Interview with Jenifer Walden
Squeezing console-sized sound into a handheld gaming device is like Tommy Boy (Chris Farley) trying to put on Richard (David Spade)’s coat.
Audio Lead Viviana Caro was tasked with shrinking down the sound of EA’s Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville to fit the Nintendo Switch — this was EA’s first port to the Switch using Frostbite. She says, “We used the existing content from the previously released game on larger platforms (PC, Xbox and PS4) and made it work for the Switch which has less audio capabilities.”
Caro and her compact team — a lead audio coder and an audio artist — had to find ways to optimize the game to make the audio work while maintaining the quality and feel of the game.
And since Caro contributed to the earlier release of PvZ: Battle for Neighborville — working as a senior audio artist who handled sound design and implementation for the ambiances, world sounds, and some gameplay content — she knew how far she could push the sound for the Switch without comprising the soundtrack’s integrity.