1. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
Game Title
Fallout 3
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
The setting in this cut scene is the desolate waste land of Washington DC 200 years
after a nuclear bomb. It goes through various points of the player’s decisions and
experiences throughout the game, reminding them of all they have done.
Mood
The mood in the scene is sad and lonely. This is because the player has just died
trying to save the wasteland. The violins strengthen the feeling of sorrow as they are
used in a slow manner to convey these feelings. The dialogue uses a monotonous
tone to indicate these feelings even stronger as it is completely the opposite of
happy.
The minimal use of instruments adds a great
effect to the scene. It makes the wasteland feel
isolated, which it is and fits really well. I think the
creators used Traditional instruments here as they
used mainly a violin and voices. I don’t think it
was recorded in a studio as the voices would be as
loud as the violin.
The creators purposely used a slow violin to
create the feeling of sadness. The violins, instead
of just stopping, fade out too to state the player’s
death which adds depth to the piece.
Game genre
This games genre is a Role Playing Game. Instead of adventurous music, the creators
have gone for a more fitting piece which resembles the destruction of civilization.
The players are exploring various destroyed areas where millions of people have
died, so slow music would be more fitting.
Narrative
The scene itself adds to the narrative by summing up all the players decisions. Any
decision in the game effects this cut scene, but the music adds to the narrative as it
describes and reminds the players of the destroyed, eerie lands which they just
explored. The dialogue states at the start ‘ And so it was that the lone wanderer
ventured forth from Vault 101 intent on discovering the fate of a father who once
sacrificed the future of humanity for that of his only child…’. This sentence creates
great sadness towards the player as it reminds them of their experiences in the vault
at the start of the game and then brings up a sorrowful part where the main
The opera voices used in the background of the
track portray loss and destruction. These voices as
well as the violin are slow and fade out which
sounds like humanity being destroyed as most of
it was in the game.
The soundtrack used as a whole fits really well
with this narrative as it evokes every feeling
necessary for the cut scene. Sadness, loss and
heroism.

2. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
characters father dies.