely miss the points of my posts lately.
Case in point: the sound whiners who carry on as if the sounds are never improved. Which was the point of my post. Once again, would you listen to a customer for which you never did anything right? I wouldn’t.
Now, since all you seem to do lately is stalk my posts to deny any validity to them, maybe I will just pass right on by any of your cute little attempts to win the intranets.
Who are these people that claim that sounds haven’t improved since GT1? I’d really like to meet these fictional people.
I posted a while ago in the FB page but I think it should be shared here also.
Including this dude could make the drift trials much more dramatic and enhance the experience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOT82mpGN5A
Haha, it’s the Hachi Roku ‘Angry Piston’ Edition
Ahahahahah ;) !
Awesome! We love Gt!! I will remain optimistic about the future of exhaust notes and engine sounds in the GT series.
10 years late though.
About time… The question is now, will they take it seriously this time. I think their PS4 release could be the chance to makes things right with GT fans, and secure their spot as the top racing sim. Kaz has gotten lazy over the years and felt too confident, forgetting about all the hard work he’s done since GT’s initial launch.
Thats’s spot on, friend.
I think it’s too late, they should have done this a few years ago. At this point, many people will move to other games instead of expecting good sounds from PD.
I played back that sound sample in the picture above, and I confirm, it is a flick of a switch powering a vacuum cleaner. Pun intended, lighten up folks! I love GT6!
Here’s the big question. Will the sound update help GT6/7 stand up to Project Cars on either PC or console?
Based on what I’ve seen: NO WAY IN HELL. I’d like PD & KAZ prove otherwise.
The entire GT structure needs to be adjusteed. Perhaps GT7 will do just that.
If not PCars will smoke PD.
This is a good sign. I somewhat doubt the sound in GT7 will be able to compete with other racing sims, but if there’s a noticeable improvement, I would be more than happy… but there’s more than just the sounds to fix….
PD should seriously consider upping the employee count across the board, so every area of the game gets the same level of attention.
Great news but these will take forever to be released. Going back to Gt4.
I wish I could join you in doing so…. but my PS2’s had a rough life, and it cant quite maintain the 1080p awesomeness… I have GT3 and GT2 at least :)
That seems a little desperate for a company like PD, but if they really do it ,i would like to hear the names of the new employees just to believe it.
I am glad to read of the job listing; lets hope for some beefy motor sounds in our future.
Please tell me that in addition to sound engineers, PD will be hiring more 3D modelers more specifically for cars.
Fingers crossed that Vassalfada gets it.
Like I said once no matter what developers (especially game) does there will always be people with complaints and different ideas. I agree on the part where this issue should have been adressed long ago, but hey atleast they’re gonna do it (thats the bright side right?). I am looking forward to see on their “project ahead” :)
This is how people on the intranets roll these days. Flame, flame, flame… so of course they’re going to grouch, no matter what. I’m hoping that when fall finally comes and all these completely awesome perfect racers hit the market, it draws away a lot of these hornets and we can get back to enjoying Gran Turismo again.
Yes because complaining about the sounds in Gran Turismo is completely unjustified and because they said, and update is coming at some point in the future we should all just shut up and be happy they’re even stooping to make the game right?
Johnny, there is such a thing called constructive feedback using critical, but respectful formulation. Then there is the utterly mindless flaming, complete with unnecessary hyperbole and a lot of flamboyant fuss of people supposedly having the right to whatever and being entitled to be outrageous, sometimes even rude. You know, the stuff that when read, makes one lose several brain cells. Now guess which one is being talked about here and then maybe you would not have made this silly and short-sighted remark of yours.
Saying GT6 is the current racing game with the very worst sounds of the industry is not an hyperbole :P
Also, at least two of the applicants come from this very community and are very much active on the forum threads about sounds.
True, avens, I even entirely agree with you. The difference is that you word this valid opinion in a completely sensible manner without some cynical undertone. A rare thing on this website, it seems. Is it an intrinsic need to be totally unreasonable towards this game, just because one prefers another and so to even more justify this preference? Maybe it’s just cool nowadays to voluntarily spend a lot of time being vocally outrageous about the negative sides of the game, because it gives some sense of relief to be able to say that the ‘giant’ GT is supposedly reaching a downfall? I don’t know. I like a lot of PC sims and GT and appreciate the pros, while acknowledging the cons without the jumpy need to let everyone know and create some hostile friction with some people who don’t agree – because yes, this last thing is totally what is happening on this site and regrettably, it is mostly the same group of people that take the initiative to do so by choosing their wordings as radical as possible. Anyway, if only everyone would be able to put down their opinions in this same decent manner and truthfully is there in search of game improvement or having a valid discussion instead of spreading disdain for the sake of having a satisfactory feeling, how much more enjoyable it would be to read the forums…
MY personal opinion: People who are hardcore fanboys here tend to hate on the other critisizing hardcore or beginner fanboys and vice versa. So what I see is and endless debate of your opinion “does not matter” believe me it does, surely you guys know not everyone thinks the same here so there will always be something that contradicts your “view of perspective”. So my personal solution: the PD defense force : either ignore or stay low with you opinions and actions and for the Critics: Just try to be respectfull as possible. Yes this will be a hard thing to do but it will be a good start to reunite the community. Cheers everyone ;)
Well said Firedragon.
