Good sound=Good Game (Ultimate Game Part 1)

There are many different factors that make a great game and in part 1 of my mini series "The Ultimate Game" I'm going to discuss a very important factor: sound.

A sound change from moving your character from grass to cement to distant artillery blasts can make all the difference in a video game and largely immerse the player into the digital world. It's important to include these small but effective details in creating a great game. Walking down a busy street in broad daylight is going to sound different than walking down the same street at night and should be well represented in a game. When you ride to the Black Gate of Mordor on your horse to take down the evil of Middle Earth you should be able to hear all those horses riding with you and not just the ones on your side. Playing basketball on the streets of LA should definitely sound different than playing on a court. These small details can make you think you're really there in Mordor or on the b-ball court of LA and make the video game world much more believable.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadows of Chernobyl is a great example of a game that really knew how to immerse it's players into believing they are there at the nuclear test facility in . The game had such detail that when it rained in game and you went under a tree the rain actually quieted down like it would in real life. It was quite impressive and I've never seen that much detail put into a game before. Just having good rain sound effects is great but adding in how it affected the with the environment was most excellent.

So the small details of sound are great but so are the more obvious sounds that should be put in a game. Sounds like laser blasts from your X-wing as you fly down the trench of the Death Star or a Bass flopping around your boat you just reeled in Bass Master '08 style. I always have respect for the sound guys that go out and record the sound from first hand experience, obviously they aren't going to find an Xwing to fly but if they get that exact laser sound used in the Star Wars movies I guarentee the player will feel much more like they are in the Star Wars universe than if they used a laser sound from Tron.

Good sound is essential and good sound should be authentic as it can be. Games are getting better adding more sound and depth, no longer are the days of the generic "dungeon theme" of 8-10 notes played on an endless loop until you get back outside for the "over world theme".
We need good sound! Sound for The Ultimate Game!

There are many different factors that make a great game and in part 1 of my mini series "The Ultimate Game" I'm going to discuss a very important factor: sound.

A sound change from moving your character from grass to cement to distant artillery blasts can make all the difference in a video game and largely immerse the player into the digital world. It's important to include these small but effective details in creating a great game. Walking down a busy street in broad daylight is going to sound different than walking down the same street at night and should be well represented in a game. When you ride to the Black Gate of Mordor on your horse to take down the evil of Middle Earth you should be able to hear all those horses riding with you and not just the ones on your side. Playing basketball on the streets of LA should definitely sound different than playing on a court. These small details can make you think you're really there in Mordor or on the b-ball court of LA and make the video game world much more believable.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadows of Chernobyl is a great example of a game that really knew how to immerse it's players into believing they are there at the nuclear test facility in . The game had such detail that when it rained in game and you went under a tree the rain actually quieted down like it would in real life. It was quite impressive and I've never seen that much detail put into a game before. Just having good rain sound effects is great but adding in how it affected the with the environment was most excellent.

So the small details of sound are great but so are the more obvious sounds that should be put in a game. Sounds like laser blasts from your X-wing as you fly down the trench of the Death Star or a Bass flopping around your boat you just reeled in Bass Master '08 style. I always have respect for the sound guys that go out and record the sound from first hand experience, obviously they aren't going to find an Xwing to fly but if they get that exact laser sound used in the Star Wars movies I guarentee the player will feel much more like they are in the Star Wars universe than if they used a laser sound from Tron.

Good sound is essential and good sound should be authentic as it can be. Games are getting better adding more sound and depth, no longer are the days of the generic "dungeon theme" of 8-10 notes played on an endless loop until you get back outside for the "over world theme".
We need good sound! Sound for The Ultimate Game!