The Sound and Vision Magazine website have published an interview with Rob Blake, the Audio Lead on Bioware’s upcoming Mass Effect 3. The interview discusses the musical direction of the Mass Effect series, the story behind the credits song of the original Mass Effect, effective control of the dynamic range in order to fully realise the sound design and emotional content, the salarian singing voice and what defines ‘Mass Effect’ sound design

What makes a Mass Effect game sound like a Mass Effect game compared to other games? What are the key things that set the series apart from other games?

You touched on it earlier: the soundtrack is quite identifiable. It’s an iconic mix between orchestral and synthesizer stuff. That’s something we felt strongly about and made sure stood out in the franchise. Sound effect–wise we have some great stuff. The weapons, for example, have these very interesting elements of different types of technology. The foley sounds have a sort of pneumatic and mechanical quality to them, so they sound unique.

Read the entire two page interview on the Sound and Vision Magazine website here

More game audio stuff for everyone with a new featured sound designer: Andrew Lackey. We’ll have several interviews talking about some games and Andrew’s career, and several articles exploring the world of sound design, foley with techniques, tips, and more!

Bio

Andrew Lackey is a Sound Designer at Wabi Sabi Sound, a company he started last year. Over the last 10 years, he has worked as a Senior Sound Designer or Sound Effects Editor at Danetracks, Skywalker Sound, and Electronic Arts. He has a diverse background in film, game and ad media sound design, working on projects that include Spore, Dead Space, Matrix 1, 2 and 3, 8 Mile, Treasure Planet, The Crossing and Go. This year he was involved with Dante’s Inferno, Bio Shock 2, and Left 4 Dead 2 as a contract sound designer.

Featured Work

• Dead Space (2008) – Sound Designer
• Spore (2008) – Sound Designer
• The Godfather Video Game (2006) – Sound Effects Designer
• James Bond 007: From Russia with Love (2006) – Sound Designer
• The Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age (2004) – Sound Designer
• The Matrix Revolutions (2003) – Sound Effects Designer
• Enter The Matrix (2003) – Sound Effects Designer
• The Matrix Reloaded (2003) – Sound Effects Designer
• Treasure Planet (2002) – Supervising Foley Editor
• They (2002) – Sound Designer
• 8 Mile (2002) – Foley Supervisor
• Red Planet (2000) – Sound Effects Designer

Awards and Nominations

• GANG Award for Audio of the Year – Dead Space
• GANG Award for Best Sound Design – Dead Space
• AIAS Qward for Best Sound Design – Dead Space
• BAFTA Award for Best Sound Video Game – Dead Space
• GDC for Developer’s Choice Award for Best Sound – Dead Space
• GANG Nomination for Audio of the Year – Lord of the Rings
• Golden Reel Nomination for Best Sound Feature – Matrix: Reloaded
• Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Animated Feature – Treasure Planet
• Emmy Award Nomination for Best Sound Editing – The Crossing

Wabi Sabi Sound Design, Inc.
Andrew Lackey at IMDb
Andrew Lackey at Twitter