Legendary “Toasty!” Leaves NetherRealm: Audio Director Dan Forden Exits Studio After 36 Years in the Industry

A simple joke grew into one of the defining signatures of the Mortal Kombat series.

Dan Forden, audio director at NetherRealm Studios, has announced his departure from the studio after 15 years — or, more precisely, after 36 years when his roots at Midway Chicago are included.

Forden began his career in the games industry in 1989; his first credit was as a sound designer on Midway’s arcade basketball simulator Arch Rivals. He rose to broader recognition in 1992 when he joined the small team that developed the original Mortal Kombat. Alongside designers Ed Boon and John Tobias and artist John Vogel, Forden handled the game’s sound and music.

Yet many fans best know Forden for the exclamation “Toasty!” that plays from the corner of the screen when a player lands an uppercut. That offhand line started as an inside joke. Forden explained that when he and Boon were playing Super High Impact and Forden began winning, he’d say “I predict toast” (roughly, “you’re done for”), which eventually morphed into “I predict toasty”. When someone at the studio suggested adding the line to the game, Forden laughed it off, but Boon supported the idea.

Dan Forden has not yet announced his next plans.

Source: iXBT.games