I’ve never had any problems with constructive criticism from people…but those who can’t be bothered to do that, those are the ones that make it a quite distasteful experience – you are right.
It’s a distasteful experience because a tiny minority of people post negative but mostly truthful opinions about GT? What do you expect? Not everyone accepts the “hurry up and wait” response they’ve been hearing for years and years. I find comments like this quite funny actually:
” I’m hoping that when fall finally comes and all these completely awesome perfect racers hit the market, it draws away a lot of these hornets and we can get back to enjoying Gran Turismo again. ”
Really? You can’t enjoy the game of Gran Turismo 6 because a handful of people say negative things about it? On the internet? Seriously? If that’s the case, step away from the internet and just enjoy the game.
They should get the guy who made the top gear tune using car sounds.
Didn’t Captain Slow have something to do with that?
I’d like to be pleased, but it’s just too late. The issue has been constantly brought up since 2004-5 and NOW they’re starting to take active meassures. When can we expect any results at the rate they’ve been going? 2020? 2025? Sorry, too little too late.
+1 ! And probably one of the worst job, really long hours and not well pay.
I’m pretty sure being a sound engineer for a video game in Japan is NOT “one of the worst job”, as you say.
I’m pretty sure being a sound ingineer for a US video game is a lot more attractive than this Add.
How Dav? Japan… local drift track for after work and weekends, cheap car parts, cheap food, cheap living. I’d rather live in Japan than ‘Murica where the cops kill your pet dog and innocent law abiding citizens.
Of course Japan is the mother Land for us ;)
LOL living in Japan is not cheap
I’m sure the people they’re hiring listed this on their resume.
“Former engineer at Dyson”
+1.
Haha! :D
Oh dear, how banal.
Yes!.
Not sure if I should be shocked or pleased that PD find it necessary to launch into a public recruitment drive to find better sound engineers. You’d think any games developer wanting to stay ahead of the pack is always actively recruiting for the best people in their relevant fields. But this comes across as a mild act of desperation. I guess it can only get better.
Sure you can identify and headhunt candidates but that is like going out to the sea and fishing in specific spots for a specific fish you are looking for. Your odds would be reduced compared to just casting out the biggest net over the biggest area you can. In the real world recruitment agencies only work within their geographies …PD has gone way beyond what any recruitment agency could achieve. From the list of candidates they they will pull out more real talent than single recruitment agencies could possibly manage.
I agree with you. I think this move will help them. But it proves how little trust they have in their own audio team right now and also that this is not going to be solved any time soon. Maybe in GT7, just maybe.
Everyone seems to be missing the scale of the job. PC sims have to manage the sounds for a few dozen unique engines, if that. How many unique cars are in an F1 game? Forza 5 has as many cars in it as Forza 1, and T10 loused up their job in F4 by totally ignoring stock car sounds.
Gran Turismo now has several hundred unique cars to upgrade, and with the sports cars, four exhaust types. Plus as Griffith500 points out, the intake samples are missing on almost every car right now, and adds a certain aspect to the sounds to make them more realistic.
This is like the job to Premiumize all the cars and tracks. The team doesn’t need to be bigger to do a better job, because they can make some of the cars sound very good. It’s how big the job is.
That makes no sense. If there’s so much more to do then they obviously need more people to do it so PD needs a bigger team to deal with a bigger roster of cars.
To use your analogy JohnyPiston, there’s also something to be said about using GPS and sonar to locate schools of fish, rather than just meandering out into the ocean and casting a big net. An organization with the size and scope of PD should have several approaches to this problem, and quite frankly, recruiting is much too late if they hope to make a valiant effort at a sound overhaul for the next iteration of the game.
A brief look on a comments section here on GTP, shows there is a lot of overly capable (unemployed???) “sound engineers” here on forums. Hence , they asked people to apply for a job. Well done PD.
Hire All of them.
I’ve never seen so many people get so excited over a form letter…lol.
