Inside Gaming Awards 2010: Best Sound Design

With just around 10 days to go before the Inside Gaming Awards take place in Hollywood, CA we at Machinima wanted to do a thorough exploration of some of the categories and nominees.

The nomination and judging process is a long grueling affair involving many voices and opinions. We had to make sure we looked back all the way through 2010 to the very first week and didn’t miss any games meriting nominations. That said, there was a fair bit of dissension within all the categories and while we can’t give away the winners, we can let you know what we thought of the crop of games we decided to honor and give our own personal picks.

Today: Best Sound Design

Best Sound Design

Justin F: Of all the games this year that made love to my ears, these five are at the top of the list. But for me, the one that stood above all the rest was Medal of Honor. Which should come as no surprise: DICE has some of the best audio talent in the industry, and whether it’s the Battlefield series or the MoH reboot, the sound of guns and explosions is what they do best. It didn’t hit me until I heard MoH being played through someone else’s headphones and thinking to myself “wow, that still sounds amazing” that I decided that the joint military outing between DICE and EALA was my pick for winner.

Lawrence S: At the risk of sounding like someone who’s just too good for modern military shooters, I’m too good for modern military shooters. Medal of Honor had some awesome bang bangs going on, but I’ve heard the rattatatta of rifles so much it’s hard to be impressed by them anymore. While Red Dead Redemption has one of the finest soundtracks of any game this year (or any year for that matter), I have to go with Limbo. You could call it minimalist, but it’s a great example of the benefits of restraint in design. Monsters in the game aren’t trumpeted with a terrifying “BAH-NAAAAH” which makes their deadliness much creepier. Also that one part in the factory when it’s all raining and there’s that terrible ominous machine thrumming – magical I say.

Billy Shibley: Ah, yes. Sound design. Perhaps the most subtle and underappreciated of our categories in this year’s Inside Gaming Awards. Truly great sound design should assist in bringing environments to life, adding an essential component to immersion. Although there was a certain beauty in the simplicity  of what Limbo had to offer (it’s the sounds you can’t hear maaaaaaaaan), my personal vote goes to BioShock 2. Whether it be the screams of splicers or water dripping from a leaky ceiling on to your Big Daddy’s helmet, not enough can be said about its sweet, sweet sounds. Eeven if the return trip to Rapture may have fallen short of the unforgettable experience of the first game.

Colin Ferris: Sound Design is a difficult category because you have to award for both what is and isn’t there. While all the games featured stellar sound, only one exceeded my expectations: Limbo. Though minimal, every sound you heard was integral to the game and crafted to the finest detail. If you doubt me, play the game again and notice what happens when the character gets his head underwater. The first time I heard that excellent muffling of the audio, I knew I was playing a game that was crafted with care. Listening for the subtle clang of something falling out of place or the downright creepy noises of them damn spiders enhanced the game such that anyone watching me play was silent… until the squishy noises I made when killed.

Rob S: I think it’s easy in Sound Design to overlook what we might consider “familiar” territory… like in Medal of Honor, where as action gamers we’re used to hearing gunshots, explosions, and barked orders. But many of the subtle touches, from the understated orders to the cacophony of battle when surrounded by insurgents with the constant threat of RPGs, really ground the intense battlefield experience. And that’s quite different from the subtle plonks and splashes that add style to Limbo. All of which proves the difficulty of selecting nominations, let alone the eventual winners. But we managed…

You can also make your voice heard. Don’t forget to vote in the 2010 Gamer’s Choice awards once you’re done reading this.

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