Sound

PC

Get Swept Up In The Sound Of Skyrim’s Barbarian Choir

9:20AM November 4, 2011 | Mike Fahey

Back in 2006 Skyrim game director Todd Howard called up composer Jeremy Soule and told him he wanted the music for the game to sound like The Elder Scrolls theme as sung by a barbarian choir. Lacking barbarians, Soule just hired some men with deep voices. More »


News

Time Travel Video Game May Be A New Line Of Defence

2:00AM August 5, 2011 | Stephen Totilo

I was already interested in Dr Chris Hazard’s complex time travel war video game when he mentioned the military was interested in it as well. More »


In Real Life

Setting Up Kinect Is Like Preparing For A Date

4:30AM September 29, 2010 | Mike Fahey

newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http://www.viddler.com/player/683580d/","customParams":{"flashVars":"fake=1"},"width":570,"height":360,"ratio":0.5625,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"viddler","wrap":true,"agegate":false} );

Vacuum your floors. Reduce background noise. Make sure you have adequate lighting. Are we playing video games here or hoping to score? This Xbox Live video shows the steps needed to ensure a pleasurable Kinect Experience. More »


In Real Life

The Beautiful Sounds Of Arcades Now On Your iPod

1:00AM March 26, 2010 | Brian Crecente

Arcades hold a very special place in my heart. More »


A Listen To Dante’s Inferno Lite

10:20AM March 13, 2010 | Brian Crecente

newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http://www.youtube.com/v/uJa-wzkY2YU&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=22","customParams":[] ,"width":570,"height":412,"ratio":0.824,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube"} ); Ever wonder what video game composers have to work with when creating those big sounds for big games? More »


A Musical Journey Through Dante’s Hell

5:00AM March 13, 2010 | Brian Crecente

As I mentioned in my review of Dante’s Hell, I loved the scoring and sound of Visceral’s take on hell. More »


News

The Video Game Audio Awards

7:30PM April 1, 2009 | Luke Plunkett

Games have long preferred visual innovation to audio. I mean, they’re called video games, not video and audio games. But that’s not to say game audio doesn’t deserve recognition!

More »


Uncategorized

Scream From 1951 Echoes Into Today’s Games

8:00AM June 30, 2008 | Owen Good

The Wilhelm Scream. Cinephiles recognise it instantly (you only need to hear it once in the above video). It’s been reused so many times since it was first recorded in 1951 that its inclusion today is almost beyond cliche, easter egg, or inside joke, and has become a combination of the three. (It’s been in every Star Wars and Indiana Jones title thanks to sound engineer Ben Burtt, who resurrected its use.)

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Uncategorized

On the Need For Better In-Game Winter Sounds

8:00AM March 24, 2008 | Maggie Greene

I love the random stuff that occasionally pops up on Gamasutra, such as this combination how-to on doing winter field recordings and essay on why we need better ambient winter sounds in games. Part lavish love letter to snow and its various states, part practical considerations, Finnish game sound designer Tapio Liukkonen tells us why this stuff is important and why field recordings can trump studio technology:

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Uncategorized

Bob’s w00t-Worthy Sound Collage

10:15AM October 17, 2007 | Michael McWhertor

Kayak instructor and Professor of Technocultural Studies and Music at the University of California at Davis, Bob Ostertag, has rolled up a katamari-like collection of 8-bit to 64-bit samples in his video game “sound collage” titled w00t. Featuring carefully arranged blips and beats from games like Contra, Halo, Super Metroid, World of Warcraft and Ico, to name but a few, Ostertag’s 50 minute piece is available as a free download for the curious.

I spent about 15 minutes with the musical journey this morning before I became too distracted with the experimental arrangement, but fans of game music who loathe paying for things should give the MP3 a whirl. Thanks to Geoff for turning us on to Bob’s work.

w00t (and Other Recordings) [BobOstertag.com] More »