sound in my level

powerpoint slides

evaluation

Evaluation of my sounds

Ambient sound:

My ambient sound is made from a short violin tune slowed down with a lower pitch, this gives the sound an eerie feel and makes the player feel alone and disturbed.

The reason I chose a violin for this sound is because back in the Victorian period orchestras were very popular, this was a time before the birth of rock or jazz music, the twisted sound adds an old traditional feel but it’s been distorted enough to make it sound painful and unpleasant.

Compared to most ambient sounds in video games that contain ten or even hundreds of little sounds such as crickets and birds my sound seems pretty simple however this simplicity is what makes it stand out as it’s the sound the player will be hearing when there’s nothing around to hurt them.

Boiler:

My boiler sound is made up from three tracks (fire, a cauldron boiling and a kettle) I have blended this sounds on a multi-track with the boiling cauldron sound over the fire to make it sound like fire is the energy that is boiling the water. I think that I’ve pulled off this effect rather well as it took a while of raising and lowering the decibel levels so that the sounds merged perfectly.

Compared to the sound of a real old boiler I believe I am close in terms of the sounds however on looking over my sound now I realise I should have added the sound of rattling pipes after the steam to make it sound like the boiling water was leaving the system, this could also tell the player this is a bigger environment as the water has to be going somewhere.

Chains:

My chain sound was made from a chain rattling against a fence, the reason that I think this sound suits the purpose that I intended it for because I made the sound exactly how it would be made in the game.

Compared to other chain sounds in games I think that my sound is at the same level but only because it would have been made by a folly artist in the same way or similar.

Creaking door sound:

To make this sound I took the sound of a door opening and then slowed it down to a point where you could hear the hinges moving, this sound is meant to torment the player by creating a loud sound that could alert enemies, this sound is also designed to show the player that the building is old but used enough so that the door isn’t just sealed shut.

Compared to games like amnesia the dark descent my door sound is up to the same standard however I feel like I should have added the sound of the door handle moving to give the door more weight and a more realistic feel.

Creaking floor boards:

To make the floorboard sounds I went to an old building with wooden floors and then walked on them while recording with a shotgun mic, when I got back to college I took the sound into audition and then made it louder and cleaned it up.

As this sound is created by the same situation that is happening in game the sound fits the scene perfectly and I would not change this sound unless the player was walking on a different kind of wood floor however the player is expecting the same sound so I might not change it.

Screams:

To make the screaming sound I took the sound of a person screaming and then raised the pitch so that the scream sounded more feminine and painful, the reason I wanted the scream to sound painful is simple, I want to make the play feel that if he or she makes a mistake it will be them who is screaming.

I did not have a person that could make painful screaming sound but if I did I feel that this sound could have been much better however with what I had available I think that my sound is to a good standard.

Electric sounds:

I took a standard shocking sound and then altered it so that the sound repeated, the reason I did this was to show the player the electrical current was constantly going through the wires rather than every so often.

I had problems with this sound as when I duplicated it the sound got shortened but the whole sound was still there making it spit. If I was going to do this again I would look on youtube about how to use audition more effectively.

  Monster groans:

I took the sound of a man in plan and then slowed it down and lowered the pitch, however this just made the creature sound like he needed the bathroom rather than the sound of a scary monster, after this I started again but this time I tweaked the setting more finely rather than to the extremes.

I don’t think this is one of my best sounds however it still adds atmosphere to the game play and gives the player some indication that they are in danger. 

audio games for the blind

3D Snake 

the first game i played was 3d snake, this game has no images at all however this helps you play the game as you are souly focusing on what you can hear through your speakers/ head phones.

when you launch the game music is played followed by the title of the game (3D Snake) and then a voice started explaining how to use the controls on your keyboard to navage the menu that you can not see.

what the person says:

• main menu 
• use your arrow keys to move up and down the selections 
• press enter to select 
• START NEW GAME
• SPEAKER TEST 
• EXIT
• OK LETS GO 

how to play:

