As we near closer to Beta I have been busy filling out the rest of the sounds for Behemoth as new abilities and power-ups are added to the game. During our last play-test, there were some requests for “big” sounds like a huge explosion when you fire your “super mega awesome wave” (name pending) which is a special ability that destroys all enemies on the screen. Since this is such a powerful ability, it should have a powerful sound. For the mega wave I compiled several stock sounds to create a rich and huge explosion. Following our somewhat-aquatic design of the Behemoth, I layered some humpback whale calls within the explosion to act as a sort of “war cry”. In addition to that, I added some digital sounds that would mimic a sort of “charging up” before the wave decimates all your foes, followed by a large “whoosh!”.
Another specific sound request we received during playtesting was a more punchy enemy death to make the player feel more powerful when destroying enemies. My previous attempt at an enemy death was rather quiet and unsatisfying, so a redo was added to our sprint plan for this week. The new sound is a huge improvement and has much more meat to it. It’s a combination of an explosion with glass shattering and a machine-like “powering down” noise, and a little something extra. While our concept and design for the enemy ships are not insect-like, I layered the rattling of a cicada underneath the explosion to create a more sinister vibe. It’s rather subtle, but I think it adds more depth to our enemies. The sound of the enemy taking damage will be similar.
My next big goal for this sprint is making the laser sound effect. Our Behemoth has the ability to fire a large blue laser with right click, at the cost of energy you collect from killing enemies. This ability is constant depending on how long the player holds right click and on how much energy they currently have. As of right now, I think what I will need to do is create a seamlessly looping sound so that it can be applied to however long the player uses their laser. Similar to the wave, this is a strong ability that needs a powerful sound to match.
Amanda Cohen 
Hi Amanda!
Great post! Well written and structured, it’s very easy for the reader to grasp what you’re talking about. I am the sound designer for my group as well, so reading about other groups’ sound effects is really cool. I particularly like how you layer sounds that people usually wouldn’t consider, like the whale calls and cicadas, to get a very different effect. It’s very creative!
I would, however, have liked to be able to listen to your sound effects. Maybe uploading them to an audio hosting site like Soundcloud could help? That way, your sounds can accompany your post and the reader can listen to them instead of imagining them themselves. Just a thought.
It would also be nice to know how you go about making the sounds. What programs do you use, for example?
All in all, good read. It’s nice to see other sound designers’ thought process. Very useful for inspiration.
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