Six of the Best - Don Veca

08 June 09

Game audio veteran Don Veca hands out his very own BAFTAs.

Most Ridiculously Disgusting Horror Movie Quite Possibly Of All Time
My boss made me watch a lot of horror flicks during the development of Dead Space.Most were pretty good, but one stood out above and beyond the rest.What could be more ridiculously disgusting than mutant hillbillies putting people through meat grinders? Simply unforgettable – no matter how hard I try – this award goes to Wrong Turn 2.

Best Phenomenon Mistaken For A Trend
Wii. At first dismissed as silly, niche, or just hopelessly hopeless in its brazen assumption people would endlessly flagellate the air to play games, Wii is the hockey stick part of the hockey stick graph showing the spike in hardware and software game sales,while Xbox360 holds even, and PS3s look more and more like millions of tiny Sony tombstones.

Hippest Old White Dude
Being a musician myself, I go to a lot of concerts. I go for the music and don’t really care about the flash. But this year something changed. Maybe it’s mid-life crisis, I don’t know… But there’s no one that comes close to Donald Fagen – an inspiration to all the hipnesschallenged old white dudes like me.

Best Game That Nobody Played
Hardcore forum readers cry out for the likes of Okami, God Hand or Psychonauts but not even they have heard of the winner for this category: BattleForge. By combining real-time strategy, collector card gaming, and a bit of MMO-style persistence and style, they made something amazing and apparently baffling. Yes, it’s really that good, and really that confusing.

Coolest iPod Application
The winner here is clearly Pandora. Finally, someone figured out how to effectively combat music pirating and generate music sales at the same time. To whomever’s idea this was, I would like to offer one free copy of Dead Space and a great big man-hug!

Most Unhelpful Blog Of The Year
I think it’s good when bloggers try to help people by passing on their insight, experience and wisdom. There are a few out there that actually have a lot of power and influence. Of course, with power comes responsibility. That’s why this year’s winner goes to ‘Less Music In Dead Space, Please’ by Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo.

Don Veca, a 17-year game audio veteran, is currently an Audio Director at Electronic Arts in California. His first (and favourite) game as an Audio Director was Road Rash III, and his most recent credit is Dead Space, winner of two BAFTAs for Use of Audio and Original Score this year.