Shhh! Do you hear that? It sounds like… screaming, humorous trivia questions, and outdoor enrichment? That’s the sound of Trivia Murder Party 3!
We spoke to the audio team from Trivia Murder Party 3 and the earlier Trivia Murder Party titles on what inspired and shaped the audio design over the years, from [REDACTED]’s voice changer to the evolution of the classic Trivia Murder Party soundtrack.
What have you been working on lately?
Lately I’ve been working on camp songs for various killing floors! These are songs that fit with the theme of each minigame, and hopefully really set the mood for the creepy camp setting for this game. I imagine these are songs that [REDACTED] grew up singing when he went to summer camp, but he made twisted versions to play at Camp Mass Acres. Some of the songs have fun easter eggs in them too! - Nate, Audio Lead
I’m currently working on TMP3’s VO which involves applying FX to Spencer’s raw voice files and working with our contractor, Katherine Tole, to ensure the lines are polished and game-ready. I’m also helping Nate with mixing and some technical sound engine puzzles. I’m also the audio lead for a yet-to-be-announced game for PP12. - Avery Makel, VO/Technical Sound Person
What has informed and inspired the sound design on the Trivia Murder Party franchise?
When making Trivia Murder Party 1 we really wanted players to feel like they were playing inside a horror movie… a very cliched horror movie with recognizable tropes for us to reference and subvert. I always thought it was funny how big franchise horror movies in the ‘90s would have these terrible hair metal or rap rock songs in the credits that shoehorned in the title of the movie. I asked Andy Poland if he could come up with something that felt like it was riffing off that idea and he came up with that great silly theme song that plays during the credits. Hopefully players would feel like they’d made it to the credits of a horror movie. That was the first time we did a song with lyrics during the credits of one of our games. - Arnie Niekamp, Director of TMP1
Andy and Brian did an amazing job with the sound design on Trivia Murder Party 1 and TMP2. So for TMP3, I’ve taken the themes they created and expanded them into the 3D world of the game. The sound design is naturalistic, tactile, and aggressive. There are lots of metal clinks and slashes, meaty impacts, and visceral screams. Since we’re at an ‘80s-style summer camp, I also included a lot of analog synths and VHS distortion when needed. The 3D environments have given me lots of room to play with Surround ambiences. Each environment has creepy background sounds that should keep you looking over your shoulder! - Nate, Audio Lead
For [REDACTED]’s voice, we wanted to keep our favorite aspects of TMP1 and 2’s voices and use them to create something fresh for the new 3D environment. [REDACTED] has many “moods” and we wanted to ensure the voice fx complimented them all. It took a few iterations to land on FX that felt good and didn’t sacrifice intelligibility. I’m really happy with how it turned out. - Avery Makel, VO/Technical Sound Person
How has the music and audio evolved as the game has evolved through the development cycle?
Another audio lead (Brian Chard) started this project. He made a lot of amazing music and sounds for the game, so since I’ve gotten involved, I’ve taken a lot of his tracks and added orchestral layers and various effects to make things sound bigger. I’ve also tried to inject more campiness into everything to really immerse players in the setting. - Nate, Audio Lead
What went into keeping [REDACTED]’s identity a secret with the voice changer? How did the original team come up with that idea and has it changed at all with each different game?
The voice changer was baked into the joke of the game from the very beginning, even when it was first pitched as a rough concept. There’s just something funny about the voice modulator cliche in horror movies. It was hard to find the right voice underneath though, to be able to communicate all that personality even as it's being dampened by the modulator. We auditioned a lot of very talented voice artists, and even had someone else record half of the game before starting over with Spencer. - Arnie Niekamp, director of TMP1
What is your favorite sound effect or song in the game so far and why?
The drumline track in Math is way better than it has any right to be. When we were building that game out I wanted a big hype song to juxtapose the banality of doing basic math and Nate absolutely knocked it out of the park. - Spencer, Creative Director on TMP3
I love the song that plays during [the minigame] Chalices, mainly because I got to play with some fun backwards lyrics effects. - Nate, Audio Lead TMP3
How do you maintain the audio themes of the last games while updating them on Trivia Murder Party 3?
There’s a beautiful “List of the Dead” theme that first appeared in TMP1. I’ve basically treated it like a main theme and worked the opening melody into lots of parts of the game. Forgive me for some music nerdery. The melody starts on the 5th scale degree and oscillates a half step above and then below that note. I’ve used that figure in shredding metal guitar lines, “Psycho-esque” murder music, and in camp songs. I’ve also used re-orchestrated versions of some of the songs from previous games, like the TMP2 Intro montage. - Nate, Audio Lead TMP3