Sound Effects from Star Wars: Epidode II

The Star Wars franchise has always been known for being iconic in basically every way imaginable.  One such way is through their unique sound design.  Fans of the series will never forget its remarkable sound such as the "whoosh!" of a light saber, the "pew! pew!" of a blaster, or the banshee-like shrieks of a soaring Tie Fighter. 

It's very interesting to learn how some of these sounds are made.  Being a sound designer for a project as big as Star Wars requires A LOT of talent and creativity.  During the part of the film where the bug-like creatures are crawling on the floor, many random objects, such as a grapefruit for instance, were used to perfect the sounds necessary.  I learned that the people who create these sounds from manipulating objects are know as "foley artists".  They probably have one of the neatest jobs in the world; creating crazy noises with even crazier objects! 

After taking a second listen to some of the other Star Wars movies, I can begin to uncover how some sounds were made and manipulated to create the desired effect.  For example, the screech of a Tie Fighter is actually a pitch altered version of a car screeching. Many of the sounds for air crafts in Star Wars films were created using real air crafts and planes and then manipulating the sound to create a new one.

To critique, many sound designers can take a note from Star Wars.  Sounds can come from literally anything. It takes an open and creative mind to become an expert sound designer.  It takes even more to become the sound designer who is responsible for one or more iconic sound effects, such as Ben Burtt.  Wouldn't you have liked to be the one who CREATED the sound of a light saber??

He Took An Arrow To The Knee ... And So Did She!

An exciting aspect of games today are their expanding horizons, one such being sex/gender equality.  Among these games, the classic role-playing game offers players the choice to play the role of certain character archetypes. Sometimes these games offer you the opportunity to be almost whoever you want to be.  Along with a choice of different classes of characters, you can also choose whether your character can be male or female!

Skyrim Character Choices. Top: Males Bottom: Females

"Black Widow" Perk from Fallout 3 grants females extra damage against males

Box Art of PSO features male and female characters

Many RPGs, even in the early days, offer female choices for characters.  This genre was definitely the first in which I had experienced the opportunity to play as a female character.  Classics, such as Phantasy Star Online and The Elder Scrolls,  showed symmetrical sex equality in character choice.  The extensive nature of a role-playing game provides unique opportunities for the developers when developing character types.  Since the purpose of an RPG is to create and play a character which is unique to you,  each sex also has unique traits.  In Phantasy Star Online, each individual playable character had different traits and stats, giving each advantages and disadvantages compared to the others.  In games like The Elder Scrolls or the Fallout series, males and females each have their own unique perks to their character class as well as their sex.

Features such as these make a game for inviting to everyone.  It also helps to open the eyes of players to experiencing different game play with each character.  The Borderlands series is a great example of this.  Since the games' stories are relatively short and also promote multiple play-throughs, players are able to experience the game from the perspective of all 4 playable characters if the choose to do so. This creates a new experience with the game every time.  So before you've almost finished creating the same meat head muscle god character you've used for the last 1000 games you played, take a peak at what the girls have to offer.