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.