by Jeremie Wallis, Audio Engineer
The modern gamer has three main things they look for in a game: gameplay, art design, and audio. The gameplay dictates if the game is fun for a person to play. The visuals determine if the game is enjoyable to look at. The audio is what the player is listening to the entire time they are playing, and can be very important to both draw people in and keep them interested. Audio itself can be further broken down: everything from the music you hear to the shot firing from a laser rifle, to the sound of a teleporter just humming in the background are all different audio assets that have to be created, balanced, and mixed to give the best experience for the player.
Let’s start by talking about the music. Our goal for the music of We’re All Going to Die was to have cohesiveness to the different areas, while making each one still feel unique. We looked at instruments that would invoke a feeling for each level. For example, the jungle theme has a lot of almost tribal drums, while the city music used a more industrial drum set. “For Skybridge, we were inspired by James Bond, but there’s a lot more openness in the arrangement which fits the theme of ‘sky’,” music composer Jack Mozie said. “With the moving bridges, we wanted a sci-fi concept with a Bond feeling, so we used a similar chord progression.”
https://soundcloud.com/blackbansheegames/jungle-theme
Mozie had a tall order to tackle, because each level of We’re All Going To Die can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 45 minutes, with each level being unique. This meant using loops, but a gamer’s ears will get tired of the same music on a constant loop, so Mozie had to find a way to make the music repeat, but still be interesting. “We made variations dynamic so that it changes with the game. Whatever happens in the game will be reflected in the music. It’s like the music never ends because it’s always changing”, said Mozie.
https://soundcloud.com/blackbansheegames/sky-bridge-theme
Check out a few of the songs on our Soundcloud at our Soundcloud Link (https://soundcloud.com/blackbansheegames)
, but remember: the music changes every time you play!
Learn more about We’re All Going to Die on the official Black Banshee Studios website at: https://blackbansheestudios.com