"You move the snake around in a 30 x 30 grid world with your arrow keys. Your objective is to collect as many fruits as possible but avoid collisions with the walls. The walls are represented by a wind sound"

"If you collide with a wall just once the game is over. Fruits will appear at random times, at random positions  The fruits are represented by a "bing bing bing"-sound that continues to loop until you catch the fruit"

how this game makes me feel: 

even though i could not see anything on the screen i never felt like the game had bad controls because it was very clear when i was in danger and when i was getting close to the fruit, one thing i would say is this game could be better if there was come kind of indication of how many points you have during the game like in the visual version, however this might interrupt the game play. 

Blindside
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/600219258/blindside-the-audio-adventure-video-game

blind side is an attempt to create a survival horror game only using sound to create atmosphere that would usually be created with graphics/ visual displays.

 star trek final conflict

the first thing you hear is the iconic star trek theme song followed by a disclaimer, after the intro has ended you are shot into the game, you use the arrow keys to select options within menus.

this is as far as i got with this game as i couldn't work out what was going on. 

metal gear soild 3 snake eater

the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aHQnDTd1y4

how this sound makes me feel:

in metal gear solid 3 snake eater there is scene where you have to clime a long ladder while listening to the song snake eater, this sound brings out emotions in the player because up to this point the main character snake has lost allot and been betrayed by the ones he cared about, on top of that he is on a mission to kill his teach called the boss. 

this song is inspired by the James bond films, the song is about all the things that snake has done up to this point and compares it to a dream.

the reason this song is so powerful is the player is forced to listen to it in an environment where it stands out, this was also done in red dead redemption as this forces the player to look back on the games story and admire the emotion connection you have formed with the characters.

while listening to this song i felt sad as snake has had everything taken away from him even though he tries his best and risks his life for what he believes in.

story board

 this is the first scene of the cinematic, in this scene the character Ashley is cleaning a room and hears a noise.
sounds heard:

• creaking floor 
• bed creaking
• puffing pillows 
• background ambient sounds
• rattling chains 

 when Ashley hears a sound he/she moves towards the door to look out into the hall way.
sounds heard:

• foot steps 
• door creaking 

 Ashley moves out onto the landing to see when the noise was.
sounds heard:

• foot steps 
• creaking floor

 when Ashley looks down the stairs he/she sees a broken glass on the floor.
sounds heard:

• breaking glass
• ambient sounds

 Ashley hears the sound of wind blowing through a crack in a the old hotel.
sounds heard:

• wind blowing through a crack 
• ambient sounds 

 after seeing the trap door he/she moves over to it to see what it is and then proceeds to open it.
sounds heard:

• foot steps 
• creaking hatch 
• metal on metal 

audio design doc

Audio design doc

The level that I have designed is a horror level set in a Victorian mansion, because of this I will be using sounds that bring fear and disorient the player.

Sounds I need:

·         Chains

·         Creaking floor boards

·         Creaking doors

·         Foot steps

·         Boilers

·         Electrical sounds

·         Screams

·         Ambient dramatic tones

·         Monster groans

The main character starts in a small room covered in blood righting on the walls, at this part of the level the character can here looming ambient sounds such as old organ music or low violin tones.

(How I will make these sounds)

I will get some recording equipment out of the ERC and record myself walking on a concrete floor, I will take

These tones are designed to bring a sense of atmosphere to the game play, these sounds will become louder and softer at random points during the game even if the player is not in danger this is so that the player does not know when or where he/ she will have to run away from threats.

The player walks through the first and only door after reading the writing on the walls, as the player walks through the first door the door creaks slowly open.

The door creaking:

The creaking door sound effects tell the player that this building is very old, old enough so that the hinges are not well oiled but not left long enough so that the door does not open, this could tell the player that these doors have been used even though the area he/she is in was hidden.

(How I will make this sound)

For this sound I will take a royal free sound of a door opening and then take it into audition to first slow the sound down and then add an echo to the now slowed wave length, the reason I am adding an echo is because the character is in a confided space, in reality these sound waves would bounce around.

