How To Do Footstep Sound Effects For Video Games - A Step-by-step Tutorial By Ross Tregenza:

Game audio footstep sound effects tutorial

Posted January 18, 2024 by Asbjoern Andersen in Sound design guides

Footstep sounds can be tricky to get right in games, but sound designer and composer Ross Tregenza (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Deathloop, Cyberpunk 2077) has compiled a great step-by-step, practical guide tutorial on how to make them sound right - from designing the footstep assets, to setting up your middleware or in-game system, creating variations, and essential details to focus on. So pour yourself a cup of coffee, put on some comfy (and great-sounding) slippers and get ready for a footstep deep-dive with Ross Tregenza:

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Video Game Sound Design Tutorial - Footsteps!

Looking for source footstep recordings? Here are some to get you started:

The independent sound community has gathered a vast number of footstep recordings that you can build from, featuring a huge number of surfaces and a large selection of footwear – here are some of the popular footstep sound libraries:

Foley Sound Effects Edward Foleyart Instrument + WAV Bundle Play Track 35600 sounds included $109

Save as Bundle! Edward Foleyart Instrument and both meta tagged WAV Libraries (The Foleyart Collection + AddOn: Extended Footsteps).

Edward brings real recorded and natural randomized Foley Artist footsteps to every audio production studio – and offers high end quality and parameters to adjust distance and environment based on Native Instruments Kontakt engine.
Edward Foleyart Instrument supports the free NI Kontakt 5 Player!

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Footsteps Sound Effects Edward Ultimate SUITE Play Track 72600 sounds included $399

Edward Ultimate SUITE is the Next Level of our live playable Foley Artist Instrument. It supports the free NI Kontakt 6 Player.

This means you don’t need to own a full version of Kontakt to run this instrument!

The Edward Ultimate SUITE includes the complete contents of both Edward Ultimate and Clothes & Props.

Foley Artist: Lara Dale
Foley Recordist: Josh Reinhardt

The Edward Ultimate SUITE demos:

Edward Ultimate:

Clothes & Props:

Key Features:

• 72.600 real Foley sounds in high quality @ 24Bit, 48 kHz
• 90 combinations of shoes and surfaces
• 30 setups of clothes and props
• Kontakt Player Compatible
• Full NKS support
• One-Window Mixing (Use the Mod Wheel to mix/add or switch any two patches)
• Pitch Wheel Performance (Use the Pitch Wheel to change key commands on the fly)
• EdV3rb IRs inside the instrument
• Lock-Mode (Select and lock the type of randomization)

Surface Types
Asphalt • Carpet1 • Carpet2 • Concrete • Creak1 • Creak2 • Diamond • Dirt • Grass • Grate • Gravel • Rectangle Wood • Creaky Wood • Parquet • Cut Wood • Swiss Dock • Boat Wood • Linoleum • Marble • Puddle • Snow • Tile • Metal • Rocks • Water • Deep Water

Footwear type
Sneaker • Boot • Dress • Heel • Flat

Props used
Rifle • Hand Gun • Army Gear • Backpack School • Backpack Leather • Heavy Chains • Dog tags • Duffle Bag • Paper Bags • Plastic Bags • Keys • Purse • Purse Cloth

Clothes Used
Heavy Coat • Coat Wool • Denim • Heavy Denim • Fringe Suade • Fringe • Leather Heavy • Leather Crunch • Leather Biker • Sequin • Shirt • Shirt Light • Shirt Heavy • Silk • Tutu • Wind Breaker

Performances
Extremely Slow Walk • Medium Slow Walk • Walk • Jog • Run • Stairs Slow • Stairs Fast • Stomp • Land • Scuff • Scrape 1 • Scrape 2 • Scrape 3

Recording Equipment:
Sennheiser MKH 416
Neumann KMR 81i

Existing Edward user?

• Send a message here with info about what version you currently have for a special upgrade price

“WINNER OF THE INDIE SOUND AWARDS 2022”

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Foley Sound Effects Footsteps Bundle Play Track 3800+ sounds included
Rated 5.00 out of 5
$36

The ‘Footsteps Bundle’ combines ‘Footsteps One‘ and ‘Footsteps Two‘ libraries together and brings you over 3800+ high quality footstep sounds on 19 unique surfaces to enrich the audio of your next project.

