Sound design and open worlds

by Stephen Laughlin , Long Beach, CA, Tuesday, June 11, 2013, 02:29 (4141 days ago) @ Leviathan

-Oh, I've you missed you Bungie art direction.

-Bungie always has such awesome things that go up into the sky in the background.

-The graphics were really impressive when those lights started to turn on in the first combat zone.

Oh, yeah. I loved the art direction and atmosphere, and not only visually. The first thing I noticed right at the beginning was the sound of the crows and wind in the distance. The ship's engines as it powers overhead. The sound of running water as the duo walked through the entrance, then the quiet whirring of machinery from within the wall and the echoing of gunfire through that large chamber. I'm a huge fan of PC RPGs like Baldur's Gate, Morrowind and the like that throw you into these expansive worlds filled with strange sights and sounds, then just let you explore at your leisure.

I really hope the world is as open as it looks, and it's not always just a *Choose level -> Fast-travel drop in front of dungeon entrance* sort of thing. I'd like to go meandering down that wall or out into the wilderness over those hills with some friends, just for the sake of exploring, listening to the bees and birds, occasionally coming up on an unexpected encampment of some deadly looking foes, formulating an awesome plan of attack with your buds that falls apart as soon as one guy just rushes in and everyone's just guns blazing until silence falls again and you all head off toward another cool looking spot on the horizon, you know what I mean?

I'm still not sure if Destiny is precisely that type of game. The gameplay in the trailer looked like a lot of fun but I think I need to see a bit more. Also, I guess I have bad memories of going from the wide open environment of the Macworld trailer to the relative linearity of Halo post-Microsoft-buyout (how awesome it turned out to be, notwithstanding). Though I don't know exactly how to frame my expectations yet, I can't wait to go exploring.