I can’t say I've ever played a game without the sound, for me it’s a key element that makes
a game truly immersible. A lot of the
time you can overlook the importants of the sound in games but essentially they
are like the icing on top of a cake.
Upon
researching sound in games, I came across Sander
Huiberts and Richard Van Tol from GamaSutra.com and how they define what sound is used for in games
and they broke it down into four parts
Zone, Effect, Affect and Interface.
Zone Refers
to environmental sound, these sounds are diegetic and set the game ambience.
Effect refers
to diegetic sounds during gameplay that are produced: i.e. footsteps, gunshots,
explosions. These sounds can be on or off screen.
Affect refers
to non-diegetic sounds that set the mood of the game, these range from
orchestral music to moody low tones
Interface refers
to non-diegetic sounds these can be menu sounds or sounds related to the
HUD, the main use of these sounds is to convey information that
isn't setting the mood.
The sounds
that occur when the source of the sound isn’t in sight are a personal favourite
of mine. Sounds like thudding footsteps or shrieks in horror games get the players
adrenaline pumping to whatever it is that lies ahead.
F.E.A.R
utilizes effect and affect sounds well to create a horror atmosphere with
things like heartbeat, footsteps, and tonal background sounds. Here is a video
that illustrates this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGE6GYiNENA
Removing
elements like this from a game makes the game become less personal, as if
you’re an empty shell playing for the sake of filling time. Having sounds
heightens the senses making you pay attention and really get involved in
gameplay, improving the overall experience.
Even games
like Fifa that are possible to play without sound still feels unnatural when
you can’t hear the roaring crowd or commentator giving his opinions.
Another good example is GTA vice city. In the game
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the developers licensed a lot of music tracks for
the games in built radio stations. While this will have cost a lot for the
developers, it will add an entire new level of immersion to it. Memories that
players associate with the game, and most of the franchise, are centred on the
soundtrack. People will remember certain parts of the game where certain songs
were playing because they link in with it. And also, the music playing in the
background will set the feel. For example, Vice City is set in the 80’s, with
all the music on the radio’s being from the 80’s too. This all goes together to
add to the cultural feel of the game.
Lately I have been playing the reboot of Capcom’s devil may cry and I was impressed with the soundtracks that they had put with the hack and slash gameplay. Even though dub step is an abomination to society, the dub step style tracks used for boss fights fitted the moody, adolescent attitude of the main protagonist Dante, which I felt complimented the story and gameplay.Heavy metal soundtracks were also used which complimented the whole hellish, devil slaying aspect. All of the music was done by DJs Nosia and band Combichrist. Even though on their own the songs aren’t my cup of tea, when applied in the context of the game they spur you on to smash hordes of demons
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