Fallout 4 (2015)

Returning to robots, guns, technology, and electronics was welcome after several years in the Elder Scrolls world, and I came back to the Fallout universe with high-level sound design concepts in mind. This was my first project to weave together sound design and gameplay, specifically by greatly extending the audible range of explosions and weapons fire. That expansion drew players' attention toward distant events that would otherwise go unnoticed. 

Fallout 4 brought a monumental increase in voiceover budget. We introduced the studio’s first voiced protagonist(s), and great improvements in our ability to produce more detailed scripts, allowing the voice cast to deliver their very best work. Composer Inon Zur’s creativity gave the game’s varied geography its own sound, and the factions their own memorable themes. We had a lot of fun blurring the lines between sound design and musical score, an approach we followed with every subsequent project. Extensive use of licensed music for the “PipBoy radio” again played a critical part of the game’s legacy and overall sound.

I recall Fallout 4 as another BGS landmark. The development team was firing on all cylinders, and the game’s reception was greater than anyone anticipated. A favorite personal anecdote was writing the music for, and directing, musician Andrew WK as the character ‘Red Eye’ in the “Nuka World” downloadable content expansion.