Views: 8
Watch it below!
Tools Used: Reaper, Kontakt (Edward Ultimate Suite), iZotope RX / Plugins, Zoom F3 + RODE NTG2
Key Focus: Frame-accurate Foley sync, character-specific movement layers (silk vs. armor), and multi-tiered combat impact design.
Redesign completely replaces all original game audio, including ambient beds, character foley, weapon swings, and impact layers. Headphones are recommended for playback.
This linear sound redesign for Assassin’s Creed Shadows aims to focus on agile player movement, crisp combat transients, and realistic spatial environments. All original audio was completely stripped and rebuilt in Reaper.
Technical Breakdown by Stem
1. Player Foley & Movement (Naoe)
- Ledge Takeoff & Landing: Constructed a subtle jump sequence starting with a wooden creak and push-off scuff, with an airborne cloth whip and a sharp stealth breath exertion. The landing combines a sub-thud (60 Hz – 100 Hz) with stone/dirt contact, followed by silk rustles and armor settling sounds staggered to sell her weight absorbing into a crouch.
-
Locomotion: Separated clothing movement onto dedicated tracks (
Silk_Clothing;Armor_Gear) to give the stealth outfit physical weight. Footsteps were aligned to picture frame-by-frame using Kontakt (Edward Suite), maintaining distinct acoustic responses across stone, dirt, and wood. These were bounced to audio, processed slightly, and then re-aligned to the picture. - Chains: As Naoe’s weapon heavily features a chain, and features throughout most movements in the clip, I decided to take some chains I had as an accessory for my jeans and record them using my Zoom F3 and RODE NTG2 setup. Most of the sounds in this redesign are from CC0 sample libraries, with others from Kontakt, so I wanted to try and include at least 1 self-recorded element in the clip. The recordings were cleaned using iZotope RX De-Noise, De-Click, etc. and then blended in over the Armor/Cloth/Footsteps.
2. Combat, Gore & Impact
- Blade Work: High-frequency blade swings and chain whips tuned to cut through the mix with immediate transient clarity. Whilst the weapon itself is actually a “Kusarigama” (something I only found out… well, now, actually… Good ‘ol Google)., I took some inspiration from the Chinese Kirin Whips after seeing some cool videos of people cracking them. That’s the kind of impact I wanted in the sound.
- Assassination Kill: Multi-layered impact combining sharp metal penetration, wet gore textures, and a heavy bodyfall onto stone/dirt. The male enemy’s grunts are actually me too!
3. Ambience & Environment
- Stereo Bed: Subtle exterior atmosphere (Japanese courtyard wind, distant crowd noise, bamboo rustling in the breeze, some birds) widened to leave room in the center for movement foley.
- Dynamic Management: Sidechained to duck ambience beds during high-transient combat hits.
Leave a Reply