Footsteps

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Synopsis

The sound of footsteps (extensible to any kind of being).

Relationships

Contexts:
 Character Soundprint , Awareness , Signature , Emotional Script , Stealth , Entrainment .
May Relate to:
 Breath , Grunts .
Makes use of:
 Foley .

Description

Footsteps are among the most used patterns in sound design. They are a form of Foley that seems elemental and effective as an instrument to implement the Character’s Soundprint and in providing Awareness for the movement of both PC and NPC. They can also be used as a tool for the Emotional Script and become part of the Signature of a game.

Regarding the PC’s Footsteps, they are sometimes combined with Breath and some forms of Grunts, particularly to denote fatigue. If so, it seems important to consider them in conjunction, since they are dependent and demand some level of synchronization.

As with some other sound explorations, the sound of Footsteps is often exaggerated, particularly regarding loudness, when compared to a real life situation.

Examples

Limbo: Footsteps are major protagonist in the minimalist Acoustic Ecology.
Assassin's Creed: The sounds of horse hooves deserved a realistic approach, namely in terms of variety.
BioShock: Big Daddies’ Footsteps are part of the Signature of a game. They are identifiable at a distance. At a short distance, they are greatly accentuated by the visual effects.
[show less examples...]
Silent Hill: Within the Silence of the Ambiance, the sound of Footsteps becomes dominant. (see also the External References, on further aspects with relevance for the Emotional Script).
Papa Sangre: The sound of the Footsteps is in the core of the gameplay in Papa Sangre. The player needs to avoid that the opponents detect the PC's Footsteps. The sound of the Footsteps put yet another challenge to the player: hearing the environment while walking/running (specially when stopping is not an option).
The Graveyard: The way the game is designed almost makes the sound of every single step a sound of Achievement.
Shadow of the Colossus:
Ice Age 3: Scrat’s Footsteps are influential to the Character’s Soundprint, which constitutes a Signature of the game.


External Resources

Interviews with designers, which include commentaries on Footsteps:

  • Sound of Footsteps purposefully out of sync in Silent Hill [1]. Akira Yamaoka intentionally gives “sound ahead of the frame where action would happen”, “to induce intensity or anxiety”.
  • Variety in Footsteps in Assassin’s Creed [2].

References

  1. ↑ Sheffield, B. 2010. GDC: Grasshopper's Akira Yamaoka Talks Audio Techniques. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=27644
  2. ↑ Jackson, B. 2008. Assassin’s Creed. http://mixonline.com/game_audio/features/audio_assassins_creed.

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