No game would be complete without some form of music or audio design. Thousands of audio professionals in the gaming industry are focused on providing an ultimate gaming experience for players, whether by creating beautiful soundtracks, or fine-tuning the importantaudio that’s integral toValorantand other tactical shooters. As one of the biggest organizations focused on gaming audio, the Game Audio Network Guild has announced the nominees for its 2021 awards show.
Founded in 2002, the Game Audio Network Guild (or G.A.N.G.) is driven to celebrate those in the game audio industry, and help them continually improve their craft. The G.A.N.G. Awards has become a yearly ceremony awarding excellence in several categories for sound-related achievements. Nominees for each category were selected by G.A.N.G.’s Advisory Board members and committees. At the 2020 G.A.N.G. Awards,Kojima Productions’Death Strandingwas able to sweep up several awards across the multiple categories.
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The Last of Us Part 2is leading with 15 nominations this year, including Audio, Sound Design, and Dialogue of the Year. Close behind isGhost of Tsushimawith 14 nominations,Hadeswith 12, andMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Moraleswith 11.Final Fantasy VII RemakeandThe Last of Us Part 2both won sound-related awards atthe 2020 Game Awards, so it will be interesting to see whether they win any additional awards here.
Hadeshas an incredible amount of dialogue, and is one of the games up for Dialogue of the Year, and Best Dialogue for an Indie Game.Hadesis also up for Best Original Song, but will have some tough competition with the likes of “MORE,” fromLeague of Legends' virtual pop group K/DA. Last year, “Giants” won the same category, a song from another virtual group fromLeague of Legends.
SinceThe Last of Us Part 2has dominated awards season so far, fans of the game may be able to see a few more award wins from this event. One ofThe Last of Us Part 2’s sound designers will be working on the nextGod of War, so fans can certainly expect to be in for an audible treat when that releases. Overall, it is fantastic to see a group celebrating a diverse aspect of game development that can often be overlooked by the general public.
All winners will be announced at the 19th Annual G.A.N.G Awards ceremony on April 28 at 5PM PST. The awards show will be broadcast on Twitch, and will feature musical performances from the Video Game Orchestra, 88bit, and others. A full list of all nominees in the 30 categories is below.
