God of War: Ragnarök Developer Reveals How He Used a Real Fetal Heartbeat to Create The Game’s Soundscape.
By now, we all know the game series, God of War, more recently titled in its latest addition as God of War: Ragnarök, following the iconic character, Kratos, as he and his son discover their destiny while battling it out with all manner of Nordic mythological creatures although this was a well round off to the Norse era for the game.
Sadly, there are no DLCs. Regardless, God of War: Ragnarök still remains a popular topic of discussion. However, the topic of interest is the soundscape of the game. The sounds set the tone for the game and add ambiance to cutscenes. A developer of the game God of War: Ragnarök, Alex Previty, PlayStation Senior Sound Designer, has revealed during a post that the game’s more subtle sound effects are, in fact, the sound of his daughter’s heartbeat from when she was in the womb.
As described without spoiling, this sound comes into play when Kratos happens to be looking around his environment while a strangely echoing sound plays out around him. A clear heartbeat can be heard underneath everything else, which adds a visceral sound effect.
Admitting during a post on Twitter, Previty proudly revealed that the sound was that of his daughter’s heartbeat while she was still in the womb. Now, you would probably be wondering how he managed to capture the sound so well; He did it using a Doppler – a handheld device used to monitor a baby’s heart rate, usually from about 10 -12 weeks of pregnancy.
Regarding the rest of the sound use, it was also confirmed that the rest was recorded by a children’s choir during their warm-ups. Both were used at a dramatically slowed pace. Within his follow-up post, Previty demonstrated the original sound and the work that was done to achieve the final sound effects.
Overall, Previty’s tweet gives players an interesting view behind the sound design of God of War: Ragnarök itself. Finding and using sounds and then editing those sounds into somber moods or feelings, along with music, can influence the outcomes of games. Just goes to show what people can do when given a chance; the latest iconic god’s title happens to have a long history with the Greek mythology branching into Nordic while leaving fans with bated breath for the other realms of mythology yet to come.
