Designing the Sound of Reality in Shadow of the Tomb Raider – MIGS 2018

On November 13th 2018 I was giving a presentation at MIGS (Montreal International Game Summit) on the sound design in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

The presentation was titled Designing the Sound of Reality in Shadow of the Tomb Raider and focused on the sound design strategies used in the latest Tomb Raider of the Reboot Trilogy in the context of this ‘realistic’ type of game.

The description goes as follows :

The idea of realism in games can be very subjective. Even in a game world which sources its stylistic references from the real world, sound designers must sometimes bend the rules of authenticity in order to present an environment which feels realistic. Because in games, ‘realism’ bears more the meaning of being ‘believable’ and ‘immersive’ rather than simply being truthful to its reference. This presentation will dig into the management of expectation vs authenticity, realistic sound design strategies, and how these can be delivered in order to offer an immersive, cinematic experience.