Developer Platinum Games’ latest blog post features their Lead Sound Designer, Misaki Shindo. Who takes us on a tour of how the sounds for their critically-acclaimed action-RPG, Nier: Automata  was crafted.

Nier: Automata – Listen

Misaki Shindo begins by sharing her inspiration and motivational drive that she found whilst attending the CEDEC (Computer Entertainment Developer’s Conference), an annual convention for the Japanese game industry, a few years back.

“We’ve got to pack NieR:Automata with the most interesting techniques that we can. We’ve got to do something we could present at CEDEC!” We vowed to earn ourselves a turn at the podium.

We’re then shown the studio, “Toei Digital Center”, where the actual sound creation process or Foley was recorded. Matching objects to bring out the desired noise to go with the on-screen action. Misaki Shindo explains it best:

Foley is the process of reproducing and recording all sorts of sounds to match the action you see on-screen. When you hear footsteps through sand, or clothes rustling as a character walks, or something crashing to the ground, that’s foley!

A wide array of objects  were used including desks for creaking noises, drawers for rattling metallic noises, and lots of shoes to get 2B and 9S’s footsteps just right, among many others.

It may look like a bunch of junk at first, but it was all put to good use to bring memorable sounds to the world of NieR:Automata.

You can check out the full blog post over at Platinum Games as its chock full of details and insight into the meticulous art of sound design.

Nier: Automata  is currently available on PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam.

Nier: Automata  received an “Award for Excellence” at the Japan Game Awards during TGS 2017. Furthermore, the Platinum Games title just recently exceeded 2 million in sales!

Nier: Automata  has been nominated for multiple awards at the Golden Joystick Awards 2017. You can cast your vote up until November 3, and the winners will be announced on November 17.

Visit the Nier: Automata Wiki and the complete Nier: Automata Trophy Guide

You can also read our review of Nier: Automata to see what you’re missing out on!

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