Thread by @thebeauanthony

#TheLastOfUsPartII’s Shambler Sound Design Thread!

A summary outlining my journey concocting the sounds of the Shambler.
(01/25)

The Shambler was an exciting endeavor, as it was a completely new Infected type in #TheLastOfUsPartII, which gave me the creative freedom to make a fresh, new imprint on the Last of Us universe.
(02/25)

Early in the production phase, I absorbed all of the lore, concept art, design prototypes and motion capture animations I could to get a full picture of exactly what I was dealing with.
(03/25)

After some digesting, I hit the lab!
I began recording sounds that could capture the essence of this bizarre, sickly looking Infected type.
(04/25)

[ The Clicks and Bark ]
All latter-stage Infected are blind, and the Shambler is no different. This meant that unique clicks would need to be created to differentiate it from other Infected types.
(05/25)

Using a microphone that captures ultrasonic frequencies, I propagated palatal clicks through a vinyl tube into a padded bucket. Sticking the mic in the bucket gave the sound a tubby quality while the transient clicks (inherently a full-frequency burst of sound) ...
(06/25)

... retained their high-end presence when the recording was pitched down. This source, with processing, gave a fresh, unique interpretation of what an Infected click could sound like in this universe and was perfect for the guttural & gross sound of the Shambler.
(07/25)

The clicks were a critical element to the Bark.

Another main ingredient of the bark is a strange sound I do with my mouth and cheek. I recorded it, slowed it down immensely, and layered it with sporadic clicks. This mixture became the meat of the Shambler Bark.
(08/25)

[ Explode Attack ]
The Shambler's AOE Explode attack is a unique concept that needed some serious sound love.
(09/25)

Because the attack is coming from a messy, organic entity, I imagined there would be a couple 'pre-fire pops' before the big explosion, so I collaborated with the particle fx team to make that a reality.

After some back & forth, we created the pre-fire you see in-game!
(10/25)

The sound of these zitty bursts were made mostly from grapefruits and other various gore source. The base of the main explosion was a CO2 canister blowing up a life jacket. It had a beautiful, high-amplitude release of sound that had lovely movement.
(11/25)

This base needed some texture to reinforce the grotesque visuals of the Shambler’s pustule pops.
(12/25)

For that, I took a bellows, filled it with milky oatmeal and blew it out, creating a nasty sound that melded with the air burst, creating an organic, explosive sound that stayed true to the aesthetic of the character.
(13/25)

This explosion creates a persistent acid cloud that damages the player over time.
The most integral and interesting part of the cloud's sound is a recording of ice being warmed by room-temp water.
(14/25)

When close-mic'd, these quiet, crackling sounds have all sorts of outlandish detail that evoke sickly squeamishness.

The sizzle is created from water boiling on a piping hot pan and dripping water on a pilot light. (Don't try this at home!😶)
(15/25)

[ Vocal ]
Alas, the vocal element!

A sound designer's own voice is one of the most important tools for creature sound design. We're able to perform a host of emotive sounds on a dime to get an exact sound dwelling in our heads.
(16/25)

Most of the more creature-y & inhuman sounds of the Shambler was my pathetic, wheezy old-man voice with various wet, mouth sounds.

It sounded terrifying: breathy & phlegm-y, with a strong focus on the fact that it was a more pathetic, shambling evolution of the Clicker.
(17/25)

I added these intermittent brutal-sounding chokes and coughs that added a jarring, percussive element to his non-combat states. It also reinforced the fiction that the Shambler’s respiratory passages are probably blocked up with all sorts of waste and fungi! 🤢
(18/25)

But this wasn't enough!

It sounded like an interesting creature, but didn't sound like there was a tortured human under all that crust and sickness.

So we casted two stellar voice actors to help drive home the Shambler’s vocal: Raul Ceballos and Steve Blum.
(19/25)

Raul produced vocals that incited strain, pain, and raw human agony. He also had a unique, fluttery inhale that almost sounded like a pigeon from hell, which worked wonders as it sounded immensely natural, yet somewhat alien and unnerving.
(20/25)

Steve produced sickly grunts and snorts with stomach-turning vocalizations that helped glue the Shambler together.
(21/25)

Recording these talented VAs and integrating them into the sound design cemented the Shambler’s humanity and made it a credible addition to the Last of Us' sonic signature.
(22/25)

Thank you for reading and being interested in the mysterious world of sound! I wanted to shout-out our Shambler VAs, Raul (@RaulCeballosVO) and Steve (@blumspew) as well as my leads and directors, Rob (@robkrekel), Neil (@Neil_Druckmann), Anthony (@BadData_) ...
(23/25)

... and Kurt (@kurtmargenau), who pushed me in the right path with a lot of these sounds. Also to fellow game designers Andrew Frost (@crookedspin_), Matthew Gallant (@Gangles) and particle fx artist MJ Whiting (@maryjanewhiting) with whom I worked very closely ...
(24/25)

... with to get the Shambler to sound true to the pixels. And thanks to Mike (@Niederquell) who provided the stunning Shambler photos for this thread! 🙌
(25/25)