ProAudio Review - April 2008 - (Page 48)

POST | Feature by Heather Johnson Audio Production For Gaming PlayStation Portable’s God of War: Chains of Olympus ith a storyline based on Greek mythology combined with an exSpartan warrior lead character named Kratos and more than enough enemies and evil creatures to keep a warrior busy for a few centuries, Sony Computer Entertainment America’s (SCEA) single-player action-adventure game God of War, exclusively available for PlayStation2, was considered one of the top video games of 2005, receiving accolades from gamers and reviewers alike for its story-driven puzzles, cinematics, graphics, and audio. The game lent itself to a sequel: God of War II, issued in March 2007. Now, a year later, SCEA brings an all-new story in God of War saga to the PSP (PlayStation Portable): God of War: Chains of Olympus, which features the same characters, creatures, and villains as the previous titles, along with more bloodshed than a slasher flick and the same high-quality standards as its multiple award-winning predecessors. Developed by Ready at Dawn Studios in Santa Ana, Calif., in collaboration with SCEA’s Santa Monica studio, God of War: Chains of Olympus features several different vicious beasts and enemies from the dark and brutal world of Greek Mythology, which leads to a game with tens of thousands of lines of recorded dialog, combat and creature sounds, as well as multiple layers of sound effects and more than five hours of original score. Much of the God of War: Chains of Olympus musical score incorporates cues from God of War and God of War II. Roughly 15 minutes of new music for the game was composed by composer Gerard Marino (one of four composers used on God of War and God of War II) using Cubase 4 and integrated into the larger body of work. Much of the previously recorded material featured live orchestra and other instrumental parts recorded in London, Prague, and San Francisco—a common practice in most SCEA titles. “There is no substitute for recording live musicians,” says SCEA music director Chuck Doud. “The intensity and drama of both the musical compositions and the gameplay could only be realized and brought to life by an ensemble of extremely talented players, conductors, arrangers, orchestrators, and recording and mix engineers.” For the dialogue, the SCEA crew convened at Soundelux in Hollywood, Calif., where dialog manager Greg deBeer spearheaded a team that includes dialog recorder Justin Langley, and voiceover director Keythe Farley. Over a span of eight months, they auditioned and recorded a solid cast of voices, including lead characters Terrence “TC” Carson (Kratos), Corey Burton (Zeus), Lloyd Sherr (Cronos), and Linda Hunt (narrator), as well as artists as soldiers, delivering background yells, and chiming in for Walla sessions. DeBeer pays special attention to the tone of each voice, no matter how minor. “The God of War cast was primarily warriors, gods and demigods,” said deBeer in an earlier interview, “so all of those voices needed to have a lot of weight behind them. The main character was a mortal, but the mortal had to sound strong enough to beat the Gods, so he needed to have those qualities in his voice to make the story convincing.” Langley used the Soundelux U95 microphone to capture the myriad lines of dialog and recorded directly into Pro Tools using minimal processing on the front end. Keeping detailed records of mics used, mic placement, and the settings used on mic pre’s and in Pro Tools becomes as crucial as the recording itself. If an actor has to record additional parts months later, they need to sound exactly as they did on that first session. Excellent organizational skills become a priority as audio files get passed on to the editors and for localization (adapting the language for a different country or region). “The best tool we have is a solid and well-thought-out naming convention,” said deBeer in an earlier interview. “Every line in our script gets a file name and is put into a folder structure, usually organized by character name, and also put into spreadsheet format.” Sound designer David Farmer, who also worked on God of War II, created many of the creature sounds for the PSP title. When traveling to local zoos and other remote locations, Farmer often uses Fostex FR2s, Sound Devices, and Tascam field recorders, along with a wide range of field mics such Sennheiser 416s and Sanken CSSs. “We don’t typically use very many library sounds,” says Gene Semel, senior manager for SCEA’s PLAYSTATION continues on page 50 ➤ 48 | ProAudio Review | April 2008 Subscribe to the Digital Edition of Pro Audio Review http://www.myparmag.com www.proaudioreview.com http://www.proaudioreview.com http://www.myparmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - April 2008

ProAudio Review - April 2008 Contents A Little More Recognition Please Studio News and New Products API 1608 16-Channel Analog Console TASCAM X-48 Digital Audio Workstation SSL Matrix Super Analogue Console Toft Audio Design Series ATB Analog Console KRK Systems Exposé E8B Powered Monitor Broadcast News and New Products ZOOM H2 Portable Digital Recorder Producing Surround Sound at 50th Grammy Awards JBL LSR4312SP Linear Spatial Reference Powered Subwoofer Audio Production For Gaming Euphonix S5 Fusion Digital Post Production Console NAB Hot Gear Soundcraft Vi6 Digital Live Production Console Go To A Show! Contracting News and New Products Studio Consoles Studio Wireless Microphones Alicia Keys “Superwoman”

ProAudio Review - April 2008

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