Character Soundprint

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

Synopsis

The set of sounds of a PC or NPC.

Relationships

Context:
Awareness , Identification , Signature , Emotional Script .
May use:
Footsteps , Grunts , Breath , Heartbeat , Chitchat , Dialogue , Foley , Sound Effects , Acoustic Ecology .
May Relate:
Stealth , Unaware NPC , Seeking for PC .

Description

The Characters' Soundprint define their acoustic identity.

Character Soundprint is a matter of great importance for disparate reasons:

• To start with, Character Soundprint is relevant for the sake of Awareness. That includes providing the sense of presence and signalling basic activity. With that purpose there is a set of Foley sounds that are consistently used, such as:
  • Footsteps, definitely the most used;
  • Grunts, very common and effective in signalling efforts;
  • Breath, usually just for the PC and reserved to conditions like enduring efforts or extreme emotional conditions;

Some characters call for Sound Effects in addition or in substitution of those Foley elements (imaginary creatures, for instance).

Also, characters usually express themselves through a language, which may be actual Dialogue and/or more basic utterances (e.g. Shout and Yell or even simpler Grunts).

• Then, Character Soundprint may also be relevant in terms of Identification, that is, to provide the means for the player to be able to distinguish between different types of characters. Identification may be instrumental in terms of Gameplay, but also contributes for the Acoustic Ecology. Identification may be achieved through the design of disparate Signatures for those types of characters, by establishing some uniqueness in characters' soundprints.

• In turn, a singular Characters Sounprint is can be explored to establish a memorable experience and brand;

Examples

PacMan:

Mini Ninjas:

Portal:

[show less examples...]

Ice Age 3:

Papa Sangre:

Halo: