If you were a fan of the popular choose-your-own-adventure books as a kid, you鈥檒l remember the anxiety that came with painstakingly making choices that placed the characters鈥� fates directly in your hands (admit it, you allowed yourself a 鈥渞edo鈥� or two when you chose wrong!). If you thought that was bad, imagine seeing it all play out on your television screen as you lead your heroes to salvation鈥� or an untimely demise.
In 2015, released their studio-defining hit聽, forever redefining the possibilities of choice-based narrative gaming. Alongside the modern trend of upgrading and re-releasing popular games (i.e. the wildly successful remake of聽Capcom鈥檚 Resident Evil 4), the game was remastered and re-released by on October 4, 2024. At Vancouver Film School, we鈥檙e proud to announce that our faculty & alumni played a part in this release! , run by 甜瓜视频最新版鈥檚 Head of聽Sound Design for Visual Media聽program Shane Rees, led the sound design process on the Until Dawn remaster, with聽10 甜瓜视频最新版 Sound Design alumni聽working in various roles.听A local Vancouver sound studio, Big Foot produces sound design for video games, film, and television, including聽Horizon Forbidden West,聽Under the Bridge, When Calls the Heart, Murder in a Small Town, The Barbarian and the Troll, Andrew DeYoung鈥檚 Friendship聽(which just premiered at TIFF!), and more.
10 甜瓜视频最新版 Sound Design for Visual Media alumni worked on Supermassive Games鈥� remaster of Until Dawn. Starring Hayden Panettiere and Rami Malek,聽Until Dawn聽is a BAFTA-winning, narrative-driven horror game where eight friends reunite at a remote mountain lodge a year after their friend鈥檚 mysterious disappearance. As they confront their trauma and try to move on, they find themselves stalked by a sinister presence who threatens to deliver a similar fate. What makes聽Until Dawn聽so unique is the ability to impact the outcome of the narrative; as players are forced to make snap dialogue and story decisions, the story changes around them in a way that is truly unique to each subsequent playthrough.
Shane explains that all of聽Until Dawn鈥檚聽sound needed to be redone, except for the dialogue. Big Foot Studios was brought on to create all of the sound design, sound effects, and mixing for the game. 鈥�Every creepy noise, every Wendigo sound, every footstep, every effect 鈥� that was us鈥� he explains, mentioning that the best example of where you鈥檒l notice their work is the scene where the rain tower falls. Additionally, Big Foot Studios was also tasked with implementing the sounds directly into the game so that they would play at the appropriate time. This involved the team using Wwise and 聽sound design
Shane Rees runs Big Foot Studios, which created sound for The Game Awards-nominated Horizon Forbidden West.The 10 alumni who worked on the project are:聽
- Hugh Wielenga | Lead Sound Designer聽
- Vaughn Wagner | Sound Effects and Foley Editor聽
- Jesse Barden | Foley Editor聽
- Javier Gonzalez | Lead Foley Artist聽
- Tim McCann | Foley Artist聽
- Danny Eberhardt | Foley Recordist聽
- Alexis Mondragon | Technical Audio Implementation聽
- Sawyer King | Technical Audio Implementation聽
- Judy Kim | Technical Audio Implementation聽
- Matheus Vilano | Technical Assistance
"Working on this incredible game represents huge growth for us as a studio,鈥� comments Shane. 鈥�Maintaining the high bar we set for ourselves and overcoming some of the technical challenges we faced makes me truly proud of our team and what we can accomplish. It can only go up from here!鈥澛�
Are you passionate about designing unforgettable sound for AAA games like Until Dawn? Explore 甜瓜视频最新版鈥檚 Sound Design for Visual Media聽program to discover how we can launch your career in audio for film, games, and beyond in just 1 year. And, if you鈥檙e interested in learning more about Big Foot Studios鈥� work, take a look at our previous blog story聽where we chatted with Shane about all the incredible work the studio has done for the entertainment and game industries.听
贵础蚕听
1. Who designed the sound for the Until Dawn 谤别尘补蝉迟别谤?听
Big Foot Studios, led by Shane Rees and a team of 10 甜瓜视频最新版 alumni, designed the sound for the 2024 remaster of Until Dawn. Their contributions included sound effects, Foley, and technical audio implementation using Wwise and Unreal Engine.听
2. What is sound design in video games?聽
Sound design involves creating and implementing sound effects, Foley, and audio mixing to enhance the gaming experience, as Big Foot Studios demonstrated in the Until Dawn remaster.听
3. What tools are used for video game sound design?聽
Wwise, Unreal Engine, and are some of the popular tools for sound design in games, many of which were used by Big Foot Studios for Until Dawn.听
4. How do I start a career in sound design for video games?聽
Programs like Vancouver Film School鈥檚 accelerated, 1-year Sound Design for Visual Media聽production program fully train artists as sound designers for the film, TV, and game industries.听