The Surge 2, our hardcore Action-RPG featuring brutal exo-skeleton combat on a dying earth, comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 24th!
As we draw close to the release, we’ll be sharing a series of devblogs that we hope will give you some insight into the creative process of The Surge 2.
Today, we’re happy to have Daniel, Sound Designer on The Surge 2, talking about the Sound Design of the game!
Could you please introduce yourself and your job on The Surge 2?
Hello! I'm Daniel and I've been a Sound Designer at DECK13 for quite a while now. My first internship was about 9 years ago. After that, I worked part time at DECK13 during my studies until I started working full time, around 5 years ago. I’ve done the sound for several DECK13 projects and I’m currently working on The Surge 2. In my job I take care of the production of the game's sound effects, reaching everything from what the characters do to UI sounds to level related noises like ambients.
I also take care of the audio outsourcing, which mainly consists of music production.
Besides that, I’m responsible for the implementation of all the stuff you can hear, always working in close collaboration with the tech-department and the game and level-designers.
What were your main inspirations for the sounds and music of The Surge 2?
The music for The Surge 2 is inspired by a mixture of different musical styles. The main inspirations are soundtracks from old and modern sci-fi movies and games. On the other side we tried to incorporate elements of urban music styles like electronic music and trip-hop to fit the vibe of a sci-fi-megacity.
The sound effects are of course inspired by Surge 1, because we aimed to create a similar tone for the second part. But we did not only rely on Surge 1, the sound effects are also inspired by pop culture and by an approach of experimentation and combination of sounds and audio effects during the production process.
The Surge 2 has a lot of varied locations. Did this affect the sound design?
Yes, definitely. Even while the game plays in this giant city, we tried to give each level a unique environment and a different openness to feel special. Soundwise this resulted in unique ambients for each level that reach from evacuated, empty cities over nano infected forests, to destroyed, rusty, rotten harbor areas. And through the different architecture and layouts of each level the reverbs were also affected by this, creating different acoustic spaces and environments.
The Surge 2 has more voice acting than the first game. What were the main challenges of this aspect?
The voice implementation is mainly done by the narrative team but of course the amount of dialogue had an impact on the sound implementation. The biggest challenge was to make speech and especially the most important dialogue audible at all times.
This means putting speakers in a 3D room with exact ranges, toning down sounds that are not important during a dialogue or simply adding effects to voices that sound good but are still understandable, so the players don't miss any important information.
Was there any sound you had to improvise to record, or to physically go and record out in the open?
To be honest, every sound is improvised in some kind of way, especially if we're talking about all the nano stuff. I mean, what does nano sound like? The base of all the nano sounds was in the end a weird combination of glass and ice shards, glibbery vegetable sounds, insect recordings and a lot of bit-distortion and grain synthesis. Most of the time you start with an idea and end up with something completely different - everything that counts is the result.
If you had to pick a single favorite sound in The Surge 2, what would it be, and why?
Oof, this is a hard one, but I think I’ll pick the facebeam attack of the statue enemy - a large robot that shoots a giant energy beam straight out of its head. What I like about it is that it has a lot of details of the mechanical parts of the enemy and the energy build-up that then results in this giant beam of energy roaring and screaming through the level, damaging everything in its way. It just sounds like you really shouldn’t touch it.
Stay tuned for more insight into the development of The Surge 2 in our next articles! You can also check out the Behind The Scenes series "Deck13 Inside" on Youtube.The Surge 2 slices its way onto PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 24th. Pre-Order now and get bonuses!
The Surge 2 brings uncompromising, limb-chopping, dynamic combat back to you on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on September 24.
In today’s trailer, witness new weapons, environments, enemies, colossal bosses, and moves that improve the formula. There are ever-more challenges to overcome, equipment to loot and upgrade, and threats to survive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANCvZG_lig0
The Surge’s iconic fast-paced combat and unique limb targeting and looting mechanisms return for a dynamic combat experience that is as rewarding as it is unforgiving. Experience brand new, bigger, more lively environments - Jericho City is a massive location, packed with secret passages, buildings, factions, friends, foes, and terrifying bosses.
Abandoned, half-finished mega-structures sit alongside ostensibly serene parks that have become nanomachine hunting grounds. As you progress through this nightmare, earn TechScrap and equipment pieces by tearing off enemy limbs to equip them to your exo-rig.
As the nanomachine infestation eats Jericho City, new, horrific amalgamations of man and machine roam the streets as gangs, the government, and cultists war for control over the most valuable areas. Suit up and try to survive this chaos, and triumph, when The Surge 2 releases on September 24.
The Surge 2 releases September 24 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Pre-Order now and get bonuses: http://thesurge-game.com/shop
The Surge 2, our hardcore Action-RPG featuring brutal exo-skeleton combat on a dying earth, comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 24th!
As we draw close to the release, we’ll be sharing a series of devblogs that we hope will give you some insight into the creative process of The Surge 2.
Today, we’re happy to have Alexander Bönicke, Game Designer on The Surge 2, talking about the Level Design of the game!
Hey! My name is Alex, I’ve been with Deck13 for about 3 years now, working as a Designer on the Design and World team. I contributed to The Surge and its DLCs and have been working on The Surge 2 since its inception.
Alexander Bönicke, Game Designer on The Surge 2
The time to talk about Level Design is just right, because with the work on the Walk in the Park DLC for The Surge and especially during the development of Surge 2, Deck13 iterated on the world creation and design process to address the feedback we received after the release of The Surge.
A closer relationship between Art Direction and Game Design allowed us to shape the game world more freely and iterate on its visuals and user experience more thoroughly.
On top of addressing the incredible amount of feedback we received from our players we also set out to turn The Surge formula on its head to create a new game experience.
