Interview by: Danielle Riendeau

If you’re one of the many satisfied customers who had the R-rated pleasure of playing through the recent The House of the Dead: Overkill on the Wii, then you’re intimately familiar with the work of John Sanderson, owner of boutique UK sound/music house Pit Stop Studios . Sanderson’s team at Pit Stop produced the entire soundtrack for the title, including everything from the F-bomb-laden voice work to the intense sound effects to the delightfully funky music that gave the game its Grindhouse feel.

As a huge fan of the game and its gleeful disregard for all things politically correct, I was thrilled to be able to speak with John about its creation. Irreverent and funny as the game itself, he was able to clue me in on everything from the shocker ending to the casting process (fun fact: a real life pimp auditioned for the role of Isaiah Washington) to the specifics of how to get an authentic zombie growl. One word of caution, however – there are a few meaty spoilers in the answers ahead. If you haven’t experienced the game yet, I suggest you get your taste of Agent G and Detective Washington before you read on.

So, to begin, I was wondering if you could give me a bit of background on your involvement on House of the Dead: Overkill. When did the developers approach you and what was the process like?

I run Pitstop Productions, an audio company based in England. We were approached by Headstrong Games to provide a one stop audio solution for the game. This is a great offer to get, as you are in a situation whereby you have the opportunity to craft a whole new audio identity.

As opposed to just doing the music, for example?

Yes. When we went to the initial meeting we were given a draft script by the guys... I liked it but really thought we could take this to the edge by making the characters a lot more defined. The reason for this is if we could get involved with the script while writing the music while doing the voice casting we could guarantee that the whole thing could knit together.

So, you really had a role in shaping the overall direction of the game in that way?

Yes but it meant we could really create something unique. We wanted Washington to “Mother f*cker” everything, so much [that] it would create the attention it has gotten.