We are finally back with a new dev diary. Today we are going to talk about one of the most important aspects of Hell Galaxy: music and sound effects.
Our initial references were the best space combat games and classic sci-fi horror. From the beginning, we drew on a variety of influences to create the soundtrack for our menacing galaxy.
We divided the music into two main categories: exploration and combat. For exploration, we needed to vary the music to match the diverse environments in the Galaxy of Neterun. Take, for example, a mysterious area like this one.
Here, the music needs to convey a sense of mystery and discovery. Overall, we wanted the music of the galaxy to evoke a sense of inevitability, of something ancient and primal that the raiders do not fully understand, but that lurks in the ruins of a vanished civilization. You could call it the soundtrack of a bio-machine hybrid's exile, punctuated by the screams of the Extracts who become raiders (and among those screams are those of your team...).
The other theme is combat.
Here, the situation is more adrenaline-driven. The music reflects the basic law of raiders: kill or be killed, with no third chances. The pace becomes relentless, reminding the raider that if they can't defeat their opponent, it's over. Exile in the Galaxy of Neterun feels as harsh and unforgiving as the maximum-security prison Manhattan was turned into in Escape from New York.
Another challenge we faced was creating the SFX. We could talk at length about them, but we'll share the ones that were the most fun and challenging to produce: those related to the biology of the Galaxy of Neterun. This aspect was varied, and we had to work on several fronts. For example, the scream of a huge creature like a colossus, with both metal and biological parts, was imagined as a hellish sound emerging from the bowels of the galaxy.
A real challenge was the Alters, the ectoplasmic creatures that haunt the galaxy. These were particularly challenging because they had to convey a sense of horror and mystery, and we used more ethereal, but also alien, otherworldly sounds. Finally, we were inspired by different types of existing sounds to recreate the cries of the creatures in the Galaxy of Neterun, modulating their aggressiveness and the sense of danger they instill in the player.
This brings us to the end of this development diary. We hope you enjoy our work, continue to follow and support us, and look forward to seeing you in the next article.
Farewell, raiders!
