LCL

Hi LCL,

Sorry to jump in on your blog, but I wanted to ask you a question about the example spreadsheet ...

In most of the games I've played I would have expected the duration of the FX files for footsteps to be quite small (e.g. single footsteps) that were repeated so the sound could start and stop according to the on-screen action and input of the player.

The only time I've encountered the need to create long FX sequences is in my work on Film soundtracks when I've had to create ambiences for scenes.

Are the "Human Footsteps" FX listed in the spreadsheet for actual gameplay or are they for cutscenes (just wondering why they're listed as 2 minutes in duration)?

Excellent document btw. I'm sure it will be very useful during production.

Cheers,

Malcolm.
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Response:
5point,

Good catch, it is a mistake kind of, but let me justify it in some way. (other than the oversight)

Originally I had wanted to use a single sound file and randomize the start time of the file when triggered to introduce diversity.
Turns out file start randomization isn't all it's cracked up to be. (currently experimental/ dysfunctional in OpenAL)

So, the 2min sample will be cut down into several single footstep samples for a single intensity level. (Split off into randomized lists of L/R footsteps that will get shuffled together through coding)

The footsteps will then get grouped together by priority and randomly selected to play when an entity is selected and moved. (for this example lets assume a single entity)
Factor in a little volume/pitch randomization and you’ve got a recipe for diversity!

This should cut down on some of the monotony of the sound of stepping.
Can you imagine a world where everyone only has 2 footstep sounds...L + R?

Thanks for looking over my progress...I'm still feeling my way through a lot of this, your extra set of eyes is much appreciated.

LCL