Alex Previty, a sound design lead who worked on God of War: Ragnarok, revealed that they used their baby’s heartbeat while still in the womb to create the eerie noises made when players visit The Spark of the World.
The news comes from X/Twitter, where one user uploaded a clip of them playing Ragnarok and explained how they love the noises made when they visit this area. Shortly after that tweet was published, Previty explained how the noise the studio used for The Spark of the World was their daughter’s heartbeat while she was still in the womb. And it was recorded using a “3.5mm output of a baby doppler.”
This is one of my favorite sounds I made for the game! The heartbeat sound is actually my daughter’s heartbeat while she was still in the womb – I recorded it via the 3.5mm output of a baby doppler. The longer tonal elements are from a children’s choir warming up in a gymnasium! https://t.co/9PV8iPpzhP
— Alex Previty (@alexprevity) December 27, 2023
It’s also worth pointing out that the noise players hear isn’t just a baby’s heartbeat. As a matter of fact, in addition to hearing that, there’s also an edited kids’ choir playing on top. In that same tweet, they explain that “the longer tonal elements are from a children’s choir warming up in a gymnasium.”
In a follow-up tweet, Previty gave more insight into how the sound effect was made by sharing how the noises sounded before and after the effects were implemented. To help capture the right sound, Previty revealed they had slowed down the baby’s heartbeat to help get the pacing right and to make it sound larger.
For more PlayStation-related news, check out our story detailing the free PlayStation Plus games for January 2024.