If I only spoke Japanese… :-( Funny..in all the time I’ve played GT over the years I probably could have learned it. :-/
I don’t think the ability to speak Japanese was a requirement – application were accepted in English.
The best news after a long time :D
To all the complainers who say “give me my updates,” I dare you to send in your resume. Appritiate GT for what its creators have created.
Oh, shut up please.
Oh, shut up please.
Some of us probably did. I missed out because I do not have a vacuum cleaner that sounds like a V8 muffled.
Would it make any difference If i did send mine in? I’d probably still complain about something that shouldve been adressed 4 years ago.
Oh good, I was actually just wondering how this was going.
I get the feeling that it would be an extremely stressful job…
Especially if you read post from here about your work.
I don’t think it would be stressful. It all depends on how you consider your job, as a simple task or a real passion. As car sounds designer, I’d say that making sounds for GT is one of the most challenging and interesting job one can have. Yes, it will require tons of energy and dedication, and if you know you’re doing the job properly, you don’t need to pay too much attention to the external feedback ;)
This can only be a positive step. GT7 looks to be shapping up nicely. I somehow doubt this will come to GT6, we may get an odd update on sound to test the waters however.
I agree. Lifelike sounds just aren’t possible with GT6’s engine – though we do still get some amazing ones! *cough*Red Bulls*cough*
Yep the RBs sound brilliant!
I HOPE this is for gran turismo 6 and not just pushed and delayed for 7.
It was mentioned before, the sounds in Gran Turismo 6 will only improve ever so slightly, but the real sound update is coming to GT7.
this is not for GT6, unfortunately.
And I also hope this is done soon, and it doesn’t turn into another feature/improvement forgotten by time.
Kaz has already stated that the big improvement will come with GT7 so I remain doubtful the fruits of this labour won’t be seen until then. But I would be stoked should we get some improvements to 6
Their problem is that there are too many cars in the game. And I think at least the half they can throw out of the game. But as we know Kaz, we get an GT7 on a PS4 with 1400 cars and 800 of them have still PS2 graphics.
Here we go with the PS2 graphics thing again…
Clearly, the original files were scanned during the PS2 era. The thing is though, the poly count has increased from GT4’s day, and been increased once more for GT6 – and you can bet they will be improved further still for the PS4. Or are you saying you truly cannot see any difference?
Sweet, now hire some Finish the Game Engineers
Piss off, you’re not clever.
ynot you’re a genius. masterrawad, unclench.
Genius is an unacceptable misrepresentation. Keyboard warrior making yet another gutter gag is closer
This is really good news! I hope whoever gets hired knows what he’s/they are doing. Experience in sound development or whatever is of no good if they aren’t car guys as well and can’t distinguish between different types of engine configuration. Super-realistic sounds are of no good if we get V8’s sounding like V6’s, if you know what I mean.
I would have such fun at that In-Person Interview if I was in charge:
“All right then Sir/Madam, on with the blindfold! Now, which of these is an F140FC and which is the F136 used in the Vertigo?”
HAHA! That’s extreme, but it would be a lot of fun!
They don’t need to be that exact, but as long as the right sound is assigned to the right engine type/car, and especially those cars with very unique sounds, it’s fine.
Honestly, the game already does a great job, but there are cases that leave you scratching your head, wondering how they failed so epically. A good example is the Mercedes SLS GT3, which sounds like a V12. You would think that someone would notice, being such an obvious mistake. And there are others that you think it’s got to be a technical issue, like all the V12 Lamborghini cars, which sound terrible and not even like a V12.
But I’d say 90% have a right sound. It’s just a matter of making it “richer,” and less artificial.
Quite right. The best investment I’ve made was a set of headphones with adjustable SRS-WE/Spatialiser controls. Awesome not just for tracking car movements in a vehicle with limited rearward visibility (-cough- lamborghini), but also to wake up what has fallen a trifle bit flat. Mm supercharger chatter and whine. Not a cure-all though it does make a big difference for me.
Good job Polyphony Digital and Kaz! :D Nice! Really nice, I hope to get an update soon with some new engine sounds of some cars! ;) btw. pls donnot ruin the sound of the LFA, HSV and the GT3-rides! :D ;) Good luck with it! :D
Wow, I was pretty cynical when I heard that PD was hiring. I was thinking that everyone will see it, ignore it, and continue moaning for new sounds.
I’m so glad I’m horribly wrong!
When PD gets the sounds right…They should update GT6 casually and enhance the sounds overtime. They recorded real cars, but f’d up for some reason…
Nice to see something being done!
Good luck to all on all fronts. I am hoping for the very best from this!
Big news. Glad to see active steps toward sound improvements.