This Sound Designer Used His In-Womb Daughter's Heartbeat for God of War Ragnarök

If there's one lesson we've learned over the years, it's that Sound Designers really are an imaginative bunch, often pushing creativity to its limits and utilizing sources most people wouldn't even think of to craft remarkable soundscapes for their video games.

A recent case in point comes from PlayStation's Senior Sound Designer Alex Previty, who shared insights into how the sound effects for the Spark of the World part of God of War: Ragnarök were created. As it turned out, the subtle heartbeat the player hears during this section was made using an actual heartbeat of Alex's daughter while she was still in the womb, captured through the 3.5mm output of a baby doppler, a specialized device for monitoring fetal heartbeats.

Furthermore, the creator disclosed that the ethereal echoing sound accompanying the heartbeat was set up from a recording of a children's choir in a gymnasium, captured while they were warming up. Both sounds were then slowed down and edited to achieve the emotional final soundtrack featured in the game.

Previously, PlayStation Studios Foley Artist Joanna Fang also demonstrated how some of the sounds in God of War Ragnarök were made, showing how horse hooves were recreated using two toilet plungers, broken bones were mimicked with manicotti, and more.

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