Thus we chose Jericho City as the stage for the game – a place that offers countless opportunities for players to fight, explore and immerse themselves. With this plan on paper, we set out to:
build a game world with a more natural and open feel – featuring more varied environments
offer more choice in how to approach the game – on a micro and macro scale
improve mobility and options of the player character, in combat and during world exploration
create a more varied and deeper narrative experience
Concept Art of Jericho City
With a great playground comes great responsibility, so Jericho City and its outskirts naturally come with a price tag.
The long vistas through the spacious streets and alleys of Downtown, the rich and plentiful flora overgrowing Gideon’s Rock, and the Cultist-riddled swamps of Port Nixon are only some of the technical challenges we had to overcome while keeping and even one-upping the visual quality of The Surge.
However, populating the game world has not only been a technical challenge:
there are many NPCs to interact with, side quests to complete, and decisions players can make to influence the inhabitants of the city - a very complex network of narrative content to maintain and develop
more verticality in level design and more player mobility made it harder to assure the levels work as intended (as in preventing players from getting into undesired places)
in an open, non-linear environment with so many options, informing players of their goals and helping them orient themselves (guidance) is a very difficult issue to address and track
Take a ride on the mag lift
In a project of this scale it’s hard to play favorites. So when it comes to the thing I am most proud of it’s a tough decision. Downtown Jericho is probably the largest and most complex level we have ever created. It connects almost all areas of the game and over the entirety of the playthrough it offers fresh challenges as well as a myriad of nooks and crannies to uncover. While it was certainly the hardest level to fully implement, it’s also probably the most satisfying for us to play – each and every day we return to it.
As mentioned above we tried to be aware of what made The Surge unique. So we opted to stick to the idea of having only one save point per level (for the most part!) and utilized what the setting – a vast city center – gave us to connect everything smartly.
Not only while exploring the alleys of Downtown Jericho – all areas in the game offer a network of clever, interconnected streets, indoor locations, tunnels, even super efficient ziplines players can utilize to unlock the game world for themselves – one step at a time.
As they make their way through the levels, players will naturally open chests, break boxes and turn over every stone. They will uncover every nook and cranny, make impossible jumps, and explore pitch-black caverns on the hunt for loot and gear parts.
Downtown Jericho
Jericho City and its adjacent districts offer various distinct places for players to visit. All areas of the game are directly interconnected and can be visited by foot (and other more efficient means of travel players might discover during the playthrough).
Some of these areas are accessible as soon as players set their first foot into Jericho City, though we make sure that there is a 'recommended order' gated by the difficulty of gameplay encounters. Players may still try to challenge themselves by choosing their own route through the game – and might discover some unique interactions this way.
Ultimately all paths contribute towards a goal players will uncover and chase, so some later areas will only become accessible as the story progresses…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e7zI9Ynr5s
Please allow me to shamelessly use my last seconds of fame to express that I am very proud of my team and myself for what an enormous game world we created. It has been a wild ride and an incredible experience, and the experience keeps giving every day when I'm jumping in and exploring Jericho City. We hope you share our feelings when Surgetember arrives.
Stay tuned for more insight into the development of The Surge 2 in our next articles! The Surge 2 slices its way onto PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 24th. Pre-Order now and get bonuses: http://thesurge-game.com/shop
The Surge 2 is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 24, but before you return to the sci-fi post-apocalypse with axe in hand, let us talk you through the world, dangers, and changes coming to The Surge 2.
Today’s Dev Gameplay Walkthrough is narrated by Adam Hetenyi, Head of Game Design at Deck 13 Interactive. See the massive new levels, the return of uncompromising and brutal combat, now as intense as ever, as well as brand new features like asynchronous multiplayer and drones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e7zI9Ynr5s
Also shown off are the improved bosses of The Surge 2, inside new environments with stunning variety between the high walls of Jericho City and its various parks and suburbs. The new and enriched move sets combined with directional blocking alongside character customization, more weapons, more implants, and more armor sets mean your character is truly your own in The Surge 2.
Players who pre-order The Surge 2 at participating retailers will receive the URBN Gear Pack DLC for free, which includes an armor set, two weapons, one drone, one module, and a bonus online message icon.
The Surge 2 releases September 24 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Pre-orders are available now, including the Limited Edition - check the store page for more details.
The Surge 2 releases September 24 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC! In a brand new, gorgeous cinematic trailer featuring The Day Is My Enemy by The Prodigy, get a glimpse of all the new features, stories, and enemies coming in our violent, sci-fi sequel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khr4DMxWAq8
Inside the high walls of Jericho city, trapped in a technological apocalypse that threatens to consume everyone within, our hero fights to survive and uncover the truth of the disaster. Cult members hopped up on drugs, nanomachines, looters, and security forces will try to stop you wherever you go while a mysterious girl leads you to parts unknown.
This plays out on a backdrop of a world on the brink of simultaneous total collapse and technological ascendency. Self-evolving nanobeasts crush buildings with swipes of their massive claws while the downtrodden, infatuated with machines through malfunctioning implants and rising religion, roam the streets in packs. The rich and wealthy exist above it all, while hunters try to capture their valuable nano-prey and what remains of the military maintains a flimsy order.
This is the world of The Surge 2. Are you ready?
The Surge 2 releases September 24 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Pre-orders are available now, including the Limited Edition - check the store page for more details.
We’re thrilled to announce that The Surge 2 will release worldwide September 24 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC - overcome, upgrade, and survive!
Pre-orders are now open!
Players who pre-order at participating retailers will receive the URBN Gear Pack DLC for free, which includes an armor set, two weapons, one drone, one module, and a bonus online message icon.
The Surge 2 comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 24. Pre-order now!
