The aesthetic is a cold winter night, filled with danger and suspense. A very notable flag waiving in the cold night sky lets you know the Communist party is ever present in their glory. This sound attenuates as you walk toward or away from the monument that is flanked by two flags of the Communist Party. The backgrounds chosen are more reminiscent of train station activity rather than a desolate winter night as the visuals enhance. This is to offer further immersion into this world without power outages, bombing raids or curfews. This contrast to a country that never had to worry about the taking of Stalingrad or subversive activity because the war has been on their side enough so that there has been no issue of attack. I wanted the player to feel as though they're not going at this alone in some distant base, but a bustling metropolis and lively streets just around the corner or behind a wall. Once you are away from the open space and head down a hallway, the sound of people becomes less apparent and is also an audible cue that danger is lurking right around the next bend. The purpose is then, instead of adding to the ambiance with stingers, to keep it so minimal and intimate that no last gasp of air or piercing of flesh or broken bones would ever be masked by any other sound. It's just you and the victim in front of you. The purpose is to get inside the player's head, to introduce them to the reality of what it is to take a life, to offer them an experience into what it would actually be like to extinguish someone's life force.
Some doors are locked. Locked doors get a shake. The shake occurs when you simply walk up to it so that the player does not get finger fatigue from checking doors that they cannot open. Finger and ear fatigue are my number one complaints (yes, they're a twofor) and to have a game play arcady, experience rich game is what drives me to play religiously. If I feel as though I'm offered an experience I believe in that doesn't punish me with boring/tedious game antics is one that gets my vote. The ammo sounds I picked sound less like weapons and more like tools. This is done to make the player understand that this is a job and it needs to get done. Picking up tools gives a sense that the player is about to build something: a better future, one that doesn't have Stalin in it.
In this alternate timeline, the Russians have stolen technology from Germany and thanks to a thriving war economy has built transporter beams and fast troop deployment platforms that allow the shock troops to quickly gain personnel aerial advantage against an enemy force. The quick "swoosh" of these platforms are usually the last thing a German squad hears. Since Russian voltage is unregulated by safety standards and has a high throughput, the electrical sounds are heavy humming behemoths when up close.
Video 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAdJkoM_0zk&feature=youtu.be
Video 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojfFhhU1r3o&feature=youtu.be
