I imagine that actual ice dragons charge hefty sums for their voice acting talent, so the sound designers for Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (opens in new tab) have taken a more practical approach to creating sound effects for the frigid beasts in the upcoming expansion.
In an on-site interview with Game Informer (opens in new tab) that you can watch in the video above, Capcom's audio leads show off their spooky basement studio where they're able to record monster noises in peace.
Sound designer Wakana Kuroiwa demonstrates several different techniques for creating icy monster sounds and snowy footfall effects. The team takes turns hitting big ol' blocks of ice with a big ol' hammer to create an icy-sounding impact noise. (Skip to the three minute mark (opens in new tab) for ice violence.) Even before the audio gets processed digitally, it does sound a bit like something you would expect to hear in a game.
A box full of cornstarch sounds like snowy footsteps when you knead it with your hands, somehow. There are also wind chimes? And a drill? It seems like in an audio studio even the literal kitchen sink might get used for something.
After the hands-on section is complete, the team heads back to the studio to edit the recordings from the studio. Sound designers will change the pitch of recordings or slow them down before layering sounds together to create the effects we'll eventually hear in Iceborne.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is coming to consoles in September with Capcom targeting winter of 2019 for us PC players.
