The document discusses the soundtrack used in the video game Call of Duty: World at War. It analyzes four elements of the soundtrack - setting, mood, game genre, and narrative - and the production techniques used to create each element. For the setting, traditional instruments like violins were used to create a feeling of disaster and destruction fitting the aftermath of World War 2. Violins and voices helped establish a sense of despair and sorrow for the mood. While first person shooters typically have fast-paced music, slower music symbolized the terrible loss of life in the real war. Bells at the end created a strong sense of loss, mimicking their use in funerals.

1. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
Game Title
Call of Duty: World At War
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
This scene is set right at the start of the aftermath or world war 2. The music here as
well as the visuals fit in really well with the setting. The music uses a minimal
amount of instruments, mostly one playing at a time and slowly. This causes an
affect of disaster and destruction which is what audiences should feel when looking
at the aftermath of world war 2 due to its devastation left on the world. The slow,
lengthy violins are a big help here as they also insinuate the destroyed setting.
I believe the music produced here was created
using traditional instruments. This is because the
violins and voices don’t sound computerized or
sound like they have been made in a recording
studio.
Mood
As this is set after World War 2, the mood here would be sad, empty and devastated
as many have lost their lives in the war. Sadness is felt in the music throughout the
entire cutscene, especially when the plane flies over Hiroshima and drops the
nuclear bomb to end the violent conflict once and for all. The violins and voices help
here by being slow and lengthy. Emptiness is also felt when you see the bomb has
exploded and the General Macarthur is reads his final speech to close the curtains
on the war. The music dies down a bit here to show loss and emptiness. Devastation
is felt when the General reads his speech, the bomb falls and the facts at the end
appear. A new instrument is heard at the end which is bells.
Game genre
The games genre is first person shooter. I agree that the music used fits the game
genre, but only when the setting and narrative are taken into consideration and
typically, first person shooters have up beat and some times fast paced music, but
because this game if about a terrible war that actually happened, it is much more
useful and better to use sadder, slower music as real people lost their lives in it. The
sad music greatly symbolizes this.
The violins and voices, due to being slow and
lengthy, help to create a sense of despair and
sorrow. These instruments and voices are
commonly used in sad scenes in games and
movies as they create a great effect. The bells at
the end however are very effective with the
visuals. The visuals are facts and they talk about
things that actually happened including the loss of
60 million people. The bells create sounds much
less than the other instruments and help
symbolize loss.
The producers thought about the music and
thought it would be best to include sorrowful
music as they tried to create this kind of feeling in
the game. The genre states that the player must
kill people. This is a bad thing and millions died in
this war, so it makes more sense to have sad
music.

2. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
Narrative
The story in the game just before this scene is that the Russian army have reached
the Reichstag in Germany. They proceeded forward to capture the building, where
they could end the war. At the end, the main character nearly dies as he is shot, but
Sgt.Reznov kills the last German, saves the player and then the player places the
Russian flag where the Nazi flag once stood. The music fits in really well as the great
war has finally come to an end. With the narrative, the creators tried to portray
everything that was lost in the war and show them how bad it was. The music
emphasises this by indicating this loss.
With the bells, the creators could create a big
sense of loss. Churches usually play bells at
funerals and have been known to indicate death
as well as other things too, so the creators could
really get a sense of how everyone felt after the
war.