This project was challenging, but very fun. It was great to get to work more with Unreal and Wwise and learn how to mesh the two together in order to integrate audio. My approach with this project was to first identify specific features that needed sound design: the footsteps, the guns, the environment. The closer you look, the more details you find. From there I created foley for certain effects such as the footsteps, and pulled sounds for other effects like the gunshots. Additionally, I stacked and manipulated various sounds in order to create unique designs for aspects like the teleporter.

I spent time working on small little details in order to enhance the experience for the player. One of these would be the gunshots. As the ammo in the player’s magazine decreases with each shot, a trigger effect is heard, until ultimately a dry fire sound happens when the player inevitably runs out of ammo. Small cues like this subtly help players recognize features in the game without even realizing it themselves.

Another one of my favorite details would have to be the environment. The map itself is made up of glass and concrete. When a player shoots the concrete, a generic bullet impact is heard. But when the player shoots glass, a distinct glass cracking is heard instead.

One of the last things I needed to add was the emote. Not a particular necessary design, but one I enjoyed creating and implementing.

I utilized features such as random container and randomizer in order to not make the sound design repetitive. The random container allows for a random sound cue to be picked when its actor is triggered. This feature allows for different footstep cues to be played and not just the same one over and over again. Additionally, using the randomizer, certain aspects such as pitch can be randomized each time an effect is triggered. This is another factor to prevent repetition in the sound design.

Linear Design Project: Doom Eternal

Sound Design for Doom Eternal Gameplay trailer. Pulled and foley sounds. Created in Logic Pro.

When approaching this design, I first went over what popped out to me upon my first viewing. The intricacies of all the weapons, the glow of different objects, and the overall hellish environment presented. But before I could tackle any of those aspects, I started simple. I built up the environment with the howling winds, fire and lava in the distance, and lighting storms in the sky. Using an instrument plugin, I created the harsh melody that first appears when the Doom Guy views the skyline for the first time.

From there, I grabbed my portable recorder and went to work. I stomped around in my basement to match the footsteps of the Doom Guy. I sharpened knives until I got the perfect sound for the blade. And I spent some time pedaling my bicycle until I got the chain sound for the grappling hook aspect of the shotgun.

One of my favorite moments is towards the end, when Doom Guy performs a critical kill on an enemy. I wanted to enhance the visuals of the character pulsing. To do so, I ducked out the atmospheric sounds and included a rising heartbeat. This in my mind, emphasized the moment and accompanied the visual cue, letting players know that the enemy was able to be critically killed.