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 important audio that’s integral to Valorant and 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 Stranding was able to sweep up several awards across the multiple categories.
The Last of Us Part 2 is leading with 15 nominations this year, including Audio, Sound Design, and Dialogue of the Year. Close behind is Ghost of Tsushima with 14 nominations, Hades with 12, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales with 11. Final Fantasy VII Remake and The Last of Us Part 2 both won sound-related awards at the 2020 Game Awards, so it will be interesting to see whether they win any additional awards here.
Since The Last of Us Part 2 has dominated awards season so far, fans of the game may be able to see a few more award wins from this event. One of The Last of Us Part 2’s sound designers will be working on the next God 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.
Audio of The Year
- Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment Hades — Supergiant Games Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Music of the Year
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Music by Yasuaki Iwata, Yumi Takahashi, Shinobu Nagata, Sayako Doi, & Masato Ohashi (Nintendo) Final Fantasy VII Remake — Music by Masashi Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki, & Nobuo Uematsu (Square Enix) Hades — Music by Darren Korb (Supergiant Games) Metamorphosis — Music by Mikolai Stroinski and Garry Schyman (Ovid Works, All In! Games) Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Music by Gareth Coker (Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios) Star Wars: Squadrons — Music by Gordy Haab (Motive, Electronic Arts)
Sound Design of the Year
- Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment Half-Life: Alyx — Valve Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios Paper Mario: The Origami King — Intelligent Systems, Nintendo The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Dialogue of the Year
- Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment Hades — Supergiant Games Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope — Supermassive Games, Bandai Namco The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red
Best Audio for an Indie Game
- Evergate — Stone Lantern Games Hades — Supergiant Games Lost Words: Beyond The Page — Sketchbook Games, Fourth State, Modus Games No Straight Roads — Metronomik The Pathless — Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem — Wolcen Studio
Best Music for an Indie Game
- Evergate — Music by M.R. Miller (Stone Lantern Games) Hades — Music by Darren Korb (Supergiant Games) Metamorphosis — Music by Garry Schyman & Mikolai Stroinski (Ovid Works, All In! Games) Mythgard — Music by John Robert Matz (Rhino Games) The Pathless — Music by Austin Wintory (Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive) Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem — Music by Jean-Gabriel Raynaud & Cedric Baravaglio (Wolcen Studio)
Best Sound Design for an Indie Game
- Hades — Supergiant Games Liquidators — 1986 CL3 Carrion — Phobia Game Studio, Devolver Digital Mortal Shell — Cold Symmetry, Playstack Risk of Rain 2 — Hopoo Games, PlayEveryWare Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem — Wolcen Studio
Best Dialogue for an Indie Game
- 3 out of 10 — Terrible Posture Games Bugsnax — Young Horses Hades — Supergiant Games Lost Words: Beyond The Page — Sketchbook Games, Fourth State, Modus Games Mortal Shell — Cold Symmetry, Playstack The Red Lantern — Timberline Studio
Creative and Technical Achievement in Music
- A Total War Saga: Troy — Creative Assembly Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment Sackboy: A Big Adventure — Sumo Digital, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Pathless — Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive
Best Main Theme
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons: “Main Theme” — Music by Kazumi Totaka (Nintendo) Biped: “Biped Theme” — Music by Thomas Parisch (NExT Studios, META Publishing, Bilibili) Ghost of Tsushima: “The Way of the Ghost (feat. Clare Uchima)” — Music by Ilan Eshkeri (Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment) Lost Words: Beyond The Page — Music by David Housden (Sketchbook Games, Fourth State, Modus Games) Star Wars: Squadrons: “Main Theme” — Music by Gordy Haab (Motive, Electronic Arts) The Pathless: “None Have Returned” — Music by Austin Wintory (Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive)
Best Original Song
Best Original Soundtrack Album
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla — Music by Jesper Kyd, Sarah Schachner, & Einar Selvik (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft) Godfall — Music by Ben MacDougall (Counterplay Games, Gearbox Publishing) Hades — Music by Darren Korb (Supergiant Games) Mythgard — Music by John Robert Matz (Rhino Games) Sackboy — Music by Joe Thwaites, Jay Waters, Nick Foster, Lena Raine, George King, Brian d’Oliveira, Glen Brown, Winifred Phillips, Jim Fowler, Opiuo, 2 Mello and Tokyo Machine (Sumo Digital, Sony Interactive Entertainment) The Pathless — Music by Austin Wintory (Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive)
Best Game Music Cover or Remix
