Sound Design

Sound design plays a big part in any game as it helps give the player feedback to what is actually happen on screen. It also helps immerse the player into the experience of the whole game and provides entertainment in the form of interactivity. In films, sound is used to set the mood and suggest what emotion you may feel during a particular scene, this is pretty much the same in games as well. Soundtracks are used to express onscreen emotion and it can also identify the era and setting that you are viewing. Immersion is probably one of the main reasons for game audio as it helps create a more believable setting and can mask the sounds from the outside world. It can draw you in and conceal the outside world. If a game had no sound it wouldn't keep your attention at all, sound is also used to help you know what is going on around you. Take First Person Shooter games, without sound effects how would you know if you were injured or if other players were sneaking behind?

The music within a game can also establish the pace, fast music will create speed and an urgency which in turn can make the player feel inclined to complete something faster. Slower music can create a feeling of safety and players are able to explore the surrounding area. This may not be the case all the time as slower music can also be used to lull the player into a sense of false security, when they least expect it a monster could jump out an attack. This could also be classed as another form of immersion as for something to surprise/scare you, the player would need to be really involved within the game and not notice the signs around him/her.

When you have a game adaptation of a game it is more important to create believability within the characters. Players may already know what the characters sound like in films so if there was a completely different voice doing the voicing in the game it can be quite distracting. Toy Story 3: The Video Game tried their best to match Woody's voice, however when Tom Hanks was not available they used his brother instead.

There are many different ways to place music and where you place them can affect the player in different ways. The placing will also determine how the music should be. For the into, closing and credit sequences the music tends to be the main theme that runs through the game, the intro can also set the tone for the entire game experience. Music is used a lot for cut scenes as this will move the storyline ahead or conclude the scene that the player is on. In game and background is the most important throughout the game however it is the most subtle. Even though the player may not really notice the background sounds it can be a great influential tool as the music helps the player become more immersed within the game and connect with the actions on screen. You find that in a lot of games music is emphasized especially when it comes to either a victory or defeat. Something upbeat and triumphant will congratulate the player and show that they have done a good job. With defeats, it can go one of either two ways. For games aimed at younger players the sound can offer encouragement for them to try again, however with older games it can just emphasize that you have lost. This could actually be encouragement in a way as it could make the player determined to defeat the enemy and not loose again.

For my game level I am most likely going to be using ambient tracks as it will act as a backdrop to my scene and I want something quite calming and a feeling of safety yet something from another world. There are other things I could include such as trigger sounds however I feel that there is nothing really within my game level that would benefit from this. Instead I will most likely just adjust sound levels and work within Unity to make certain sounds fade away as you walk further from them.