1. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
Game Title
StarCraft II Heart of the Swarm Cinematic Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVbeoSPqRs4
Provide detailed descriptions from chosen examples that establish…
Setting
Mood
Game genre
Clearly state what production technique(s) you think have
been used to create specific soundtrack elements
At the beginning of the clip, we get very little sense of where exactly we are or
where the scenes are happening. We only hear a pilot speaking through a radio and
then his jet flying past. At 0:56 we can hear a large slam into something, possibly
ground and therefore can assume possibly that this can be another Sci Fi which
involved planet invasions. At 01:09 we can also hear large roars and a crash which
might suggest that we are in a sci fi setting and therefore humans might be having a
war with some other species that are possibly bug like (because of the roar).Then in
the middle of the clip at about 1:23 we can hear something mechanical slamming
against the ground and therefore make us think that we are on a solid ground
possibly, then we can hear shooting and explosions and therefore that is a further
proof of the setting we are currently possibly in. At 02:00 we can hear a very large
explosion which further supports the idea of a massive war taking place and a planet
being invaded by alien hordes.
The mood is mostly set by some of the dialogue as well as the music. At the
beginning, when we hear the radio and the jet passing by, we can sense that
something is wrong and that people are on alert. The further support from music
expands on that later on. The dialogue such as: ‘Armies will be shattered’ also
greatly impacts the mood and how we as a viewer view it. We can hear the danger
speaking and we can also hear some explosions in the background, possibly
defenders trying to fend off the aggressors. Since about 45 seconds into the clip, a
very constant yet dramatic, serious and powerful music keeps on playing to
emphasise the attack on the planet possibly. It also sets up a mood for a viewer to
feel in a way that something is wrong, that something is being invaded etc.
The game genre can be established to be a Sci Fi very easily for various reasons, the
first one is when the dialogue starts speaking about ‘The Swarm’ and about ‘Worlds
burning and armies shattering’. The additional sound assets such as the engines of
the jets sounding very highly advanced and powerful also help albeit do not give
I think they could have used an edited sound of a
vacuum cleaner to make the sound of a jet, i.e.
record it as a directional sound and then edit its
depth. Other pounding and hitting effects could
have been done on simple surfaces that are easy
to capture sounds from, for example a walking
board, metal bars etc. Explosions and gunshots
could be taken from a private sound library for a
license.
The dialogue was simply spoken by voice actors
and recorded within a studio. The music was
generated and mixed also in a studio probably
with the help of professional software and
recording equipment.
The dialogue was recorded with a script in a
professional studio with a professional equipment
and then recorded in a program for higher quality
and additional effects.

2. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
Narrative
away the game genre straight away, they much rather hint it. Other aspect that
defies this trailer as a trailer for a Sci Fi game is of course the fact that there is
another race than humans – ‘The Swarm’.
The Dialogue is very simplistic albeit it has its ‘own’ depth, i.e. it speaks in simple
sentences but with complex matters in mind.
The dialogue was simply read out from a script