Sound designer Glenn Goa is enthusiastically working on Baldur’s Gate 3. To ensure your footsteps in full plate armor sound good, Goa even learned to forge armor himself.
Who is Glenn Goa? Glenn Gullskjegg Goa is a Norwegian fantasy author and sound designer, whose projects include Larian Studios’ Divinity: Original Sin 2 and most recently, Baldur’s Gate 3.
On Glenn Goa’s YouTube channel, some sound projects are also showcased. Among them are the self-forged plate shoes, known as sabatons:
Under the video for the sabaton sound recordings, Glenn G. Goa writes that the team wanted to capture the unique sound mix of multiple clanging metal plates for steps in metal armor. For this, Goa forged the mentioned plate shoes himself and recorded an hour of sound material on various surfaces.
What else is there to discover on the YouTube channel? Glenn G. Goa has currently released eight videos. Besides the plate shoes, there are six other videos related to Baldur’s Gate 3. Under a video about the sound design of the level 3 spell Fireball, Glenn explains:
[…] Fire alone does not produce an exciting sound, so I combined it with various other elements. Among them are tearing fabric, canned air, and the sound plastic makes when it melts. In fact, I used exactly two fire resources: a crackling campfire and a large torch that is quickly moved past the microphone.[…]
Glenn G. Goa via Youtube, 08/27/2023
For the spell “Thunderbolt” however, sounds like the tearing of duct tape from windows, packaging foil, and some digital effects from the existing sound library were used.
For the various magical effects of the protection glyph, which can be cast in 13 different variations, Glenn G. Goa even took inspiration from Warcraft 3 sounds, among others.
The community is enthusiastic about the sound design in Baldur’s Gate 3
The community shows enthusiasm for Glenn G. Goa’s efforts for the game. Among the released videos, joyful comments accumulate. Here’s a selection:
- BrokenSword1978 on the sabatons: “It’s the little things like the clanking and clattering of armor that make the game feel immersive despite being a turn-based, isometric RPG.”
- ruyan4428 on Fireball: “The sound design of the magic in this game is unparalleled – well done!”
- cleiru7859 also on Fireball: “When I first heard the pre-made sound effects of Fireball and Eldritch Blast, I was impressed. So good, so refined.”
- TheDrsalvation on the effects for the protection glyph: “You managed to develop genuine magical sound effects from scratch that fit so well with everything, feel satisfying, and do not ruin immersion – for that, you have my utmost respect!”
Of course, Glenn G. Goa is not the only sound designer who worked on Baldur’s Gate 3. What the developers have also done for the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 can be read here: Baldur’s Gate 3 is now so good because the devs did something that many find terrible
How do you feel about the sound design of the game? Do you think the Fireball effect is as good as the YouTube users say? Let us know your comments.
