I recently came across the Frictional Games blog and have spent the last few weeks trawling through it’s archive. It provides a wealth of informaiton on game design, and in particular discussions on the point of game narrative. One particular post, 4 Layers, a narrative design approach, written by Thomas Grip, Frictional's creative director, raised the concept of the mental … [Read more...]
An Interview with John Roesch
In over 30 years working in sound, Foley artist John Roesch has amassed an impressive list of credits, including major films like "Inception" and "The Matrix" and games like "Final Fantasy X" and "Dead Space." With over 400 credits to his name, John was awarded the MPSE's Career Achievement Award earlier this year. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with John on his … [Read more...]
The Sound of Music, or the Music of Sound?
By: Karen Collins *note: some excerpts from this section are taken from my book, Playing with Sound (MIT Press, 2013). Music and sound design are often treated as separate disciplines. We describe ourselves as composers or sound designers, get hired to do one or the other (usually) and awards are given to these jobs as separate categories. It’s rare that sound design gets … [Read more...]
Audio Implementation Greats #5: Ambient – The Hills are Alive
In a continued attempt to shed light on some of the best examples of Technical Sound Design in the current generation, I'd like to call attention to several titles that have pushed the envelope when it comes to the art of ambience. The all encompassing experience of “being there” in a game, where the sense of place is encapsulated in the sound of the environment. Stepping … [Read more...]
The Use of Silence in Sound Design
George Spanos has published a new article at GameSoundDesign, this time talking about the use and approach of silence in sound design. Silence is a very powerful sound. Sound? Silence is not a sound... right? Well I think that silence should be considered a "sound", a "sound effect", and "music". But that's crazy isn't it… how can the lack of sound be considered the same as … [Read more...]
Andrew Lackey Special: Dead Space [Exclusive Interview]
Dead Space is one of my favorite videogames and the sound there is really amazing. We have already seen good info about the sound of Dead Space, but here are some more specific questions from an interview that I had with Andrew Lackey, Check it! Designing Sound: First of all, tell us exactly what was your job on Dead Space. Andrew Lackey: I was one of three sound designers on … [Read more...]
Andrew Lackey Special: Exclusive Interview
Designing Sound: Let's get started, tell us how did you got involved with sound design? Andrew Lackey: Growing up I inherited old discarded audio equipment from my dad and grandpa’s dance band; The Don Roberts Quintet. As far back as 12 years old I wrote and recorded music with my friends. I went to college at Middle Tennessee State University where I learned how real music … [Read more...]