Big Walk patch addresses voice volume complaints with restraint: ‘We consider it an important part of the game’s design that you can only hear players who are close to you’

Fantastic new puzzle game Big Walk drew some early complaints over the volume of its proximity voice chat, which was too quiet for some players and mic setups, and developer House House has now released a patch that it hopes will resolve the issue while respecting the spirit of the game.

The studio has a fine line to walk, because Big Walk’s primary source of friction is the challenge of communicating over distances. Voices don’t carry very far, so players often have to communicate with radios, arm signals (or frantic arm waving), notes, and signs to coordinate exploration and solve puzzles.

House House says that, with the new patch, Big Walk “now does a much better job of bringing players with quiet microphone setups up to the intended volume.” The change does not, however, increase the distance that voices carry or introduce the option to adjust the voice and background audio levels separately.

“This change makes quiet voices louder overall, so you will be louder up close, and louder at a medium distance,” writes the studio. “If you were affected by the issue, you’ll probably find talking at a medium distance much more comfortable now.

“However we have not changed the distance at which voices drop off. We consider it an important part of the game’s design that you can only hear players who are close to you. This distance is quite specific and shapes the dynamics of the game, the same way that a character’s jump height might be very specific in a platforming game.”

The developer may consider future changes if feedback warrants it, but says it considers today’s patch the “single most important fix regarding voice volume,” and will take its time determining whether to pursue further changes.

“We are a very small team, and we want to make sure we get each change right, so we will need to take things one step at a time,” the studio said.

We don’t have a scored review of Big Walk yet, but will soon—here’s Morgan’s take on it as of a dozen or so puzzles ago. The short version is that it’s a lot of fun.

I haven’t encountered issues with the voice volume myself, though it did take me a while to adapt to Big Walk’s rapid volume falloff. If you and another player wouldn’t be able to hold a casual conversation in real life—say, because you’re 25 feet apart on a beach—you probably won’t be able to hear each other clearly in Big Walk.