What do God of War and Journey share?

"The gates and grates opening and closing are made from the same bits I used in God of War III, trying to be gentler and more elegant," writes Steve Johnson, the audio designer for Thatgamecompany's Journey. "Most of the sand sounds were recorded in my room at Sony, in a low 3' x 3' cardboard box filled with dirty sand I got from Venice Beach," he writes, while sharing that "All of the player's main robe movement sounds are from a military jacket that got me through Chicago winters -- a gift from a girlfriend." Sound, for Johnson, is a personal thing. He worked with creative director Jenova Chen and team to create the soundscape for the acclaimed and atmospheric indie game, and in a new Gamasutra feature, he reveals his secrets -- complete with isolated samples of many of the game's effects. "Most of the sounds were hooked into the game by TGC president / creative director Jenova Chen himself," Johnson writes. "To show him where the different surround ambiences and reverbs should go, I took overhead screengrabs of each level in Maya, highlighted each specific area, and labeled them with which ambience to play and which reverb to use." While Johnson removes some of the mystery behind the game -- revealing, for example, that the sound of frozen cloth in the game came from crunching Cheetos and other snacks -- his article's an invaluable resource for audio designers who want to create an ambient experience, and it's live now on Gamasutra.