- Cuphead: “Closing Credits” Live at MAGfest — Music by ConSoul Grandia: “Symphonic Tale: An Unforgettable Journey (Music from Grandia)” — Music by Kentaro Sato Kingdom Hearts III: “Face My Fears” — Music by Rozen and Reven Ori and the Will of the Wisps: “Main Theme” — Music by Jillian Aversa & Andrew Aversa Witcher 3: “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher… but it’s Witcher 3” — Music by Colm McGuinness Banjo-Kazooie: “It Can’t Be True! A Bear and a Bird Working Together?!” — Music by Jeff Penny
Creative and Technical Achievement in Sound Design
- Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment Final Fantasy VII Remake — Square Enix Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope — Supermassive Games, Bandai Namco The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios
Best UI, Reward or Objective Sound Design
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment Hades — Supergiant Games Hearthstone: Madness at the Darkmoon Faire — Blizzard Entertainment Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Best Game Foley
- Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment Final Fantasy VII Remake — Square Enix Half-Life: Alyx — Valve Mafia: Definitive Edition — Hangar 13, 2K Games Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Best Voice Performance
- Ghost of Tsushima: Jin (Performed by Kazuya Nakai) — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment League of Legends: Fiddlesticks (Performed by Kellen Goff) — Riot Games The Last Light: Kayah (Performed by Jan Johns) — Magic Leap Studios Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales: Miles Morales (Performed by Nadji Jeter) — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Last of Us Part II: Abby (Performed by Laura Bailey) and Ellie (Performed by Ashley Johnson) — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Last of Us Part II: Ellie (Performed by Ashley Johnson) — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Best Ensemble Cast Performance
- 3 out of 10 — Terrible Posture Games Bugsnax — Young Horses Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment Tell Me Why — Dontnod Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope — Supermassive Giants, Bandai Namco The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Best Non-Humanoid Performance
- Bugsnax — Young Horses Call of Duty: Mobile — TiMi Studios, Tencent Games, Activision Half-Life: Alyx — Valve League of Legends — Riot Games Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Best Audio for a Casual or Social Game
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo Call of Duty: Mobile — TiMi Studios, Activision, Tencent Games Game for Peace: Meteor Strike — Lightspeed & Quantum Studios, Tencent Games Hearthstone — Blizzard Entertainment Honor of Kings — TiMi Studios, Tencent Games Legends of Runeterra — Riot Games
Excellence in Audio Accessibility
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment Hades — Supergiant Games Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Best Cinematic Cutscene Audio
- Final Fantasy VII Remake — Square Enix Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment Half-Life: Alyx — Valve Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment World of Warcraft: Shadowlands — Blizzard Entertainment
Best New Original IP Audio
- Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment Little Orpheus — The Chinese Room Mythgard — Rhino Games No Straight Roads — Metronomik, Sold Out Ltd., Game Source Entertainment, Mastertronic Group The Pathless — Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive
Best Game Audio Article or Publication
- Journal of Sound and Music in Games Volume 1 Society for the Study of Sound and Music in Games — University of California Press The Frequencies of Folklore — Riot Games The Game Audio Strategy Guide: A Practical Course — Serial Lab Studios, Routledge The Last of Us Part II Sound Interview — A Sound Effect, Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment VR Video Games and Music Composition: an Interview with Skew Sound — Andrew G. Cheek
Best Game Audio Presentation, Podcast or Broadcast
- Frequencies — League of Legends Audio Deep Dive — Riot Games, GameSoundCon 2020 From Assassin’s Creed to the Dark Eye: The Importance of Themes — Winifred Phillips, GDC 2020 How to Get Hired a Second Time — Jesse Harlin, GameSoundCon 2020 The Creative Process — Tom Salta Masterclass How to Write One Minute of Music — The Pathless — Austin Wintory
Best Physical Soundtrack Release
- Final Fantasy VII Remake — Square Enix Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Milan Records Ori and Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios, iam8bit The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Masterworks, Mondo The Music of Destiny, Volume II Collector’s Edition Vinyl Box Set — Bungie Inc. The Pathless — Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive, iam8bit
Best Game Trailer Audio
- Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red Destiny 2: Beyond Light — Bungie Inc. Hades — Supergiant Games, Studio Grackle Half-Life: Alyx — Valve Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin — Edelweiss, Marvelous Interactive Inc., XSEED Games World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Cinematic Trailer — Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
The 2021 G.A.N.G. Awards will air on April 28 on Twitch.
Source: G.A.N.G.
