Dark Star from Parallax Studio and DarkStar Interactive is a film and game project. It takes place in space and we all know that space is boring in regards to sound. Well unless you buy into Hollywood’s mythical recreation of outer space.
But a totally silent video game wouldn’t be all that much fun, especially when you’re zipping about in space craft and blowing enemies into space dust...so Bangolia was tapped to give sound to outer space...
Personally, I think that space fighter sound is pretty cool. It made me think of old school Babylon 5 who also had some amazing sound as well. So by the associative principle that means Dark Star’s sound must also be amazing right?
It seems like the audio portion of video games is really taking center stage and getting the attention that it was sorely lacking in past. A six-note midi just doesn’t cut it with gamers anymore. We want a fully immersive experience, at times even cinematic and epic. So that means that close attention needs to be paid to this aspect of the game and from what the composers, musicians, engineers and producers have told us this month at GDN, attention is in fact being paid in full. It’s about time because nothing flattens a game experience quicker than poor sound and horrible voice acting. A shotgun should not sound like a pistol and a space ship SHOULD sound like a Hawk and an F-1 combined...at least I think so.