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… Clearly state what production technique(s) you think have been used to create specific soundtrack elements

Setting

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.

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.

Mood

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 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.

Game genre

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

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.

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

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’.

Narrative

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