Audio Games
Sound In Games
With the new generation of consoles coming out, it seems like there is a big debate about new technology, blue ray capability, processing power, etc. But who is pushing the audio envelope? How many people can tell you if their favorite game can support 5.1 surround or more? Can most games even do more than stereo? The only game in recent memory that I remember talking about audio in an interview was Doom III. In the article the interviewee mentioned how you could hear things sneaking up on you in the game. My basic point is that sound can make or break a game.
Rewind about 10 years ago; Diablo just came out. Aside from all the things that Diablo did great, (random map generator, different playable characters, customizability) the sound made that game plain scary. If anyone wants to dust off their old disk, turn the lights off and play it late at night with the volume up. Afterwards, turn the sound off and play it again. Not quite the same experience; the background score was superb and tied all of the other elements of the game together.
God of War also had excellent audio. The background score wasn?t inspired although it was extremely fitting to the feel of the game. The voice actors probably won?t win any awards, except for Kratos who just plain sounded badass. However, the sound effects implemented in the combat system were well done. Not only did you get to actually rip zombies in half and stab Cyclopes, but you also heard all the bone crushing hits and gory details. This added to the primal satisfaction of the game that all the animated details couldn?t accomplish.
I think that sound is a great part of any media, and the amount of money that goes into audio for any media, film, TV, or games increases the marketability. Specifically in video games which try and make it?s own interactive universe, sound can help draw all the other elements of the game together to really engross the player.
With the new generation of consoles coming out, it seems like there is a big debate about new technology, blue ray capability, processing power, etc. But who is pushing the audio envelope? How many people can tell you if their favorite game can support 5.1 surround or more? Can most games even do more than stereo? The only game in recent memory that I remember talking about audio in an interview was Doom III. In the article the interviewee mentioned how you could hear things sneaking up on you in the game. My basic point is that sound can make or break a game.
Rewind about 10 years ago; Diablo just came out. Aside from all the things that Diablo did great, (random map generator, different playable characters, customizability) the sound made that game plain scary. If anyone wants to dust off their old disk, turn the lights off and play it late at night with the volume up. Afterwards, turn the sound off and play it again. Not quite the same experience; the background score was superb and tied all of the other elements of the game together.
God of War also had excellent audio. The background score wasn?t inspired although it was extremely fitting to the feel of the game. The voice actors probably won?t win any awards, except for Kratos who just plain sounded badass. However, the sound effects implemented in the combat system were well done. Not only did you get to actually rip zombies in half and stab Cyclopes, but you also heard all the bone crushing hits and gory details. This added to the primal satisfaction of the game that all the animated details couldn?t accomplish.
I think that sound is a great part of any media, and the amount of money that goes into audio for any media, film, TV, or games increases the marketability. Specifically in video games which try and make it?s own interactive universe, sound can help draw all the other elements of the game together to really engross the player.
Note: views and opinions expressed in this article are the author's and are not necessarily those of Wolverine Soft.
Written by Vishnu Desaraju about 4 years ago
Edited by Mitchell Bloch about 4 years ago