Blizzard Entertainment

Game Music

Meet Diablo III’s Sound Team, Samples Included

May 17, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Meet Diablo III’s Sound Team, Samples Included Share this

[Originally posted on Destructoid]

Diablo III has easily been one of my most anticipated games of the past five years (c’mon, we all knew it would be coming someday), and now it’s less than a week away. A lot has changed at Blizzard Entertainment since the release of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction in 2001, and we wanted to delve into the audio with Blizzard Entertainment’s audio director, Russell Brower, as well as with some of the composers and sound designers who have been toiling away on the game’s sound.

Although Diablo and Diablo II composer Matt Uelmen has long since left the company, the sound he crafted for the first two games in the series is still alive, and I think fans will be surprised by just how much respect that the entire team has the groundwork he laid down for Diablo III. As always, we also have some samples of the soundtrack for your enjoyment, so sit back, stay awhile, and listen. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

To Hell and Back: Diablo 15 Year Anniversary (Review)

December 5, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Blizzard Entertainment has some of the biggest franchises in the business under its belt, but none has spoken to me more over the years than the Diablo series. It’s always been one of my favorite game franchises, and the scores Matt Uelmen crafted for the first two games in the series are among my favorite soundtracks of all time.

While Uelmen left Blizzard Entertainment in 2007, we were able to glean some details about how the Diablo III soundtrack and this special BlizzCon 2011 exclusive album have drawn from the musical legacy of the series, and we were impressed with what we heard in the Diablo III Beta that was released earlier this year which showed us that the team is on the right track with sticking to the franchise’s musical roots.

Is this album a worthy celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Diablo series? Find out in our review. (more…)
Featured, Game Music

BlizzCon 2011: Our Annual Interview With Russell Brower

October 25, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

BlizzCon 2011 took place this past weekend, and while the biggest announcement coming out of the two-day event was the World of Warcraft expansion titled Mists of Pandaria, Diablo III and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm were also on hand for attendees. There was the annual audio panel where the audio team shared their experience and a couple performances related to Diablo III, and of course we were able to sit down with audio director Russell Brower to discuss some of their upcoming projects.

Hit the jump for updates on all three of Blizzard Entertainment’s upcoming titles. (more…)
Game Music

Diablo III Beta Audio Impressions

September 29, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this Diablo III Beta Audio Impressions

We’ve been covering the little snippets of music we’ve been hearing from Diablo III at past BlizzCon events since all the way back in 2008. We enjoyed what we were hearing, but it was somewhat of a tease to only hear one or two new pieces per demo build. Only now, however, are people really getting their hands on a meaty portion of the game with the recently-released beta, which explores Act I of the Diablo III.

There are a handful of new tracks featured, and I have to say that I like what I’ve been hearing. With Joseph Lawrence handling the majority of interiors with support from the rest of the audio team at Blizzard Entertainment, the Diablo III soundtrack is shaping up to be exactly what fans have been waiting for.

Hit the jump for our full impressions. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Your Ears, Torn Asunder: World of Warcraft Cataclysm Soundtrack (Review)

December 13, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

The day more than 10 million people around the world have been waiting for is finally here. While there has been a lot of excitement about what the Cataclysm expansion pack would mean to the World of Warcraft experience, players were finally able to dig in last week to re-explore new areas, discover new ones, and enjoy over 8 hours of new music that was added to the game.

Included with the Collector’s Edition version of Cataclysm was a soundtrack album, and you probably know from our past reviews of these limited edition pack-ins as well as the BlizzCon exclusive albums that we’re huge fans of the music from the game. Cataclysm has a lot to live up to, not only in terms of being the newest addition to the franchise, but also in that it revisits several themes from the past.

Does the Blizzard Entertainment sound team live up to the challenge? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

BlizzCon 2010: Audio Director Russell Brower Weighs in on Our Context Debate

November 4, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

This is the last piece we have from BlizzCon 2010. It’s not really about anything that the company has been up to, so I’ve been holding on to it. During our lengthy chat with Audio Director Russell Brower where we talked about StarCraft II, Diablo III, and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, we also touched on the subject of context, as I thought he may have some interesting insights having worked on games with so much music that is loved by so many fans.

As it turned out, I was right. Aligning himself more with Wes’s “Everything is a Context” as opposed to Gideon’s “Context is Everything” argument, I think you may find what he has to say to be interesting.

Hit the jump for more. (more…)
Featured, Game Music

BlizzCon 2010: Cataclysm Puts WoW at 36 Hours of Music, Plus New Details

October 28, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 11 Comments Share this

And that’s not all we learned about Cataclysm at BlizzCon 2010. In addition to a live performance of some of the music from the game, we received a great deal of information about how the new music will be implemented in the game, what will be featured on the CD that will be included with the Limited Edition version on of the game, and what will be happening to the original music that Jason Hayes and the Blizzard Entertainment team wrote for the original World of Warcraft.

Find out all the details and see some photos from the show floor after the jump! (more…)