Just a quick update – I’ve been experimenting with using sound cues in levels to startle the player and keep them on edge and adding to what they may anticipate. I’ve been prototyping some scenes, and placing down a trigger such as this:
What happens here, is that when the player walks through that red box (Which isn’t visible in-game), it plays a sound file of a creature screeching. I set up an example level with 3 of these sound triggers throughout, set up some screen capture software, and let someone walk through the level to record their reaction. The video is available here:
As can be seen in the video, the first time the sound plays, the player is terrified – They start looking around in a panicked state, and then start picking up their pace. The second time triggers a similar response, however by the third time the reaction is diminished as they realise no physical events are occurring, just sound cues. In my levels, I’ll need to be careful not to overdo sound triggers, to prevent them losing their effect.