Oz Developer Watch: Firelight Technologies

Since its beginnings in 2002, Firelight Technologies has been expanding and working on improving FMOD, a sound engine used in such games as World of Warcraft, the Guitar Hero series, and Forza Motorsport 3. We spoke to Martin Wilkes, the sales and business development manager at Firelight Technologies to get a better understanding of what the studio does.

Firelight Technologies was established in January 2002 in Melbourne. CEO Brett Paterson wrote the original FMOD and continues to step in and give personal technical support to customers along with his 11 full-time staff members. At its core, FMOD is a toolkit for the creation and playback of interactive audio. FMOD Ex API and FMOD Designer are widely used by international games developers and, according to Wilkes, have gained a strong reputation for ease of use.

“It’s powerful software that offers comprehensive cross-platform support,” Wilkes said. “In fact, it supports more hardware platforms than any other audio system, including the latest consoles of course.

“In the early days of FMOD, there was only Brett and Andrew, but as they developed the original FMOD products, the company grew rapidly both in terms of size and in terms of the number of companies using FMOD. We have grown to be the leading supplier of audio middleware solutions to the global video game market, and you can now find FMOD in many of the best-selling games.”

Firelight Technologies doesn't just make audio products. It also makes “audio solutions” for game developers--software that handles all of the sound requirements of a game from 3D sound to interactive music. To date, Firelight’s FMOD products have been used in such games as the Forza series, BioShock and BioShock 2, DJ Hero, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age: Origins, LittleBigPlanet, Borderlands, Brutal Legend, de Blob, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, and the upcoming Alan Wake and L.A. Noire (just to name a few).

Although Firelight works mainly with developers rather than publishers, Wilkes said the company has developed a particularly strong relationship with Activision.

“We have worked with Activision and several of the developers that make games for Activision. The Guitar Hero series has been a great success for both Activision and FMOD," he said.

Working in the local games industry has been a joy to work in, according to Wilkes, which has a great deal of support.

“The vast majority of our business is with international developers, so there is an advantage to being in Australia,” he said. “We can work with both the US and the European markets in a day due to the way the international time zones work. In Australia, we are also well supported by lots of experienced programmers and a great climate. Beats having to march through the snow to get to work!”

However, the local market still represents a very small percentage of Firelight’s revenue.

“The Aussies are well received in the games industry, but the games market is definitely an international one. However, I think that Australia is primed to become a player in the global video game development market. We make good games and have excellent talent. I think for Australia to be seen as a success, we need to develop something a little different and a little special to catch the world’s eye," he said.

Wilkes is hopeful that Australian developers will one day be developing and publishing their own IPs. While the financial risks are great, he said there is clearly an upside to pushing the limits.

Looking ahead, Firelight will be showcasing its latest products at the upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco in March.

“This includes the new Designer for 2010, which we are just testing for the integration of the UE3 engine. We are also finalising some additional features for DTS and also for Dolby," Wilkes said.