NARRATIVE SOUND
Hey, my name is William and I craft sounds to tell stories.
WHAT I DO
MUSIC COMPOSITION
I compose music with the aim of immediately conveying to the player what the game is about and what their character's relationship is with the world. The music must organically express the context, emotions, location, historical period, and ideas of the project so that the player can feel immersed and create an almost magical connection with the story.
SOUND DESIGN
I use various synthesis techniques and layering to create unique sounds that permeate the world and its inhabitants. For me, Sound Design should be more than just a technical requirement; it should be an artistic exploration that seeks to evoke emotions, enhance immersion, and elevate the overall experience of the player. It's about sculpting auditory atmospheres that not only complement but enrich the visual and narrative aspects of the medium, ultimately contributing to a more captivating and unforgettable journey.
IMPLEMENTATION
I use Wwise and FMOD to integrate sound into the game as efficiently and quickly as possible. This is a very exciting field for me because each project teaches me new things with which I can creatively tackle increasingly challenging obstacles and overcome hurdles that initially seemed impossible.
GAMES
Chiamour
In this wonderful VN, I designed the ambient sounds, monsters, character sounds, and other objects with which the player interacts throughout the adventure. What I liked most about this project was that each space had its own personality and had to express certain emotions as the story progressed.
I composed 6 orchestral songs with some synthesizer touches to give the works a more youthful and magical feel. The story of this game has many nuances and complexities, so the music couldn’t be too direct with its emotions as it had to navigate through several of them simultaneously. For this reason, the composition process required multiple revisions with the director, which allowed for constant dialogue and helped us find the right balance for each piece.
Extremely Organized Ghost
In this adorable game, I created the Woosh sound when the ghost wanders around the room, the sounds of the objects it interacts with, the human alert, and the UI sounds. Because the aesthetic of this project is somewhat childish and reminiscent of old monster movies, I removed a significant portion of low and high sounds to make them feel toy-like, small, and as if they were coming from an old radio.
I composed a piece with a spooky yet somewhat humorous tone. It uses orchestral instruments, but to add a touch of silliness, I sampled a voice saying “Cui” to make it seem like the ghost is singing the level’s song.
Pilla´s Paradise
I composed 4 pieces for this VN in which I explored the use of numerous synthesizers and sequencers to accompany the Sci-fi aesthetics of the project, allowing these futuristic timbres to evolve with the story.
Boyband HELL
For this game, which is being ported to Android by Qweerty Gamers, I designed various UI sounds and environmental sounds, and mastered the character voices in several scenes. It was an arduous post-production job that I enjoyed immensely because the characters are very funny.
For this unique project, I composed 2 instrumental pieces and 2 original songs inspired by 2000s Boy Bands like NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, so I had to do quite a bit of research and listen to several albums from these bands… nothing more to add.
Sewing Life
I designed the sounds for this beautiful game using synthesis and foley to make it feel very realistic and toy-like. It was a lot of fun because I usually don’t create sounds that are so childlike and straightforward, but the game’s aesthetic called for it, and I really liked the final result.
The music was mostly made with toy instruments because they directly convey the atmosphere the game should have. Sometimes, instruments and notes outside of this are introduced to reflect that there is more than meets the eye. These small details greatly enhance the intrinsic narrative of the gameplay.
Catacomb Soda
I hold a lot of affection for this project because it was my first foray into the world of Sound Design. For this project, I synchronized every sound with the spectacular animations of the monsters and the main character so that the final product would have as much personality and expressiveness as the art they were based on.
I composed three pieces where I mixed electronic music with rock. This blend of sounds was very easy to achieve because the art direction was very straightforward and clear about what it wanted to convey.
Card Game Test
For this card game test, I designed all the sounds using various layering and synthesis techniques to create sounds that were stimulating and satisfying for the player. I discovered that there are specific ranges in the sound spectrum that are quite pleasant to us, so by highlighting these frequencies, it was easy for me to find the sweet spot for each one.
Legend of Forest
For the SFX of this game, I extensively employed synthesis and sound processing to achieve a result reminiscent of retro sounds. I created all the sounds for the monsters, the main character, and the UI.
For this game, I created four pieces of music: one for the main menu, one for the introduction scene, another for the general level, and the last one for the final boss. I used instruments reminiscent of the SNES era due to their clear stylistic reference to TLOZ. However, I tried to distance myself as much as possible from Koji Kondo’s music and drew inspiration from African dances to create this music.
HexGL
I was amazed by the number of layers necessary to make a racing game feel good to play. Paying attention to different parts of the vehicle, the collisions, and the track gave me many tools to creatively design.
The music I decided to create for this game was Synthwave due to its futuristic aesthetic and color palette. The timbres of the instruments complement the visuals very well, but I feel like it doesn’t reflect the frenzy and speed that should be felt in this types of games.
If You Stay
I designed all the sound effects for this game with the sonic identity of Windows 98 in mind because the director and I believed it would blend well with the project’s aesthetics and make it easy to establish situations solely through auditory cues. The idea was always to create a world for these girls, and being detail-oriented was crucial to make it feel organic and believable.
The music of this project is inspired by Earthbound and by melancholic feelings of happiness and sadness. It was very exciting to create a piece for these girls because it’s a VN that deals with very deep themes of identity and self-discovery.