Project: Pioneers of Pagonia

Client: Envision Entertainment

We Did: Music Composition • Music Production  • Sound Design • Technical Sound Design

Envision Entertainment are, quite literally, Dynamedion’s oldest clients, and we have contributed to several of their projects over the last twenty plus years.
So naturally, when they asked us to work on their new city-building game Pioneers of Pagonia, we jumped to the opportunity – and we were particularly thrilled to be entrusted with all aspects of the game’s audio, from a little sound design for the first teaser trailer to the creation and integration of the full soundscape and original soundtrack.

Three years, 5,157 sound effects and 59:33 minutes of music later, we look back on a wonderful project.

Getting Started

The primary objective in developing the game’s sound and music was to find a sound palette that reinforces its core experience.
Pioneers of Pagonia is a relaxed, player-friendly game that avoids punitive mechanics and naturally adapts to each player’s pace and style. With that in mind, we focused on creating a gentle, calming, and rewarding sonic atmosphere that supports the game’s overall mood.

Bustle!

Of course, the defining element of the game is its „Wuselfaktor“ (the „bustle factor“), the liveliness and vibrancy of a growing community full of tiny people and animals running to and fro between lots of buildings producing tons of goods, lovingly animated so the player can closely follow the transportation and transformation of goods in real time, contributing to a lively and dynamic settlement—the “Wuselfaktor” (bustle factor).

To contribute tot hat, we devoted considerable attention to the sound design of the building animations. We aimed to craft detailed sounds that enrich the soundscape, maintain clarity even when triggered repeatedly, and avoid listener fatigue.

To bring the stars oft he show, Pagonia’s Pioneers, to life, we produced custom voice-over lines that match the game’s tone and emphasize its warm, welcoming atmosphere.

As a very special addition to the voice overs we created, we had the honor to record five influencers who generously lent their voices to our lovely in-game characters.

• • Hand of Blood – The Explorer

• • Gronkh (DE) and Soda Poppin (EN) – The Geologist

• • Maurice Weber (DE) and Ovilee (EN) – The Treasure Hunter

Not only were the recordings sessions a lot of fun, their remarkable performances are a genuine enrichment to the game.

The Tunes

A big contributor to any game’s tone is, of course, the music. Composed by veteran composer Alex Röder, the Pioneers of Pagonia soundtrack accompanies you through your adventures without ever intruding. And every now and then, when the moment is right, it takes center stage, accentuating the emotional and dramatic moments.

Same as the soundscape, the music for the endless game mode needed to feel positive and friendly to convey both the beauty of untouched nature and the various aspects of the stages of building.

For the campaign music, Alex crafted individual themes to lend character to the different factions and accentuate their differences.

Highlights

Lead Technical Sound Designer Philippe, when asked about his personal highlights of the project, had this to say:

“Creating sounds for the characters and enemy factions was really challenging and an extremely fun task. For some characters, defining their character through sound was as simple as a laugh – mischievous for the thief, or darker and rougher for the bandit. For others, it was more intricate: the Scav enemy faction, for example, got their own fantasy language – still somewhat human, but also coarse and a touch machine-like, to capture their defining trait, which is rapacious exploitation of natural resources. The same features reoccur in the Scavs’ sound design and music: metallic qualities, sounds of dirt and ore, and an overall industrial tone (well, as industrial as Pioneers of Pagonia can be).”

Thanks!

Working with the Team at Envision Entertainment was incredibly smooth and fun. They’ve been a wonderful partner who enabled and supported us to realize our shared vision for Pioneers of Pagonia’s sound and music. Thank you so much! We can’t wait to work with you again, be it later or sooner.

Anno 117 release trailer

Project: Anno 117: Pax Romana

Client: Ubisoft

We Did: Music Composition • Music Production  • Orchestra Recording

Dynamedion are proud to announce that we continue our long-standing collaboration with Ubisoft Mainz on the Anno series by composing and producing the official soundtrack for Anno 117: Pax Romana. Building on years of partnership and a shared musical vision, Dynamedion composers Matthias Wolf, Tilman Sillescu, Alex Röder, Armin Haas and Henning Nugel crafted a score that brings the grandeur, ambition, and humanity of the Roman Empire to life through rich orchestral textures and expressive themes.

