A continuation of Sprint 3 task for Player Sound Effects

Why do we care?

The aim of a game is to be enjoyed for entertainment. To allow the user to fully comprehend the story and gameplay, it's important to immerse the user within the environment. Music and sound effects are a key way to do this, while also adding feedback for initiated actions. This project focuses on the sound effects, initiated by actions the player takes within the game.

Player Effects

• Getting hurt: None

  • It was decided that there was a sensory overload of too many sounds if a player engaged with many enemies, such that multiple sounds overlapped and sounded disorderly. The health bar also eventually regenerates to the max health for the wound state. As such, we have chosen not to include a sound effect. Verified with user testing.

• Getting severely hurt (wounded): Heartbeat

  • This has to be noticeable so that the player knows the attacking enemy has dealt critical damage. Currently, this is a deep / bassy heartbeat that plays whenever the player is wounded. It's slightly longer in length compared to the other sound effects.

• Generic Melee Attack

  • Swinging in air: swoosh, sound by gesornoud @ Freesound
    • This depicts a object being swung in the air. It's slightly harder to hear, but should represent the real-life sound of a weapon and fit into the game's overall theme.
  • Contact with enemy: Handled by Enemy Sound Effects

• Ranged Attack: Slingshot sound

  • For the ranged attack, the player shoots a rock. The sound effect used simulates the release of a slingshot.

• Player Ability

  • Short Dash: None

    • Similar to the reason for Getting Hurt, the player generally uses this in rapid succession. The effect is instantly noticeable, and action is immediately available again after a short cooldown.

  • Long Dash: percussive whoosh

    • A whoosh with fade out, lasting the same time as the dash being performed, it's a realistic sound that depicts the player rapidly running. It's low frequencies (ie. bass) allow the player to feel some vibrations through the surface they are playing on (palm rest on laptops, table on desktops) (see source for more).

Item Sound Effects

• Generic Item Pickup: Ping

  • There is currently limited 'entities' that the player can pickup, being ammo (rocks), coins and the occasional bandage. The sound effect is a generic two-tone rising ping sound indicates the player picking up armor or weapons. It's distinguishable from other events, and there shouldn't be any confusion with limited pickable items. Verified with user testing.

• Using Bandages: Harp Treble-G

  • The effect of bandages is to heal the player. The characteristics of the harp can be described as "gentle, "full-sounding" and "mellow" Source, which encompasses the applied effect of a bandage.