Surfaces included:

Dirt • Dry Sand • Dry Swamp • Forest Plain • Forest Plain II • Frozen Stairs • Grass • Grass Long • Grass Short • Gravel • Pine Needle Ground • Snow Deep • Snow Packed • Snow Scrape • Water Deep • Water Shallow • Wet Swamp • Wood Scrap • Wooden Stairs

You get the sounds in two formats: 96 KHz 24 bit and in 44.1 KHz 16 bit, for more convenient ways of utilizing the sounds in games and other media.

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Footsteps Sound Effects Ultimate Footsteps Play Track 1176-3056+ sounds included
Rated 5.00 out of 5
From: $160

Need footstep sound effects? Get 5 Shoes, 25+ surfaces, 15+ variations – created by Foley Supervisor Joshua Reinhardt and professional Foley walker Lara Dale.

Deep heavy metal, crunchy snow, old boat wood, crisp grass, gritty dirt, clean tile – this library has it all. Not only does this library contain walking but it's got pretty much every performance you can think of, from scuffs to jumps and lands and scrapes. With this library you can cut Foley for pretty much any film or game that comes your way.

Highlights:

• 17 different Performances – From slow walk to RUN, 5 scrapes, bodyfall/land, stomps and more
• Every file is labeled with a description of the shoe, surface and performance type.
• Every folder has a picture of the shoe and surface plus a description of the distance of the mic from the Foley walker.
• Combine wood creak sweeteners with Ultimate Interiors wood for scary creaky wood or add grit to a clean interior to give character.
• Same recording studio mics and preamps used in over 50 major motion pictures
• Same boots that were used for Sylvester Stallone in The Expendable
• Mix and match shoes, surfaces and sweeteners to make your own custom characters
• Can be used as a stereo or separated and mixed/matched as a mono depending which mic works best for your project

Specs:

Foot wear type:
Boots, Dress Shoes, Flats, Heels, Sneakers.

Performances:
Extremely Slow Walk, Medium Slow Walk, Walk, Jog, Run, Stairs Slow, Stairs Fast, Stomp, Land, Scuff, Scrape 1, Scrape 2, Scrape 3, Scrape 4, Scrape 5.

Surface Types:
Asphalt, Carpet 1, Carpet 2, Concrete, Hardwood, Hardwood house, Hardwood deep, Hardwood parquet, Hardwood boat wood, Hardwood Dock, Lino, Marble, Tile, Dirt, Grass, Metal grate, Diamond plate Metal, Metal Slab, Wood Creak 1 old, Wood Creak 2, Gravel, Rocks, SNOW!!, Puddle, Water shallow, Water Deep.

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THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:

A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

Cinematic & Trailer Sound Effects Four Elements Play Track 3050 sounds included, 251 mins total $112.49
Master the Art of Bending the Elemental Forces

Unleash the raw power of fire, water, earth, and air with this comprehensive 9 GB sound library featuring 3050 high-quality sound effects across 630 files. Whether you’re designing cinematic soundscapes or enhancing video games Four Elements delivers the tools you need to harness the energy of the natural world.

Construction Kit – 2443 Sounds

A treasure trove of raw, organic, and processed sounds including seamless loops divided into Fire, Water, Air, Earth and Explosion categories. Customize every detail with an extensive selection of sound components.
- Organic Fire: Campfire sizzles, torch whooshes, and flame bursts.
- Processed Fire: Distorted impacts and unique crackles.
- Organic Earth: Rock crashes, gravel scrapes, and heavy stone hits.
- Processed Earth: Stylized rumbles and granular textures.
- Organic Water: Ocean waves, hydrophone bubbles, and fluid splashes.
- Processed Water: Underwater whooshes and stylized liquid smashes.
- Organic Air: Bamboo swishes, cloth movements, and pressure bursts.
- Processed Air: Filtered gusts and dynamic noise sweeps.
- Explosion: Firework detonations, Butane bursts, and cinematic impacts.
Building Blocks – 416 Sounds

Game-ready sound layers featuring Impacts, Whooshes, and Textures as seamless loops. Elevate transitions and enhance atmospheres with loops and pre-designed sound layers.
- Fire: Explosive bursts, blazing infernos, and warm embers.
- Earth: Ground-shaking impacts, crumbling terrain, and heavy collisions.
- Water: Cascading waves, serene rivers, and underwater ambiences.
- Air: Whispering breezes, stormy turbulence, and slicing gusts.
Design Kit – 192 Sounds

A collection of ready-to-use sound effects divided into Attack, Bend, and Explosion categories for quick integration into your projects. Perfect for high-energy scenes and immersive storytelling.
- Fire: Crackling flames, fiery bursts, and roaring infernos.
- Earth: Crushing impacts, shifting ground, and massive land eruptions.
- Water: Splashes, fluid manipulations, and crashing tidal waves.
- Air: Slicing winds, swirling currents, and thunderous gusts.
Four Elements gives you complete creative control, blending organic recordings with processed sound layers to meet the demands of any project. Master the forces of nature with Four Elements. Let your creativity ignite.

