When Amazon launched New World last year, one of the facets of the MMO that impressed many of us here at MOP was the game’s tremendous sound design. The audio landscape of MMORPGs tend to be underappreciated for the immersion that they can bring, which is why it’s good to see the studio devoting a full dev blog to the sound design of the new arena system.
The sound team apparently had a lot of fun creating the audio backdrop for the PvP bouts: “[The sound team’s] unlikely inspiration — live sporting events. They laid microphones on the field to capture the ohhhs, noooos, and other reactions of about 20,000 people. These sounds became one of the main audio feedback mechanics when someone dies in the arena.”
Another challenge was creating an announcer and music to be present in the arena itself. The final result culminated in 85 crowd samples, 86 announcer bits, and seven new minutes of music. The announcer was apparently inspired by Mad Max to give some “primal energy” and “caustic sense of humor” to the proceedings.
