The Witcher is copyright CD Projekt RED. Aurora Engine 2007 is copyright Bioware.
All sounds and music composed by Joe Dombrowski, 2009

I chose to do a video based on this game because this genre is where I have spent the majority of my time at Big Huge Games: a fantasy RPG. My chief goal with this video was to use music and sound to highlight the cinematic quality and drama of the clip. This entailed huge amounts of automation in the video editor. This video was also a great way to showcase sound effects for more unusual circumstances including time lapse, color shift, and distortion. The Witcher cinematic is my longest video here, with a complex orchestral score, and surround sound mixing. (For a stereo version, click here. All others are in 5.1)

The score for this video begins with a lyrical Cello line and Oud accompaniment, evoking the medieval setting of the game. However, the tone becomes increasingly dark through the use of dissonance and instrumentation, foreshadowing the theme of the video. Because this composition was for a cinematic, it allowed me to through compose the piece, so that it could sync up to the events of the video more accurately, and evoke the mood. (For a version with no music, click here.)

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Half-Life 2: Episode 2, and the Source Engine are copyright Valve.
All sounds composed by Joe Dombrowski, 2009

I chose this in particular to do sound work partly because of the game's visibility in the marketplace, but also because in this one clip, I could demonstrate sounds for the first person player, the environment, scripted events, FX clusters, NPCs, as well as my ability to create drama in sound. This video was completed in 1 work day, and features only original created assets. (There are no unmodified library sounds)

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Mirror's Edge is copyright DICE, EA. Unreal Engine 3 is copyright Epic Games.
All sounds and music composed by Joe Dombrowski, 2009

I picked this game out of personal interest. Mirror's Edge is one of my favorite games in recent memory, so I wanted to create sounds for it. Though the game seems sparse and minimalist, it was a very difficult video to make audio for. The game is so focused on Faith (the protagonist), her movement, and her environmental interactions. This left me with a unique problem: how do I take this character and bring her to life with sound? I knew it had to be specialized footsteps, grabs, breathing, and vocalization, but that was the easy part. I let the situation systematically select which sounds I used for her breathing and grunts (Level of exertion, and breath speed/volume based on enemies and speed), as a game engine would to show a modular system of assigning sounds in a way that sounds natural. The footsteps were also unique, as her speed is not constant, and the game relies heavily on momentum. For this, I created a pool of light and heavy concrete steps, jumps, and light and heavy metal steps. There is also a subtle wind track that rises and falls depending on her speed to try and put the player more in her position. It can be better heard on the music-free version. Finally, the ambiences and NPC sounds, like gunshots have distance based occlusion and doppler, making them sound more natural.

The music itself needed to be minimalist, and promote speed and exploration, but also communicate danger in a meaningful way. Because of this, I decided to write a minimalist accompaniment involving an electric bass, a harp, and a piano that would run the entire length of the piece, alternating between the I and IV chords of A-minor. The melodies and hairpins are completely modular, and can be played in any order, over either chord, allowing for situation to drive the music. When there is no immediate threat, the melody is carried by the strings and percussion instruments, but when danger arises, it switches to a more dissonant bass line at the next phrase.

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