All music was composed and recorded by Dynamedion, featuring live orchestral sessions and solo performances that blend authentic ancient influences with cinematic storytelling. The result is a deeply immersive soundscape that captures both the power and the peace of the Pax Romana – a soundtrack that continues the proud musical legacy of the Anno series.

Anno 117: Pax Romana is out today – build your empire in Albion or Latium!

Anno 117 release trailer

Creative Director Music & Lead Composer

Matthias Wolf

 

Composers

Tilman Sillescu

Alex Röder

Armin Haas

Henning Nugel

 

Orchestra

Budapest Art Orchestra

 

Conductor

Gyorgy Gulyas Nagy

 

Recording

East Connection Music Recording at OPERA Eiffel Art Studio in Budapest, Hungary

 

Digital Recordist

David Lukacs

 

Recording Engineer

Gabor Buczko

 

Contractor

Miklos Lukacs

 

Session Producer

David Christiansen

 

Orchestrator

David Christiansen

 

Orchestral Mixing Engineer

Chris Wirtz

 

Final Mixing Engineer

Matthias Wolf

 

Soloists

Henning Nugel

Anna Mkhitaryan

Chris Wirtz

Sandro Friedrich

Armin Haas

Matthias Wolf

Katharina Wirtz

Project: Nice Day for Fishing

Client: Fusion Play

We Did: Music Composition • Music Production

Sometimes it’s the side characters who deserve the greatest stories. Baelin, the laid-back fisherman from Viva La Dirt League‘s world of Azerim, is just an NPC – but that’s exactly what makes the fact that he now takes the leading role in his own video game so wonderfully absurd and amusing. Together with FusionPlay, Viva La Dirt League has created an 8-bit retro game that focuses on Baelin’s adventures: Nice Day for Fishing.

We are thrilled that Dynamedion composer Jochen Flach got to create the soundtrack for this charming pixel adventure. After all, what would a retro game be without the appropriate 8-bit music?

We spoke to our composer Jochen Flach about his work on this special project – and gained some exciting insights.

Question: Which sound elements were important to you in authentically capturing the “8-bit retro” character of the game without making it seem old-fashioned?

Jochen Flach: I think the very fact that we mixed 8-bit sound with a modern epic orchestra gives it a fresh feel. But “old-fashioned” is a difficult term to define. Since the visuals of the real scenes are based on the Middle Ages, I used appropriate harmonies and musical phrasing. Some people might find this “old-fashioned.”

Question: Could you give us some insight into how you approached the initial sketches for the soundtrack? Did you start with melodies, rhythms, or timbres?

Jochen Flach: I always start at the piano. That’s how it’s been in recent years. It’s a good place to develop melody and rhythm. Of course, I could have started directly with a synthesizer. With that, the sound aesthetics of a sound, the way you play the sound, can also influence the theme. But with Nice Day For Fishing, the theme was already established as a motif in the music of the Youtube videos by Viva La Dirt League. In that respect, the piano is really a wonderful instrument for developing or refining ideas.

Question: To what extent did you draw on classic retro soundtracks when composing – and where did you consciously incorporate modern influences?

Jochen Flach: To be honest, I was not really inspired by classic retro soundtracks when composing. I only drew inspiration from the sound aesthetics. I was inspired by the images and descriptions of the levels that were provided to me. The rest came about through trial and error.

Question: How close was the collaboration with FusionPlay and Viva La Dirt League – did you receive specific musical guidelines or did you have a lot of artistic freedom?

Jochen Flach: The motif for the main theme came from the VLDL web series. For the Maintheme composition and the soundtrack creation, it was a creative back-and-forth between us and FusionPlay. Sometimes it took a few rounds to find the right touch for a track. The developers had specific ideas about how the soundtrack should sound in the end. That helped a lot and I think we successfully developed the ideas and themes together.

The Nice Day for Fishing release trailer

Whether you’ve known Baelin for years or are going on your first fishing adventure with him, Nice Day for Fishing is a lovingly crafted retro game that charmingly combines nostalgia, humor, and fantasy. We are proud that our music has helped bring this special feeling to life, and we hope you enjoy playing the game as much as we enjoyed composing it.