Keywords:

Elements, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Wave, Water, Liquid, Rock, Cast, Stone, Pebble, Torch, Gas, Flame, Campfire, Sizzle, Burst, Scrape, Whoosh, Impact, Texture, Attack, Bend, Bending, Explosion, Processed, Surge, Quake, Hit, Flow, Burn, Ignite, Drop, Smack, Destruction, Rumble, Hiss, Blow, Wind, Cloth, Movement, Underwater, Bubble, Ocean, River, Lake, Firework, Firecracker, Bang, Blast, Detonation, Magic, Fantasy, Forces, Fire Magic, Water Magic, Earth Magic, Fire Air, Fire Effect, Fire Whoosh, Water Whoosh, Seamless Loop, Loop, Fire Cast, Water Cast, Earth Cast, Air Cast
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Materials & Texture Sound Effects Balloon Fun Play Track 385 sounds included $15

This library expands more on the weird sounds you can make with balloons. There are sounds of balloons swirling against each other, weird metallic resonant bounces/impacts, stretching and creaking all recorded at 192kHz for any sound designer to take to the next level. Create some weird rope creaks, or an interesting monster sound with a balloon!

This library also includes some classic balloon sounds such as inflating, deflating and general movement of a balloon bouquet!

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Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:

Mechanical Sound Effects Printing Presses Play Track 78+ sounds included, 104 mins total $75

Printing Presses showcases a variety of high-powered and dynamic mechanical sounds from three massive web-offset newspaper presses operating at high speed. In addition, you’ll hear unique mechanical sounds found inside a newspaper’s plate room and packaging department before and after a press run. Plus, I recorded three letterpresses. Each sound is captured with multiple microphone setups at various locations providing detailed and overall perspectives. Listen to presses increasing in speed, humming along at running speed and then coming to a stop. Sometimes gradually, sometimes suddenly. I’ve also created condensed versions of entire press runs as they can be long, presenting them as ‘sequences.’ In addition, some sounds have been meticulously edited and presented as seamless loops.

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Cinematic & Trailer Sound Effects Blade Sound Pack Play Track 1400 sounds included, 83 mins total $30

1400 meticulously processed stereo blades sound effects recorded in 96 khz and 24 bits for high audio definition.

The collection comes with hundreds of variations and many different weapon types. It also includes raw files for more flexibility for your projets and each asset has a version with and without reverb for more control.

This collection is perfect for any films, video games or trailers.

Recorded weapons: katana, kris knife, khukuri dagger, big and medium kitchen knife and hunting knife.

This sound library includes various type of sounds: blades scraping, single or multiple impacts, whooshes, designed and powerful sword sounds for trailer and cinematic, gore slashing and stabbing, blade sheathing and unsheathing, short and long combat sequences, background sword battle, and more.

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City Life Sound Effects Cambodia Environments Play Track 50 sounds included, 95 mins total $25

Cambodia Environments features more than 1 1/2 hours of diverse ambience – capturing the country’s lively urban centres, coastal communities, dense forests and serene countryside. This collection offers a vivid portrayal of daily life in the country, with an array of traffic, transporation and city market sounds, as well as rural village ambience and tranquil natural soundscapes.

All files are UCS compliant, 24 bit/ 96k and metadata is included (via soundminer), with keywords and detailed markers embedded to quickly locate specific sounds/ regions. Recorded with Usi Pro, Sony PCM-D100 and Wildtronics Stereo microphones.

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Materials & Texture Sound Effects Balloon Fun Play Track 385 sounds included $15

This library expands more on the weird sounds you can make with balloons. There are sounds of balloons swirling against each other, weird metallic resonant bounces/impacts, stretching and creaking all recorded at 192kHz for any sound designer to take to the next level. Create some weird rope creaks, or an interesting monster sound with a balloon!

This library also includes some classic balloon sounds such as inflating, deflating and general movement of a balloon bouquet!

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Car Sound Effects Audi TT 1998 sports car Play Track 241 sounds included, 55 mins total $65

All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1, FEL Clippy XLR EM272 and JrF C-Series Pro+ microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

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