‘Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’ and ‘Mortal Kombat 1’ Among 2024 Game Audio Network Guild Awards Nominees
“Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts) proved to be a major contender this year at the 22nd Annual Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G) Awards.
The action-adventure game secured 16 nominations for categories across “Music of the Year” to “Creative and Technical Achievement in Sound Design,” in addition to one for Jennifer Walden’s sound effect interview in “Best Game Audio Article or Publication.” Notably, the game, which follows Jedi Knight Cal Kestis fighting the Galactic Empire, received two nominations in the category of “Best Voice Performance.”
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“Mortal Kombat 1” (NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Games) received eight nominations, including ones for “Audio of the Year,” “Best Main Theme” and “Best Original Song.” Released this September, “Mortal Kombat 1” is the twelfth main installment of the “Mortal Kombat” franchise. It revolves around Fire God Liu Kang assembling fighters to participate in a Mortal Kombat tournament.
“Yet another outstanding year for game audio unfolds,” said Brian Schmidt, Game Audio Network Guild president. “The contributions of composers, sound designers, dialogue specialists, engineers, technologists, and various others persistently propel the boundaries of the distinct art form that encompasses audio for games and interactive entertainment.”
The guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to interactive industry veteran Steve Schnur, Worldwide President of Music & Marketing for Electronic Arts since 2001. The multi-hyphenate is a label and music publishing company president, music supervisor, professional musician, songwriter, composer, producer, professor, policy advocate and more.
Schnur remarked, “Throughout my career, I’ve been devoted to fostering education, opportunity, and excellence in game audio, while bringing greater clarity to issues throughout the gaming community. It’s a mission that G.A.N.G. shares, and one that is more vital than ever. They are an organization that is resetting the global bar every day, and one that I am proud to be a part of. I am humbled and deeply honored by this award.”
G.A.N.G. Executive Director, Savina Ciaramella said, “It is with great excitement and sincere admiration that we express our profound appreciation for Steve Schnur, an esteemed figure whose remarkable tenure spanning decades in the industry has been defined by an extraordinary commitment to service, and an exceptional dedication and advocacy of music in video games.
The winners will be announced on March 21, 2024, during the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
The full list of nominees:
Audio of the Year
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD PROJEKT RED CD, PROJEKT RED)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Destiny 2 (Lightfall Bungie, Bungie)
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Games)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment)
Best Audio for a Casual or Social Game
Honor of Kings (TiMi Studio Group, Tencent Games)
Diablo Immortal (Blizzard Entertainment, NetEase Games, Blizzard Entertainment)
Disney Illusion Island (Dlala Studios, Disney Games)
Call of Duty (Mobile TiMi Studio Group, Activision)
Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Warner Bros. Games, Netease Games, Portkey Games)
Best Audio for an Indie Game
Tchia (Awaceb, Kepler Interactive)
Eternights (Studio Sai, Studio Sai)
Planet of Lana (Wishfully, Thunderful Publishing)
City of Beats (Torched Hill, Freedom Games)
Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios, Thunderful Publishing)
Best Audio Mix
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD PROJEKT RED CD, PROJEKT RED)
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Games)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment)
Destiny 2 (Lightfall Bungie, Bungie)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios, Larian Studios)
Best Cinematic & Cut Scene Audio
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD PROJEKT RED CD, PROJEKT RED)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Destiny 2 (Lightfall Bungie, Bungie)
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Games)
Best Dialogue for an Indie Game
Bramble: The Mountain King (Dimfrost Studio, Merge Games)
Blasphemous 2 (The Game Kitchen, Team17)
Broken Spectre (Games by Stitch, Games by Stitch)
Best Ensemble Cast Performance
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios, Larian Studios)
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Studio, Humble Games)
Best Game Audio Article or Publication
“Game Audio Mixing: Insights to Improve Your Mixing Performance” (Alex Riviere, Routledge)
“Game Audio Fundamentals: An Introduction to the Theory, Planning, and Practice of Soundscape Creation for Games” (Keith Zizza, Routledge)”Working with Sound: The Future of Audio Work in Interactive Entertainment” (Rob Bridgett, Routledge)
“SEASON: A letter to the future | Experiencing field recording as a game mechanic” (Vibe Avenue & Spencer Doran, Audiokinetic Blog)
“A Sound Effect interview ‘Star Wars Jedi: Survivor'” (Jennifer Walden, A Sound Effect)
Best Game Audio Presentation, Podcast, or Broadcast
Game Developers Conference 2023 “The Art of the Theme” (Brendon Williams, Jason Walsh Game)
Tonebenders Sound Design Podcast “227 – Moss: Book II” (Timothy Muirhead, Mark Kilborn)
National Public Radio “The Sounds of America: The Super Mario Bros. Theme Song” (Jennie Cataldo, National Public Radio)
Tonebenders Sound Design Podcast “217 – Recording Animals with Mattia Cellotto & Dmitry Chernov” (Timothy Muirhead, Tonebenders Sound Design Podcast)
Game Developers Conference 2023 “Chaos Theory in Game Music” (Winifred Phillips, Game Developers Conference 2023)
Best Game Foley
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD PROJEKT RED CD, PROJEKT RED)
Dead Space (Motive Studio, Electronic Arts)
Minecraft Legends (Blackbird Interactive, Mojang Studios, Xbox Game Studios)
Best Game Trailer Audio
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD PROJEKT RED CD, PROJEKT RED)
Dead Space (Motive Studio, Electronic Arts)
Destiny 2 (Lightfall Bungie, Bungie)
Best Main Theme
Tchia (Awaceb, Kepler Interactive)
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Games)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios, Larian Studios)
The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR (Supermassive Games, Supermassive Games)
Best Music for an Indie Game
Tchia (Awaceb, Kepler Interactive)
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Studio, Humble Games)
Firmament (Cyan Inc., Cyan Inc.)
