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

Game Title Dead Space 3 (start 3:45 stop 9:22)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUgrIBqFHY4

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 From the sounds that I heard at the beginning of the cut scene I can tell that the person was outside due to the forceful winds this person was facing; also during this we can hear the person walking through snow which suggests a cold environment such as the artic or on top of a mountain. Personally I feel that it was on top of a mountain because when trying to talk through the radio you pick up on a lot of interference or static which occurs with a bad signal from being somewhere high or isolated. However the location soon changes to being inside as you listen to hardly anything besides the muzzled sound of vehicles driving past the building leading me to believe that this person in in a city or well populated area.

The first 2 sounds that we hear could have either been field recorded and they wouldn’t be hard to get however they are both slightly whether dependant. This leads me to think that they could have also been created by a professional Foley artist. The next sound of radio static is the same as the first two, it either could have been field recorded or produced in a studio. The final sound of the vehicles were most likely made in the studio as they sound like spaceships/flying cars which don’t exist yet or they could have recorded a car and then manipulated the sound.

Mood The first feeling I encountered was confusion which I got from the dialogue of the character that was speaking at the time, he seemed unsure about what he was actually doing, how he was going to do it and why he was going to do it. The atmosphere soon becomes very tense as there is hardly any sound besides a faint heartbeat that you hear in the background which could also suggest inner thought or maybe even fear/anticipation. Not soon after you confront the aura of murder as you hear 2 gunshots suggesting that two people have been killed during this confrontation or a single person has been shot twice to make sure that they are not going to come back. Close to this we get the emotion of anger, frustration and demandingness as we hear something that sounds like padded amour coming into contact with someone’s face suggesting that there is no time to waste in the current situation. The general ambience is created by an orchestral sound representing drama and action; it is the typical music that you hear for when a major event is happening so the music is loud and dramatic to keep you looking instead of looking

The gunshot sound could have been field recorded by a few members going to a firing rage and recording multiple guns being fired and then short listed the ones that sounded the best. It also could have simply been made by a professional who has researched and listen to many gunshot sounds to make it as authentic as possible. Both of these could also have been used for the padded armour coming into contact with skin/someone’s face. Finally the orchestral music could have been field recorded but may have been created by using a MIDI instrument on a computer by using the correct software and by finding the most suitable plugin.

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

elsewhere.Game genre From the sounds that I heard I would have said that this game was a shooter as I

stated before that I heard gunshots and also that this game is based in a war of sorts so I would most likely assume that weapons would be involved. I say that it was a sci-fi game due to the slight background sound you hear when the scene goes very quiet, in the back you can hear vehicles that sound like spaceships/hover cars which ultimately makes you think of the future as thing such as that haven’t been invented yet or mass produced for the public use. This particular game is story driven as there is a lot of dialogue to help you understand the story each step of the way.

I have already mentioned how I believe these sounds to be created in the previous paragraphs.

Narrative The storyline for this game is very easy to follow due to the amount of dialogue and explanation that we get from the characters during each scene. The opening scene suggests that the character is a solider of the army as they use terms such as “Alpha Whiskey”.

All of the dialogue in this scene was more than likely recorded in the studio and then manipulated if needed and then edited into the scene.