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Award-Winning Composer Jeff van Dyck to Score Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena

The expansive universe of Warhammer 40,000 is synonymous with the grim darkness of war – Commorragh and its inhabitants even more so. A great soundtrack sets the pace of a game, and we knew that only a top-tier composer would be able to deliver the compelling gladiatorial sound we want players to experience in Dark Nexus Arena.

British Academy award-winning (BAFTA) composer Jeff van Dyck joins the Whitebox team to bring Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena to life. A Vancouverite himself, Jeff is known for his work on titles such as Alien: Isolation, the Total War series, and a wide variety of EA Sports games. You can find a complete list of Jeff’s works on his website at www. jeffvandyck.com.

The team is excited to have Jeff bring the sounds of the Dark Eldar, their arenas, and the city of Commorragh to your ears when Early Access for Dark Nexus Arena opens on May 8, 2015.

All the best,

The Whitebox team.

Interview with Jeff van Dyck

1. How did you become involved with Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena?

Whitebox’s audio director Steve Royea contacted me in late 2014 and asked me if I would be interested in working on their new game. I worked with Steve at Electronic Arts Canada back in the mid 1990’s. We worked together on NHL ’96 and various other EA Sports titles. We’ve always had a common interest in electronic music and similar views in how we like it to sound. We’ve had many a discussion on audio technology and new tools we’ve found to manipulate audio. I think we work really well together.

2a. When beginning work on a project, how do you decide on a musical direction and the sounds to use?

In the case of DNA, Steve initially sent me some placeholder music that the team liked, so that more or less set the bar. It was big and epic sounding, and I’m always happy to have a go at that. We then discussed the Warhammer 40,000 universe and how the music could differ between the various factions. We also discussed other Warhammer 40,000 games. I listened to a little bit, but decided the less I knew about how those other games sounded the better. We want Dark Nexus Arena to have a unique sound and a fresh interpretation of how the music should be.

2b. Tell us about your approach towards scoring Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena.

After discussing the various factions, we decided to have specific instrument groups for different factions. For example the Space Marines have a heroic heavy brass and snare drum section, whereas the Tau have massive taiko drums and some electronic sounds. There’s a bit of crossover here and there to help keep it all cohesive and feel like it’s coming from the same universe. We then chose tempos to match the various stages of the battle, so the music intensifies as you get closer to the end of the battle. 

3. You’ve created music for a number of games including Alien: Isolation and, of course, the Total War series.  How does that range of experience translate when approaching a new project?

I’ve learned a lot from working on those games, mostly from the awesome people I’ve worked with. This affects the choices I make while composing. Ultimately this equates to saving time because I’m able to avoid mistakes I’ve made in the past. I can also pull from things that people have told me they’ve liked in my past work, give it a bit of a twist with new techniques I’ve learned and hopefully make the end result more pleasing to the players.

4. Are you familiar with the Warhammer 40,000 franchise?

I had heard of it and seen some cool game trailers of up and coming titles, but never really got a chance to play them, so it’s all pretty new to me. As much as I work on video games, I don’t find time to play many. After a little research, I was surprised and inspired to see how passionate players are regarding the franchise. I’m interested to hear their reaction to the music, hopefully it meets their expectations. 

5. Which tracks are you the most excited for fans to hear?

So far my favourite is the Tau. We’ve combined two of my favourite genres of music, taiko drums and electronic music. Melodically we’ve gone for a sort of melancholy yet hopeful feel and it has a nice bitter sweet sound to it.

6. Where can fans of your work find out more?

There is information and several clips of my music on my website at www.jeffvandyck.com. Most recently I have released a soundtrack for Hand of Fate.

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Early Access Expectations

From all corners of the galaxy they’ve come, though not of their own volition.

Whether bested in combat or simply caught off-guard, the finest soldiers and warriors have been captured and dragged into the webway.

Most are unceremoniously tortured or worked to death, but the mightiest among them meet a glorious end fighting in blood-soaked Arenas.

Fighting for freedom, for defiance, or for the simple act of carnage, they battle to the death while a sadistic audience watches on with rabid delight.

The MOBA of the 41st Millennium is coming to the Arenas of Commorragh.

The Whitebox team is pleased to announce that we are quickly nearing Early Access. We are aiming for early access to be in full swing by the end of June, but even before then we have something planned for founders.

Starting May 8, we will be launching the first of our Alpha Weekends. Those who have received an Early Access key will be able to play the game for the entirety of these scheduled weekends.

The purpose of these alpha weekends is to start stress-testing our servers, allow us time to fix any unanticipated problems, and give supporters a chance to provide feedback before we open Early Access proper. Please note that several features, such as the friends system and out-of-game chat, will not be available at the start of the early access weekends, but will be implemented shortly after.

Those who have not received an early access alpha key still have ample time to do so if they wish to be among the first to join the carnage. Head to the shop to check out our early access packages and exclusive founder’s content.

See you in the Arena.

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A New Veteran Stomps into the Arena!

