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

Game Title The Last Of Us (Start 2:26:13 - Stop 2:29:04)

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 We can presume that at first the scene is set out side as we can hear gusts of wind and creaking metal in the background from a building near-by. We know that the scene moves to a different location as right after this we hear multiple footsteps on a wooden floor but still hearing a faint wind in the back. Next the destination changes as the wind dies down and you can hear the crackling of firewood being burnt, from this I can assume that it is around winter time or night as the temperature seems to be low. Finally the scene moves back outside as the wind picks back up and we hear someone running on snow and also a horse that then gallops on the snow away from the camera as it gets quieter and quitter.

To create the sound of the wind and the creaking metal they could have either been field recorded or created by a Foley artist. The same two techniques could have been used to create the cracking sound of the firewood. Finally the sound of someone running on snow could have been created/field recorded.

Mood At the beginning the general mood is relief as we hear the pitch rise in the girl’s voice as she says “no infected” and we can also tell this from the man’s quiet chuckle shortly after. The next emotion is curiosity; we know this from the dialogue when the man says “let’s go check on that buck of ours”. From this we can also tell that he is worried in case the buck has been stolen or has been infected. As the destination changes so does the mood as we hear panting/loss of breathe from both characters suggesting that they are tired from whatever activity they were previously doing. Afterward the attitude changes to become tense as the dreadful music begins in the background and the man uses his dialogue and almost begins interrogating the young girl. Subsequently the young girl begins to feel fear and she quickly stands up and we hear the sound of a gun being immediately being picked up. Shortly after the atmosphere becomes hostile as a third character is introduced and seems to be aiming a gun and when he first talks he sounds aggressive and the girl also becomes hostile as shown by her dialogue when she tells the third character to move. The final feeling shown in this scene fear from the young girl, I know this because we hear footsteps running in the snow and quick, heavy panting.

The panting sound could have been field recorded or to would have been recorded in a studio so that atmosphere was perfectly quiet so that the sound could clearly be heard. The dreadful music was most likely made by the se of a MIDI instrument and the correct software. The sound of the gun being picked up would have been created by a Foley artist. However it could have been field recorded but I feel that this would have been too difficult.

Game genre From this scene we can assume that the genre of the game has something to do with survival as food is scarce and people have to resort to hunting wildlife. We can

The only thing that can suggest the genre of the game is the dialogue which would have been

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

also tell that something has happened to the people of the world (like an outbreak) as they reference them only as “the infected” which may have drove people away from the city and into the forests, nature reserves and countryside. From these we can tell that the game is a post-apocalyptic/survival game.

studio recorded.

Narrative The narrative of the story is that this young girl and a man cross paths but then have to deal with the situation of “the infected”. After fighting them off they go back to warm up at the fire. Finally the man reveals information that he already knows the girl because she and the other main character previously killed members of his group. Learning this the young girl stands up and is let go by the man and his companion that shows up as he thinks that she won’t survive on her own. She runs to her horse and then the horse gallops away into the distance.

All of the dialogue in this scene would have been recorded in a professional studio and then manipulated or changed post production if it was necessary to do so.