Foley Sound Design

Foley sound design is using a series of physical objects to create various sound effects, this is where we do not use any electronically generated sound. I have a great understanding of Foley sound design after watching a series of videos about the method and I have been able to use the knowledge gathered to create a detailed sound plan detailing the sound effects I need to create and what items I will be using to create the sound effects. Foley design is for creating organic and realistic sound effects that can be used in movies, TV shows and games. It is important to use Foley sound design because you get a realistic and life-like sound effect compared to a computer generated sound effect, this is beneficial when you want to create a detailed sound effect. Foley sound is produced by experimenting with a series of objects and deciding what combination of objects are best suited for a certain desired sound.  

Sound design - Key words

Pace / Rhythm

Crescendo - louder

Diminuendo - quieter 

Accelerando - faster

Ritardando - slower

Examples:

Sonic drowning - gets faster creates panic 

Crazy taxi - one pace to speed up the players adrenaline, dictates play style

Mood / Tone

Mood can change in game e.g. sad to happy etc 

Tone is usually consistent e.g. Motif, Scene

Timbre - how it makes you feel

Major - happy

Minor - sad

Soundscape - all sounds together e.g. footsteps, talking, soundtrack

Examples:

Sonic - coin collection major, Coin loss minor

Pokémon - battle music changes to minor 

Diegetic / Non-Diegetic

Any noise created inside world = Diegetic (Footsteps, talking, object sounds) (GTA radio included)

Any added sound not from world = Non-Diegetic (Added Music) 

More fear or realism if no music added over a segment of gameplay or cutscene

Examples:

Resident Evil 7 - Diegetic walking, talking etc 

Spyro - about escapism so uses Non-Diegetic sound 

Fidelity/lack of fidelity

Does the sound / audio match what we see on screen e.g. If a gun is fired, a loud bang is expected to be heard this is fidelity

Parallel / contrapuntal

Does the sound match the feeling of the scene eg sad scene = sad music

Examples:

IT - Parallel

Marley & Me - Parallel

Five Nights At Freddie's - contrapuntal

American Psycho - Contrapuntal

Reservoir Dogs - Contrapuntal 

Audio Adjustment - Distance volume

Audio Adjustment - Distance Construct 3

After doing some research I came across two sources explaining how to program positioned, distanced audio into Construct 3. The first source was a Construct 3 forum page that explained “how to use the audio position parameters correctly in relation to an object distance from the listener point” (Construct 3, 2021).This went through the steps that were needed to be carried out in order to correctly use and program in positioned audio based upon the distance away from an audio source. The forum explained how I can add an emitter source to the layout and apply positioned audio functions to each source and apply different Inner and Outer angles as well as a Roll-off factor that ensures the audio decreases as the player moves away from the object. This research was very helpful in building up my knowledge on implementing distance variable audio to Bob The Blob. The next source I looked at was a demo in Construct 3 that featured a simple demonstration of the code needed to implement the distance effect to the game, “It makes a sound that changes its volume with distance” (How to construct demos, 2023). What I took away from the .c3p file was that you can implement a system that determines the position of the player and chooses the appropriate audio source. In this example it was a speaker. This can be achieved by using a global variable that records the position of the player and then compares the audio sources to allow it to pick the closest object, at which point the audio will play. As the player moves closer the audio volume will increase, this is achieved by using a secondary audio file at a higher volume. I have decided to use the second research source as I believe that this practical demonstration will help me effectively implement this feature better than the vague explanation on the Construct forum. An example of the implemented audio adjustments will be available in the experimentation tab.

Bibliography

Construct 3 Forum. (2021) [SOLVED] DECREASE SOUND RELATIVELY TO OBJECT POSITION [Website]. Available from: https://www.construct.net/en/forum/construct-3/how-do-i-8/solved-decrease-sound-169933 [Accessed 6 December 2023].

How to construct demos. (2023) Changing Sound Volume With Distance C2/C3 [Website][Construct 3 File]. Available from: https://howtoconstructdemos.com/changing-sound-volume-with-distance-capx/ [Accessed 6 December 2023].

Internships & Job placement

Rockstar Games - https://www.rockstargames.com/careers/openings/position/4984123003

Although Rockstar Games do not offer an internship they do often look for new to the industry workers and almost no degree is needed to apply for entry level or any level job roles. For example, I found this role for Vehicle Artist at Rockstar North.

London Studio - PlayStation Studios - https://playstationlondonstudio.com/internships-2023-design/

At London Studio they offer an internship program in almost every sector within the industry. I chose to look at the game design internship as this is what I am most interested in. The internship requires minimal understanding of game engines, modelling and other industry standard software. However these skills are not required as you will be learning as you progress through the program. The most desirable characteristics they are looking for are the following:

Insomniac Games - https://insomniac.games/our-future/