Greetings Archons,

A new Veteran warrior stomps his way into the arena! Underscored by the sputtering of motors, this Veteran tramples his way through the battlefield leaving nothing but flattened foes in his path. Who is this new Veteran? Discuss in the Forums!

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PAX East 2015 Recap

The Whitebox team had a fantastic time meeting the community and showing off Dark Nexus Arena for the first time at PAX East 2015. We know that only a handful could make it to Boston, so we wanted to give you a recap of our experiences there.

Hit The Ground Gunning

Flying in, we had no idea what to expect. Our luggage was packed to the brim with all of our equipment, Dark Nexus Arena t-shirts, banners, and booth swag. Unfortunately, our network engineer was held up with some key pieces of equipment and arrived at 7 AM on the first day of PAX. The team fervently remembers the chant of thousands of people counting down to 10 AM while we set up the computers.

But once games got going, they never stopped. The setup had large TVs facing the crowd and the lineup, which we found really helped fans come up with strategies on the fly - especially while waiting to jump into a match. Being able to talk with fans face to face really sold our desire to involve the community in an early stage of development. At the end of the first day, the team rearranged our booth which created more space to get people in game quicker.

Once More, With Friends

Day two kicked off with even more energy than the first. Booth flow had improved significantly due to our changes, and we were humbled to see many familiar faces come back to play Dark Nexus Arena with friends in tow. Saturday is when we really started to see our community take shape – veteran players teaching others, explaining strategies, and discussing which Veterans would be a good pick for each person’s individual play style. Fans of every level - from gamers to streamers to developers to press - all met us with an inspiring dose of excitement. The enthusiasm surrounding the Warhammer 40,000 universe was evident in every fan interaction.

Lineups were often three games deep, plenty of Early Access keys were given out, and players were getting in game faster than ever. We were able to chat with many gamers, indie developers, and streamers throughout the course of the day. It was a joy to get feedback from so many different perspectives.

All Good Things Must End

The final day of PAX East, we really hit our stride. The community fully embraced good sportsmanship, with games ending in handshakes, high fives, and lots of cheering. Seeing people get animated about the future of Dark Nexus Arena has been a huge source of motivation and a welcome challenge to the team.

The day started with a riveting community versus developer game in which we got completely destroyed. In fact, a common theme of the trip was watching players take characters we’d been playing for months and completely surprise us with new tactics and combos. There’s a lot to be said of the value of fresh eye testing. We learned that we’re not quite as good at Dark Nexus Arena as we thought we were!

Nearing the end of the day, our fellow exhibitors stopped by for some friendly matches. The camaraderie in the indie section was palpable and it made for some really enjoyable competition. As the day drew to a close, the team huddled up for a discussion on the best takeaways from PAX.

In Closing

Everyone has their favorite army. We’ll be working hard to represent them all.

You are all designers. We were consistently floored with your ideas. We know we’re making the right choice to involve you in the development process.

We do this for you. Seeing your passion and excitement for Warhammer 40,000 and Dark Nexus Arena really drives home why we pour our heart, soul, time, and sweat into this beast.

Thank you to everyone who made it out to PAX East 2015 (full photo album here!). For those of you who didn’t get the chance – don’t worry! We’ll be sure to attend more conventions in the near future.

Thank you for all of your support!

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Blog: Meet the Team

Hello all!

Whitebox Interactive is a small, independent video game development company based in Vancouver, BC. Although incorporated on the first day of 2014, work on Dark Nexus Arena began over a year and a half before that. When Dark Nexus Arena was just a small number of fleeting ideas, six talented designers puzzled over how to build it – each with full time job responsibilities. Working in tiny spaces (the most notable having been dubbed “the building with no windows”) in their free time, Dark Nexus Arena began to slowly take shape.

Since then, the team has steadily grown alongside the expanding needs of the game. We’ve been in a small incubator (it has windows!), and are preparing for a move to a new space we can call home. But perhaps our most rewarding achievement to date was when we officially partnered with Games Workshop. Until then, we had been working on faith that the license would be approved. It was, and still is, a passion project. Fortunately for us, Games Workshop noted our fervor and signed us on. We are honored to be working with Games Workshop on an adaptation of our favorite tabletop game. Breathing a tremendous sigh of relief, we were enthused that we – a bunch of Warhammer 40,000 geeks – are going to be able to share our game with you.

Needless to say, we are incredibly eager to show you more of the game and get to know those we’ll be playing Dark Nexus Arena with in the future. In the coming weeks, we will be using our website and social media pages to share important game information to get you up to speed. Please stop by and introduce yourself in the forums!

All the best,

The Whitebox team.

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Introducing Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena!

Whitebox Interactive is pleased to announce ourupcoming title - Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena! Set in the Wych arenas of Commorragh, Dark Nexus Arena is a blend of the twin stick shooter and MOBA genres. In teams of four, Veteran warriors hailing from the Space Marine, Ork, and Tau armies battle in bloody conflict to the death. We are slated to launch in 2016.

 The team at Whitebox is elated to finally be able to share this news with you. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing you to the team and getting you up to speed on the state of the game. Head over to the Forums to say hello to the developers and introduce yourselves!