Beacon Locator
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Synopsis
| Items that emit sound to ease their location. |
Relationships
Contexts:
Awareness 
, Identification 
.
Less frequent contexts:
Audio Logs File:M385px-AudioLogs-front-v20.png.
Often uses:
Sound Effects 
.
Description
Frequently, some game entities are supplemented with a soundprint that emphasizes their presence. The role of such soundprint varies, but they all aim some form of Awareness. The fact that Beacon Locators provide information regarding aspects that may be out of sight, and that such acoustic queues are often distinctive, is instrumental for Identification of the source.
The most evident use is in supporting the spotting of collectible items. In Far Cry 2, the sound emitted by concealed briefcases containing diamonds is useful to spot them. In this case, the sound is only perceptible if the PC is close to the briefcase, and such items are also possible to find by checking a non-acoustic proximity sensor of the handheld GPS (not practical to keep equiped but with a wider range). Examples where the remote detection of out of sight is solely acoustic can be found in Oblivion, regarding the nirnroot plants, and Assassin's Creed 2, regarding treasure chests. In three examples, the soundprint of the sound emitters is not achieved through their own Foley but through some Sound Effects. Sometimes the items themselves are Audio Logs as in the case of Infamous.
One other category of examples of Beacon Locator is to provide Awareness for the existence of enemies in the vicinity, sometimes with the advantage of being able to also identify the direction through spatiality. In such cases it is common that the detection is provided by aspects of Character Soundprint, although it may resort to other sound manifestations of NPC interaction such as Chitchat, etc.
Examples
Additional Comments
About the concept
External Resources