(Tools needed)

·         Audition

The main character moves into the second room and see the first fork in the road the sounds of chains can be heard rattling, even though there are no chains to be seen.

Chains rattling:

This sound will appear in random rooms/ corridors with in the game, these sounds also appear when the roaming enemies of the game are close.

 Difference between normal chains and the chains on enemies:

Normal chains:

The normal rattling chain sound will only rattle twice and then vanish; the start of this sound will be the same sound as the start of the enemies sound however the second rattle will be completely different telling the player that it’s a fault alarm.

Enemy chain sounds:

The enemy chain sounds will start with a rattle and then sound like they are being dragged along concrete, this sound will continuously loop until the player is far enough away from the roaming enemy.

This sound effect will also get louder the closer he/she is to this enemy, telling the player how close they are to danger.

(How I will make these sounds)

I will take out some recording equipment out of the ERC and then find some chains down on the hoe, when I find some chains I will rattle them against a wall or fence to produce the rattling noise, for the enemy sound I will take a royal free sound of scratching and then take both the rattle and the scratching sound into audition, from this I will have two completely different sounds.

(Tools needed)

·         Mic

·         Recorder

·         Batteries

·         Audition

·         Internet

·         chain

From this point onwards the player has complete freedom to move around the level as he/she pleases, because of this there will not be a set order in which the player will hear the following sound, how all of the following sound in the level ether to create atmosphere or help the player become immersed in the game.

Footsteps:

The footsteps will give the character weight; this sound will immerse the player more into the game as it is a sound you expect to hear when you are walking on a hard floor.

(How I will make this sound)

I will make this sound by recording me walking on concrete and then audition the background noise out so that the noise of the footsteps would not be interrupted by people moving or traffic.

(Tools I will use)

·         Mic

·         Recorder

·         Concrete floor

·         Audition

Boiler sounds:

In two places in the levels there are boilers which power the hotel, these boilers will be loud and affect the players ability to hear threats closing in on them.

(How I will make this sound)

Because I don’t have anything that sounds remotely like what an industrial sized boiler I will have to make the sound by mixing the sound of a flame with the sound of boiling water, I will get the fire and boiling water sounds off a royalty free site or go onto sites like YouTube to find the sound in background footage.

I will then take both sounds into audition and layer the boiling sound over the flame at certain points to give the impression that the boiler is increasing and decreasing in pressure.

(Tools I will use)

·         Internet

·         Audition

Electrical sounds:

Electrical sounds are also heard often because of the back wiring of the hotel, this sound might be found near open wiring or faulty lights, these sounds are in the game for effect only and will not handicap the player in any way.

(How I will make the sound)

I will get a royalty free electric and take it into audition, the only thing I need to do to this sound is rework the pattern of this sound so that the sound repeats in fast concession.

(Tools I will use)

·         Internet

·         Audition

Screams:

One of the main staples of a horror game is the painful screaming sound effects that taunt the player with the idea that someone is in extreme pain, this sound will be heard when the player walks a room with a fixed enemy and is designed to startle the player.

(How I will make this sound)

I was unable to find someone to scream for me that had the right tone and voice that I wanted for my game so I’m going to take a basic female scream then them warp and echo it in audition to give it the creepy feel that I’m after.

(Tools I with use)

·         Internet

·         Audition

Monster groans:

The monster groans will be simply to taunt the player as no enemy in my game will groan to the same extent of this sound; this sound will make the play be more aware in the areas that it is played.

(How I will make this sound)

I will take the sound of someone groaning and then stretch out the sound to make it appear more painful and on-going.

(Tools I will use)

·         Audition

Creaking floor boards:

Like the creaking doors this sound is in the game to make the environment feel old and in disrepair, this sound will only be heard on the upper floors of the game due to the first levels will take place far underground.

(How I will make this sound)

I will record myself walking on old wooden flooring.

(Tools I will need)

·         Mic

·         Recorder

·         Old floor

·         Audition