game design

1. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
Game Title The Last of Us- Left Behind DLC
Cutscene is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r-zvVMZeP4
Kieran Dixon
Provide detailed descriptions from chosen examples of
sounds that establish…
Clearly state what production
technique(s) you think have been
used to create specific
soundtrack elements
Setting With the drumbeat that ensues, this game sounds like a side scrolling, beat ‘em up.
There are numerous beeps and sounds of that indicating an arcade, though it is
either derelict or no longer functional, because one of the characters said “it’s
broken”. The scene shifts to a different area, described by the in-game characters,
as a great temple, with an arena; this is where, presumably, the fight scene later on
is taken place within.
The music sets the scene by not being there at all at first; there is no music, and this
allows for the background and ambient noises to fill the silence, providing a vague
but noticeable area for our minds to picture.
The drumbeat and voices are probably created
through Field recording and MIDI technology
respectively, blending together to create the
background noise, as well as the intense sound
and paints a picture in one’s mind.
Since the voices within the game already describe
the place where the fight- presumably- is taking
place,
Mood The mood the music sets, at first, as there is no music, is rather ominous; all we can
hear are footsteps that echo and voices. We can tell straight away that the mood of
the people in the game is calm, friendly and playful, though they are more
inquisitive than anything else.
When the drumbeat comes, along with the ‘fighting’ dialogue, the mood changes
from calm, melancholic, and almost sad to action-packed, intense and suspense-
inducing.
The drumbeat and fading, rising-in-volume voices
are probably done through the use of a
synthesiser, though the drumbeat could have
been done through real-time recording, or in a
sound booth.
It sounds though as if the voices were synthesised
with the drumbeat so that as one faded the other
got clearer
Game genre The genre, through the use of the drumbeat, is easily an action/suspense game.
With the sounds of fighting, it feels more like an action game, but the beat of the
drum and the rising voices suggests a forceful play into emotions; forcing you to feel
The drumbeat and fighting sounds that were
incorporated once the ‘game’ started, were
probably done through a mix of MIDI software

2. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
the suspense of the game, instead of the action. With the voices rising, so does the
suspense, and the beat fades out as the fighting gets louder; this is a good indicator
of wanting the audience to feel enthralled in the suspense of the game, but it also
adds action and some form of drama.
Again, while it sounds action-like, the thing is, if you listen carefully, more of a
fighter and ‘beat ‘em up’ game; to support this, there are feint noises of battle, from
two fighters presumably, and the way the characters describe the fighting in the
game makes us think it is a side scroller, but the sound match those of arcade arena
type battles.
and the use of a sound booth. This is most like the
other categories, but the difference is that it
focuses heavily on the drumbeat for the
immersion, rather than a mixture of everything.
Aside from that, the beat of the drums is the
driving force of the game’s cutscene, and is the
only piece of music, contemporary or otherwise,
in the scene.
The scene relies heavily upon this, and as such,
the drumbeat is solely the most important part to
the cutscene.
Narrative The narrative is rather quick to the point, coming in rather fast, and explaining
everything you hear. The voices are female, and they sound rather relaxed with
each other, obviously friendship; this points out that the characters are female, and
the way they speak, slightly childishly, hints towards their ages being in the early
teens. Once the beat starts, the girls become something trapped between enraged,
angry, joyous and in wonderment; this implies that they enjoy the action ‘game’ that
the two of them are either participating in or spectating.
The narrative then gets louder and blurrier with each passing second while the
‘game’ is in motion, before fading out altogether. The voices then emerge back
louder.
With the narrator(s), they explain, in vague detail, that the area they are in is a
temple, and they also explain the characters that are involved in this ‘fight’, and
hand out instructions to the ‘player’.
The voices getting louder and louder is a major
part of the narrative, and probably done in MIDI,
or some other sound editing software or
synthesiser.