Watch: How Overwatch's sound design makes you a better player
Let's break it down!
When you hit an enemy in Overwatch it needs to sound satisfying, right? That was the challenge facing sound designer, Paul Lackey, in the early stages of the game's development. 'What sounds truly satisfying?' he found himself thinking, as he grabbed a drink one evening after work. Overwatch's hit pip is now a reversed audio clip of the wonderful "pssht" noise that comes with opening a beer bottle. Of course it is.
My video's got nothing to do with that anecdote, but I thought I'd share it because it's a useful reminder that sound design is full of clever little innovations just like that. I caught a talk at this year's GDC which explained how Overwatch uses its audio to convey loads of information to its players, allowing them to react almost instinctively to everything they hear. It's really impressive, and I think it's time we talked about game audio a little more.
So let's do that! Join me in the video below as we delve into a world of clear audio cues and making sure players hear everything they need to hear, when they need to hear it.
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