When you play in first person, you almost never see the character you are.
At best… you see your hands.
So everything about how you feel your character comes from somewhere else. And for me, that’s where audio becomes essential.
After a lot of tests, I ended up focusing on just three things:
– breathing
– heartbeat
– footsteps
I tried adding cloth movement sounds… but honestly, it didn’t bring much. Just constant noise. So I dropped it.
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Footsteps do a lot more than we think.
> You instantly know what you’re walking on (wood, concrete, a mattress, broken glass…)
> It’s subtle, but it grounds you in the world without thinking about it.
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Breathing is all about effort.
> Climbing, pulling yourself up, pushing something heavy… you hear the strain.
> It makes the body feel real.
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And heartbeat… that one is powerful.
> It doesn’t just tell you the character is stressed, it actually starts affecting you.
> When something is close.
> When you meet a new threat.
> When a chase kicks in…
> You feel the tension building inside yourself.
Audio is one of those things people don’t always notice but remove it and everything collapses.
Mute a horror scene.
Mute something epic.
Even a love scene.
… and the magic is gone.
For me, audio is easily half of the experience ♥️
#SoundDesign #GameAudio #Immersion