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View Full Version : Pwem Pwem! Sound Effects and Background Music



Hiest, monkey
2010-05-24, 06:48 PM
I recently decided to re-launch my rpg group in a vain attempt to feed the demon of role-playing which resides in my otherwise untainted mind. However, I came across the roadblock that inhibits every campaign, without a sensory experience, role-playing is somewhat hampered.

After scouring various video games I had on my hard drive for precious sound effects, I concluded that I do not in fact have enough sound effects to create a universal playlist: one encompassing both gunfire and dramatic rain, along with the slosh of car tires, sunny sounding birds, the chatter of passersby, random pedestrian footsteps and the like.

I was wondering if anyone on the interweb could help me by linking me to sound effects and background noise, I dunno, maybe you made a project in college or something. Specifically I need:

The sound of pouring rain
The sound of pouring rain with thunder
The muted sound of pouring rain (as though in a building)
The sounds of muffled conversation
The sounds of footsteps of numerous passersby on a city street
The sounds of distant rattling gunfire ( a la "Call of Duty")
The sounds of cars honking
The sound of a crowded club: muffled screams and dancing footsteps
The sounds of a subway car rolling through the station.
The sounds of a whining air conditioning system in an office building

If you know where I can get these sounds, or know a link that would be AWESOME, but please don't go out of your way to get these to me.

Thanks a lot!

Dr Bwaa
2010-05-24, 06:54 PM
These (http://www.mediacollege.com/downloads/sound-effects/weather/) should (http://www.mediacollege.com/downloads/sound-effects/city/) help (http://www.freesound.org/index.php).

EDIT: most of the above only have fairly short-duration stuff. If you have any mixing experience some of it makes for decent mixing for longer things, if that's what you're after.

Hiest, monkey
2010-05-24, 06:56 PM
That's incredibly helpful! Thanks!

Shademan
2010-05-24, 07:05 PM
http://www.rainymood.com/
best played in conjunction with this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMnrl0tmd3k&playnext_from=TL&videos=w90AZn9k21c

oooooh~yeah

Mugiwara Luffy
2010-05-24, 07:31 PM
this program itīs great (http://www.vectormediasoftware.com/atmdeluxehome.htm)

Dr.Epic
2010-05-24, 07:33 PM
I don't really understand why you need sound effects. I mean, if you're using it to illustrate a weird fantasy sound like a wizard casting a spell or the roar of a demon then yeah sure use it. But for something like rain? We all know what rain sounds like. It seems like it would be a distraction for players.

Hiest, monkey
2010-05-24, 08:08 PM
Thanks a lot to everyone that contributed, I'm gonna start mixing tomorrow. If anything good comes out of it I'll post that.


I don't really understand why you need sound effects. I mean, if you're using it to illustrate a weird fantasy sound like a wizard casting a spell or the roar of a demon then yeah sure use it. But for something like rain? We all know what rain sounds like. It seems like it would be a distraction for players.

There's a huge difference between "you hear a bustling city street" and listening to a city street outside the gaming room window. Same goes for rain. Sound can add an incredible amount of texture that would otherwise be added by a half-hour monologue concerning the raindrops and their symphony on the sidewalk.

Backgrounds of footsteps and traffic make cities seem less like malls filled with guns, monsters, and guys with big yellow exclamation marks over their heads, and more like, well, cities.

While I see why it could be a distraction for some, if I leave the sound effects in the background, quietly filling the room, it's surely less of a distraction than the cat that purrs in the next room which the rain would drown out.

Constantly clicking new sounds, or looping a 15 second clip, which contains a sound that the players laugh at every time can be distracting, but I've found that when it rains and I talk about a dreary rainy journey, forced marches happen a lot less.

To each his/her own.

onthetown
2010-05-25, 07:19 AM
Listening to those two tracks... the rain and the jazz.... It's incredible how well they fit together. :smalleek: