Developer Diary: The Sound Track Recordings

Master Creating´s Creative Director Jan Beuck gives an insight into the development process of their upcoming action-RPG Legend - Hand of God.

LEGEND Soundtrack

The guys from Dynamedion will be doing the musical score and sound effects for LEGEND; they developed the game’s audio style in cooperation with Master Creating.

Music and sounds are important parts of a game’s atmosphere and also add to immersion. Eyes and ears are the only sensory organs directly addressed by games – and acoustics work differently than visuals: music and sounds influence the gamer on a subconscious level, which is why the music is so important… it can make or break a game. The music is responsible for the gamer’s emotional ties to certain in-game situations. A well-known example is that gamers who are treated to game music outside of the game will recall corresponding situations and experiences from that game, including the emotions they felt.

Several Dynamedion composers are working on the music of Legend. The soundtrack covers two major musical styles (I’m not telling which styles… not yet), so each of the two composers, Alexander Pfeffer and Markus Schmidt, is responsible for a part of the musical score; they are supported by Alexander Röder and Tilman Sillescu.

Over the last few years, Dynamedion has become the leading game sound studio in Germany; they also have offices in France, Scandinavia and the United States. The consistent use of live instruments in those productions which were not completely recorded with a live orchestra is what makes Dynamedion’s scores so lively and emotionally deep. Apart from several major German productions, Dynamedion was responsible for the sound of Hollywood blockbuster trailers like „The Bourne Ultimatum“ and international games like „John Woo’s Stranglehold“.

The Legend soundtrack has two strong leitmotifs befitting the game’s content: a grandiose mixture of tribal and ethnic influences meets its gloomy, echoing and sacral counterpart; in the game, both will serve to tell a coherent story. Then there’s a stringent system of interactivity which contributes to the emotional gaming experience as well.

Pierre Langer and Michael Schwendler are responsible for sound effects in Legend. They need to create a bulky, clear-cut counterpoint to the sophisticated musical score. The sound effects serve to give the player feedback about game events while the music involves the player on a deeper, subconscious level.

You can listen to a sample over at the official Legend website:

http://www.legend-game.com/audio.php?sprache=1

Enjoy! ;-)

Jan