Kingdom Eighties (Fury Studios, Raw Fury)
QUANTAAR (Pumpkin VR, Pumpkin VR)
Best New Original IP Audio
Tchia (Awaceb, Kepler Interactive)
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall
Studio, Humble Games)
Firmament (Cyan, Inc. Cyan, Inc.)
Kingdom Eighties (Fury Studios, Raw Fury)
QUANTAAR (Pumpkin VR, Pumpkin VR)
Best Original Song
Tchia (Awaceb, Kepler Interactive)
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Studio, Humble Games)
Planet of Lana (Wishfully, Thunderful Publishing)
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Games)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Best Original Soundtrack Album
Tchia (Awaceb, Kepler Interactive)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Kingdom Eighties (Fury Studios, Raw Fury)
Planet of Lana (Wishfully, Thunderful Publishing)
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Games)
STRAYLIGHT (Dr. Bloc, Dr. Bloc)
Best Sound Design for an Indie Game
Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios, Thunderful Publishing)
SEASON: A letter to the future (Scavengers, Scavengers)
Scrap Riders (Games For Tutti, Microids)
Strayed Lights (Embers, Embers)
Cantata (Afterschool Studio, Modern Wolf)
Best UI, Reward, or Objective Sound Design
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios, Larian Studios)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD PROJEKT RED, CD PROJEKT RED)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment)
Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment, Sanrio)
Best Voice Performance
Deliver Us Mars (KeokeN Interactive, Frontier Foundry)
Destiny 2: Season of the Witch (Bungie, Bungie)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios, Larian Studios)
Creative and Technical Achievement in Music
Tchia (Awaceb, Kepler Interactive)
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Studio, Humble Games)
City of Beats (Torched Hill, Freedom Games)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
COCOON (Geometric Interactive, Annapurna Interactive)
Creative and Technical Achievement in Sound Design
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
City of Beats (Torched Hill, Freedom Games)
Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios, Thunderful Publishing)
SEASON: A letter to the future (Scavengers, Scavengers)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment)
Dialogue of the Year
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Destiny 2: Lightfall (Bungie, Bungie)
Deliver Us Mars (KeokeN Interactive, Frontier Foundry)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios, Larian Studios)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment)
Music of the Year
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Tchia (Awaceb, Kepler Interactive)
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Games)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios, Larian Studios)
Planet of Lana (Wishfully, Thunderful Publishing)
Best Game Music Cover or Remix
“It’s Pizza Time!” (The Game Brass, Pizza Tower, The Game Brass)
“Supernova” (Joe Newman, Erich Bechmann, Logan Tucker, Sam Schwartz and Bert Keely, Ristar)
“Metroid Prime” (ROZEN, Metroid Prime ROZEN, Mecha Dream Records)
“In the Donk” feat. the Super Soul Bros. (Joe Newman, Robbie Benson, Brian Shea, Anthony Francheschim, Alex Popoff, Christian Manna, Sam Schwartz, Logan Tucker, Bert Keeley, Erich Beckmann and Gene Dreyband, Super Mario Odyssey)
“Song of Storms” (Gentle Game Lullabies, Andrea Vanzo, Gentle Gaming: Zelda for Piano, Andrea Vanzo, Decca Records US)
Sound Design of the Year
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment, Electronic Arts)
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Games)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment)
COCOON (Geometric Interactive, Annapurna Interactive)
Dead Space (Motive Studio, Electronic Arts)
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