APOCALYPSE
Gameplay Highlight
Introduction
Goal: create a full gameplay experience for one level with inspiration from The last of us.
My responsibility: Create, integrate and program sounds and their functions, focusing especially on player emersion. I took ownership of all audio, from creation to the final in game experience.
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Level Designer & co creator: Frans Alexandersson
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Programs: Unreal Engine 5, FMOD Studio, REAPER & Git Hub
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≈ 200h of work
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Focus: Blueprints & Technical sound design
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​all audio is created & implemented by me
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Rain throughout the experience
In Engine Wind
How It Works
Wind and wind related spatialized sounds (like rustling trees or crashing waves) should mach dynamically. using this system I can control two global FMOD wind parameters and use them in each wind sound.
​​​Parameters:
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​​​Wind_AMT for overall wind intensity and movement, slower seek speed​
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Wind_Gust for a quick burst of extra wind, fast seek speed
The Process:
1.
I moved to the next part and made Wind_Gust by going through the same process but tailored to the new context.
2.
I created a proof of concept where the Wind_AMT parameter varied slightly from its previous value.
3.
​Then I refined it by adding randomised timing between changes, failsafe's and other details that felt needed for more realism. ​
Making sure to test edit and iterate on the system accordingly throughout the process.
Player Movement
Materials & Water Deapth
we limited movement to walking, crouching, and running. Footsteps use line traces on animation frames to detect surface materials. For walking in water, depth is calculated from water height vs. foot position, adjusting an FMOD parameter for sound and effect Fluctuation.
Wet Condition
I wanted the character to sound wet after walking through water. I added a ''wet'' timer that starts when leaving the water. Entering deeper water gives a longer “wet” duration.
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Its a simple system, but with a lot of potential. certain depths could affect gear like dripping backpacks or clogged weapons.
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A feature I would like to add: more dynamic fade-out for the wet footstep sounds dependent on how long the player stays wet.
Object Sweetener's
Inspired by The Last of Us, I made nearby objects react to player footsteps. Lockers rattle when the player walks close using invisible collision boxes to trigger random rattles on each footstep.
This could easily and effectively be expanded to other objects and sounds.
Gameplay Regions
Gameplay Areas
This experience spans 13 indoor environments of varying sizes. Including two multi-room buildings and smaller spaces like containers and sewage pipes. It also features three distinct outdoor areas: a forest, beach, and shipyard.
FMOD Aria Triggering
By using command instruments in FMOD, I can control every area of the experience through a single parameter. This allows seamless transitions between any two areas without triggering the sounds of other areas in between. The system is infinitely scalable.
Mixing
FMOD Snapshot's
Each indoor room required distinct soundscapes and reverbs/echos, using Audio volumes and FMOD snapshots I can quickly add, iterate and test the mix of each room as well as their transitions.
Limiting Active Voice's
Rain is constant in the level, demanding spatialized rain sounds on various materials which gives a strong contrast in feel between indoor and outdoor gameplay. This also meant we had to closely balance level decoration and audio workload.
Most ambiances are placed in the world. causing overlapping sounds especially the rain material sounds. Limiting active sounds is key to performance. I adressed this by only playing sounds when needed, using trigger regions, instance limits and priorities.
Technical Sounds
Barrel Trap
Traps can be shot to drop barrels on zombies. When activated, barrels become movable, with rain and rolling sounds that follow them. The rolling sound's vary by velocity. An impact sound is also triggered when the barrel collides with the player or other objects.
Water Wave's
I wanted the waves to have a clear direction from the sea, but since the sea comes from multiple directions, that’s tricky. One option is using many spatialized sounds around the shore. But that could sound odd and unsynchronised. instead I opted to have a sound that follows the player using a spline. Thereby also reducing the active voices drastically. The arrow's show where the sound is.
