Salford City CollegeEccles Sixth Form CentreBTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGNUnit 73: Sound For Computer Games

Game Title Dead Island Opening Cut scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQWdcwaiiKU(0:18) – (2:25)(Sorry for some bad words)

Provide detailed descriptions from chosen examples that establish… Clearly state what production technique(s) you think have been used to create specific soundtrack elements

Setting The setting during this sequences changes multiple times. Right at the start we can hear crickets and other insects in the background which suggest that this person is outside, maybe somewhere abroad as you don’t tend to hear those sounds around here. Right after this we hear a rapper singing and the noise of the insects die off suggesting that the character is now inside a club or party and was walking there during the beginning. At 1:12 we hear a thud kind of noise that indicates that the character is now on the floor due to falling over or being pushed down by another person. Again at 1:22 we hear another thud sound but in this case it’s clear that someone has hit the character. Next our character walks away from the club but doesn’t go back outside as the music fades away but we don’t hear the sound of insects either , instead we hear a door opening and the sound of running water and splashing which suggest the character is back in his own room or in a bathroom. The location is then made clear to us due to the narration as a woman says “this is the women’s restroom”. Finally at the end we hear yet another thud telling us that the character is now once again on the floor, for good this time but the location is unknown to us.

The insects at the beginning could have been field recorded using an industry piece of equipment to give the game an authentic sound or it could have been created by a Foley artist who would have listened to many sounds and then created their own based off the others. Next are the thud sounds which also could have been field recorded as it isn’t a hard sound to produce but could have again been created by a Foley artist as it could be quicker because trying to record the sound could take a lot of tries to get it perfect.

Mood Our characters mood is that they are chilled out at the beginning as other people are aggressive towards them through narrative but the character doesn’t show any signs of aggression back. We also know that our character is drunk at this time due to narrative “looks like you’ve had enough” and the thuds suggesting that they keep falling over. Finally the character does become aggressive, I know this because at 2:08 someone asks the character if they are okay and 2 seconds later we hear the sound of air swishing and a thud indicating that the character has become hostile and pushed this person to the floor or against a wall.

The main way in which the mood is shown is through narrative meaning that it was most likely studio recorded. I had already mentioned how I think the thuds were created and I personally think that the swishing sound could have been created in the same way, either field recorded or created by a Foley artist.

Salford City CollegeEccles Sixth Form CentreBTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGNUnit 73: Sound For Computer Games

Game genre From this cut scene you can’t really determine the game genre. The only indication that you get is at 1:37-1:38 where you hear a growl/groan from a human suggesting that something bad has happened and also when listening to the song in the background it leaves hints as to what the game is about (0:48-0:53) talks about cannibalism and zombies but apart from that there would be no other way to figure this out in my opinion.

The sounds that indicate the genre are most likely studio recorded and then edited post production, the rappers voice may have been given an echo to simulate that it is quite a large place where he is meaning that he is famous/important. The music itself could have been created using a MIDI instrument or recorded from a real musician who performed this to be recorded for the game.

Narrative The narrative during this scene is generally aggressive towards the character except for the guy who offers to lead us back to our room. However only 4 of the characters in this scene has a couple lines to say instead of just a few and I feel that these are the main characters of the game being introduced to us without us even knowing. The first character we meet is at 0:38-0:46 who is aggressive towards the character but we learn that he has a sporting history due to his dialogue. The second character we meet is at 1:19-1:23 who is also aggressive towards the character but from this we can assume that she doesn’t enjoy getting drunk as she sounded completely sober. The third character is the man that tries to help us but we suggest something bad happened to him due to the growl. The last character is the women in the restroom and from her dialogue we can learn that she is caring, considerate but likes to follow the rules.

I feel like all the dialogue was recorded in a studio and maybe later changed slightly by a professional to make the characters voices sound exactly like they wanted to.