Sound Decoys

	The card's front face	The card's back face

Synopsis

Using sound to fool the opponents.

Relationships

Context:
Stealth , Consequent Sound , Make Sound not War , Emotional Script .
Relates to:
Unaware NPC , Suspicious NPC , Seeking for PC , Sonic Weapon .
Often uses:
Foley , Sound Effects .

Description

A customary component of the gameplay is to deal with enemies along the game space. In some situations it is convenient to divert enemies’ attention and possibly to influence them to change their positions, either to be able to deal with one at time or to avoid confrontation at all.

Diverse forms of Sound Decoys can be included in the gameplay. Sound is particularly suitable for integrating meaningful decoy actions since it allows launching the decoy while avoiding visual contact. Spaces with reduced visibility also bring advantages both for the plausibility and of the usefulness of the decoy.

Examples

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots: Snake lures an enemy out of his place by throwing an empty magazine into a more convenient location.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots: Knocking on objects is an alternative to attract a NPC, but it requires that the NPC is close enough and the attention is directed towards PC's position.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory: Apart from being able to make noises by throwing objects that he can grab, Fisher can whistle to make an enemy go check the sound.

[show less examples...]

Dead to Rights: Retribution: Shadow can bark (either a short range bark or a louder bark) in order to lure enemies to a convenient position.

Spore Origins: One of the parts, in which the player can invest when upgrading the creature, allows emitting a sound that attracts easy prey. This feature needs to be timely managed because it takes some time to "recharge" (notice the indicator in the bottom-left corner).

Papa Sangre: In this particular level, noisy chicken may be released to divert the opponents from the PC's position and Footstep sounds. In other levels the PC's own Footsteps can be used to lure an opponent away from a position that needs to be visited (as the Helper Voice suggests).

Thief III: Deadly Shadows: Garrett can draw special noisemaker arrows in order to divert enemies.

Commandos BCD: All commandos can make a distracting noise by throwing stones to the behind of enemies. Additionally, one of the commandos, Tiny, has an acoustic decoy as part of his equipment.

External Resources

References to Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell "Distraction Camera": IGN Guides
Stevens, R., & Raybould, D. (2011, p. 125). The game audio tutorial a practical guide to creating and implementing sound and music for interactive games. Burlington, MA: Focal Press/Elesevier.