Level with Emily Reese

Level 166: DB Cooper (Voice Over Actor)

You’ve probably heard DB Cooper's voice at some point in your gaming life. I first heard her in BioShock 2 as the voice of the PA system. Most recently, she cast and directed the voices in Lake (in my intro to the episode, I mention she voiced characters in Lake, which is incorrect). And she is one of only two who voice ALL of the characters and sounds in the strategy roguelike deck builder Monster Train. And there have been many, many others. Currently, DB is on the Voice Over Team at ZeniMax Online Studios, the makers of The Elder Scrolls Online. You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level 165: Neil Bones/Corey Jones (Twelve Minutes)

One of my favorite soundtracks from 2021 came from Neil Bones (a.k.a. Corey Jones) for Twelve Minutes, a creepy time-loop game from Annapurna Interactive. Corey’s music caught my attention for its simplicity and beauty. Find it on Bandcamp and all the places! You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level 164: Maclaine Diemer (Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons)

Maclaine Diemer talks about his music for the newest expansion for Guild Wars 2 called End of Dragons. The music is inspired by traditional Korean music and instruments, a much needed educational dive into a rich tradition! Emily and Maclaine talk at great length about the special instruments he chose to use and the beautiful music for GW2: End of Dragons. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level 163: Ego Plum (The Cuphead Show)

Ego Plum talks about his music for The Cuphead Show, a new animated TV series on Netflix based on the 2017 game Cuphead. The music Ego composed for the TV series is inspired by the early jazz that accompanied cartoons in and around the 1930s, and that you heard in the original score for the game itself (props to composer Kris Maddigan and here is his interview about Cuphead). Netflix recently announced that The Cuphead Show is renewed for two additional seasons with Ego as the composer. You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level 162: Chase Bethea (Aground Deluxe Edition)

We’ve talked with composer Chase Bethea in the past about his music for the game Aground, but this soundtrack release is different, so we talked again. The Aground Deluxe Edition includes nine more tracks, and piano sheet music for three of the tracks. This interview took place on December 30th in 2020. You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level 161: Inon Zur (Syberia: The World Before)

Hear a conversation with Inon Zur about his music for Syberia: The World Before. The game comes out in February 2022, but the soundtrack came out late last year. That gave me the chance to speak with Inon about all of the music, and the music in this game is special for several reasons. One of the main characters is a concert pianist and part of the game is set in 1937 with clear parallels to World War II - all of this sets the stage for some great music. You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level 160: Erik Desiderio (Last Epoch)

Erik Desiderio is composing music for Last Epoch, an action RPG from Eleventh Hour games. Erik just released a music video with the performers from Last Epoch's Main Theme and you can view it here! Last Epoch has been in early access for quite a while, and Erik is busy filling in the music - 4+ hours of music, to be exact. He used the Scandinavian instrument called the tagelharpa (which you see in the video link above!), and he used fretless bass in a great way. You can support Level with Emily on Patreon!

Level 159: Mike Raznick (AWAY: The Survival Series)

Mike Raznick composed music for AWAY: The Survival Series. In this game, you control a sugar glider as he is trying to make his way to safety in a new world. The game is narrated, like a nature documentary. And the music is absolutely gorgeous.

If you buy the AWAY soundtrack on Bandcamp, Mike is giving all proceeds to the Audubon Society, dedicated to the protection of birds, so be sure to visit Mike Raznick on Bandcamp for the AWAY: The Survival Series soundtrack. Consider supporting Level with Emily financially on Patreon.

Level 158: Tom Salta (Deathloop)

Composer Tom Salta has been busy in 2021 launching his master class and also doing the music for Deathloop. We talk about the unique gameplay and how the music adapts to the time of day and the enemy at hand. Support Level with Emily on Patreon.

The Audio of Half-Life: Alyx from Level with Emily

In June 2018, we began interviewing five of the people responsible for audio in Half-Life: Alyx from Valve Corporation. 

The Audio in Half-Life: Alyx introduces you to each person involved in the creation of sounds in the game, and highlights their individual roles for bringing the game to life.

