Yesterday we kicked off our annual Game of the Year awards and celebrations with one of our more alternative categories. For those who missed it, we awarded the title of Best Soundtrack to Jessica Curry’s wonderfully atmospheric score in Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
Of course, music only makes up one part of a game’s soundscape, the others including voice work and effects. Although great character performances and music are easy to pick out, we tend to think much less about the myriad layers of audio that seamlessly mesh whenever we immerse ourselves in video game.
It’s no surprise that two of the runners up in our Outstanding Audio Design category both hailed from the same genre. With music and dialogue often pared down to a minimum, horror games like Bloodborne and SOMA need to rely on clever soundwork in order to build a sense of fear and dread. It’s this same approach to audio (or lack thereof) that helped to galvanise hits such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Dead Space not only in fond memories, but nightmares too.
However, our winner comes from a very different genre.
When developing its latest online shooter, DICE did more than just try and pay homage to the great sci-fi series, the Swedish studio wanted to emulate it like for like. Therefore, instead of going directly to the audio booth with a menagerie of recording devices, they linked up with the talented folks at Skywalker Sound. Collaborating with Star Wars veterans Ben Burtt and Matt Wood, DICE managed to weave a patchwork of its own original effects together with sounds stripped directly from the classic movies.
From the iconic sound of blaster fire to the screaming of X-Wings and TIE Fighters overhead, there’s an uncanny resemblance. Coupled with the game’s amazing art direction, Battlefront is a two-pronged assault on the senses, filling your eyes and ears with an unshakeable feeling of nostalgia.
With so much help from Lucasfilm and the Skywalker Ranch, some may call it a bit of a cop-out. However, with controller in hand, and explosions erupting left, right, and centre, it’s hard to argue with the end result.
Runners up in alphabetical order:
- Bloodborne
- Driveclub Bikes
- SOMA
- The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
Youles
Only played the Beta but can’t argue with that – it’s brilliant, the laser blasters or whatever they’re called, and the droid sounds in the menus – all brilliant. And that theme when you become Luke!
ron_mcphatty
It’s great mate, it you love Star Wars it’s pure joy in a box! The sound makes such an impact in Battlefront, if only because the effects are so familiar to us and it’s very pleasing to be interacting with them. Great choice TSA.
beeje13
Not surprised , this generation of DICE games have all had excellent sound quality.
Also a few interesting things about star wars sounds, alot of them are not synthetic. E.G. TIE fighter noise is an elephant, some blaster sounds recorded whilst tapping on a huge cable. Wookies are from bears I think. Lighsaber uses a feedback and a CRT TV. Incredible ingenuity to think of these things.
Stefan L
A great deal of sound effects are created by recording and then distorting real world sounds, even to this day. There’s an awful lot of shooting bullets into watermelons for the sound of getting a headshot, for example.
JR.
This is a difficult one for me because I haven’t played the two games on that list that do interest me (SOMA, Battlefront) and nothing else really stands out. Compared to last year when Alien Isolation was a clear winner for me.
I added Battlefront to my rental list yesterday and it’s been dispatched this morning, so I’ll try and get a few hours in over the weekend.
colmshan1990
Battlefront’s atmosphere is amazing.
And as good as the graphics are, the sound does an even better job of immersing us in the gameplay. Can’t argue with this one.
TSBonyman
As much as i didn’t enjoy the beta i can’t deny the audio did a great job on providing some of the feels.