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Bethesda’s enduringly popular RPG The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and now we’ve learned a little bit more about how the iconic RPG was created. Specifically, developers have spoken about how screaming children and pizza influenced and inspired the game.
Audio director Mark Lampert told GamesRadar that, during a pivotal battle against a dragon, the team used an audio asset of children screaming from a roller coaster ride to accentuate the effect.
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“As I was scanning through our sound libraries, looking for other screams, I found ‘Children Screaming,’ ‘Children Yelling,’ ‘Children Celebrating,’ and all of these other things that I wouldn’t have thought to try. When used on its own, it sounded awful. But when mixed in with everything else, it was perfect,” Lampert said.
Also in the interview, Lampert talked about how the process of sound design is similar to a pizza. The crust is the background and ambient sounds, then there are layers on top of that similar to toppings on a pizza that improve the overall package.
“Wind comes and goes that just plays in stereo, regardless of your position. Now you’re getting into the toppings. Crumbles, that you hear in the distance that are positional to the player and, ultimately, you’re never in total silence,” Lampert said. “If we can get that dynamic range dialed up nicely, so that when you do have that break from loud combat music, you know, four foes attacking you at one time, and you run into the cave and they don’t follow you, then that transition from noise to silence, feeling like you’re in a hideaway, that’s one of my favorite memories playing these games as a fan before working on them.”
Bethesda is re-releasing Skyrim once again on November 11 through the Anniversary Edition, which includes 10 years worth of content–and fishing. A Skyrim music concert is taking place this week, too, and here’s how to watch.
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