Mike Morasky wrote the music for Half-Life: Alyx. 

Roland Shaw made audio for the creatures and monsters, and for all of the physics objects like matchboxes and lockers and footsteps. 

Dave Feise did the ambiences, UI sounds, and some of the tools like the Combine fabricator and the hacking puzzles. 

Emily Ridgway wrote and processed the dialog from the Combine soldiers, and designed the speakers that float alongside a player’s ears on Valve’s VR Index headset. 

Lakulish Antani co-invented Steam Audio, a tool for game developers to make environments and the objects in them react with realistic sound.

All of the source audio for this documentary is available to patrons of Level with Emily. The source audio includes seven interviews with Mike Morasky, four interviews with Roland Shaw, four interviews with Dave Feise, three interviews with Emily Ridgway and three interviews with Lakulish Antani.

Level with Emily Reese would like to thank Mike Morasky for this incredible opportunity and experience, and to Lakulish Antani, Dave Feise, Emily Ridgway, and Roland Shaw for the conversations, and to Valve for allowing it all to happen.

Thank you to Nick Marinelli for transcription, to Nick and Chase Bethea for their feedback, and to producer Sam Keenan.

PLAYLIST
composed by Mike Morasky for Half-Life: Alyx unless noted

Chapter 01

00:42 Exposing Hostile

07:58 Triple Laser Phaser from Portal 2

08:35 Cara Mia Addio from Portal 2

09:07 Scanning Hostile Biodats

Chapter 06

1:22:00 What Did It Taste Like

1:24:42 Vapor Trail by The Crystal Method from Vegas

1:25:20 Apprehension and Evasion by Kelly Bailey from Half-Life 2

1:26:25 Adrenaline Horror by Kelly Bailey from Half-Life

1:27:10 Echoes of a Resonance Cascade from Half-Life

1:28:28 B3PbIBONACHOCTb

1:29:12 Substation

1:30:21 Level-5 Anti-Civil Activities

1:32:24 Charger

1:35:44 Bozeman by Steel Pole Bath Tub from The Miracle of Sound in Motion

1:36:24 The Good Times by Steel Pole Bath Tub from Unlistenable

1:37:04 The Good Times by Steel Pole Bath Tub from Unlistenable

1:38:40 Quaranta Giorni

1:39:59 Quaranta Giorni

1:40:46 Quaranta Giorni

1:41:45 Terin #6

1:42:34 Terin #6

1:43:43 Quaranta Giori

1:44:32 Overload Protocol

1:45:43 Trans Human Crossfire

1:47:16 Extract. Resonate. Isolate.

1:48:11 A Gentle Docking

1:48:48 A Gentle Docking

1:49:59 Coetaneous (strings only)*

1:50:53 EMC2*

1:52:25 Music from the Vault*

1:53:07 Coetaneous (piano only)*

1:54:03 Coetaneous (for commentary)*

1:54:57 Lightning Dog

1:55:21 Lightning Dog

1:56:16 Lightning Dog

1:56:38 Lightning Dog

1:57:06 Rabid Lightning

1:57:24 Rabid Lightning

1:58:08 Rabid Lightning

1:58:50 Rabid Lightning

1:59:23 Sunset Vault

1:59:59 Sunset Vault

2:00:35 Sunset Vault

2:01:27 Sunset Vault

2:01:45 Xenfestation Control

2:01:51 Xenfestation Control

2:0219 Jeff

2:03:15 Elevatormuzik

2:03:35 Trash Compactor Waltz

2:04:25 Outbreak is Uncontained

2:05:40 Cauterizer

2:06:41 Scanning Hostile Biodats

2:08:40 Let Me Talk To Your Super-Advisor

2:10:51 Beasts of Prey

2:11:41 Beasts of Prey

Chapter 07

2:12:14 Valve Alyx

2:13:39 Hacking by David Feise

2:18:49 Icosahedron

2:19:58 Half-Life: Alyx Credits

*not part of the Official Sountrack