I agree with Matt. The repetition of sound effects can mire a production, be it game or film, in a way that you'd imagine only the regurgitation of visuals could (the same explosion sequence used for two different explosions). There are, however, exceptions. The Wilhelm scream is a great example. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_scream
I always swore I heard that same person yelling, but not until Cracked wrote an article ("5 Things Hollywood Reuses More Than Plots") did I realize it was the exact same sound effect. Now, whenever I hear that yell, I smile quietly to myself. It's a type of aural allusion or reference, more nuanced and obscure than most, and therefore more satisfying to recognize. But most films don't use the Wilhelm scream more than once, and to do so would be like reiterating the same explosion sound effect.
Doom 3 was nearly unplayable in the dark, the suspension of disbelief was so great. The game is a great example of the convergence of numerous senses to create an ambience of horror. Every time the screen jolted or I had to lower my flashlight or I heard a girl giggling or a monster moaning, I shuddered. Games have a tendency to use sounds in dynamic ways; I never understood why my friends could listen to music while playing games that involved hearing. In WoW, there are few better ways to get the drop on a stealthed rogue than hearing that indicative "stealthed" noise move past your character. In Left 4 Dead 2, each of the special infected have key sound identifiers: the Smoker coughs, hacks, and wheezes; the Hunter shrieks; the Jockey giggles uncontrollably; and so on. Hearing and recogninzing which sound belongs to which zombie is absolutely vital when playing at the advanced levels (or against other players), because with few exceptions, the players will always hear the special infected before they see them.
Sound mapping a game, or creating the equivalent of road's shoulder markers, is an interesting concept, but the implementation would be tricky depending on the genre. It'd be a creative alternative to just throwing up walls or unconquerable obstacles (oops, not supposed to go there yet--that monster just killed me in one hit!). My question would be how to let the player know what the sounds mean. If an adventurer is traversing through a forest and the birdcalls and crickets die away to be replaced by the sounds of blinking eyes, does that mean their adventure has truly begun (ho, danger is afoot) or they should turn back (ho, danger is afoot and I'm only level one!).
The musical scores in game seem to matter as much as, if not more, than the identifying sound effects. Chrono Trigger and some other RPGs have such memorable scores that players remake them using beer bottles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AJMujiJ-UQ or Mario Paint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PHmE8MdTuI&feature=related There is just something about the mood of adventure that some of those scores instill. The nostalgia they produce matches any visual.
Cody Reimer
Freshman Composition TA
St. Cloud State University
I agree with Matt. The repetition of sound effects can mire a production, be it game or film, in a way that you'd imagine only the regurgitation of visuals could (the same explosion sequence used for two different explosions). There are, however, exceptions. The Wilhelm scream is a great example. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_scream
I always swore I heard that same person yelling, but not until Cracked wrote an article ("5 Things Hollywood Reuses More Than Plots") did I realize it was the exact same sound effect. Now, whenever I hear that yell, I smile quietly to myself. It's a type of aural allusion or reference, more nuanced and obscure than most, and therefore more satisfying to recognize. But most films don't use the Wilhelm scream more than once, and to do so would be like reiterating the same explosion sound effect.
Doom 3 was nearly unplayable in the dark, the suspension of disbelief was so great. The game is a great example of the convergence of numerous senses to create an ambience of horror. Every time the screen jolted or I had to lower my flashlight or I heard a girl giggling or a monster moaning, I shuddered. Games have a tendency to use sounds in dynamic ways; I never understood why my friends could listen to music while playing games that involved hearing. In WoW, there are few better ways to get the drop on a stealthed rogue than hearing that indicative "stealthed" noise move past your character. In Left 4 Dead 2, each of the special infected have key sound identifiers: the Smoker coughs, hacks, and wheezes; the Hunter shrieks; the Jockey giggles uncontrollably; and so on. Hearing and recogninzing which sound belongs to which zombie is absolutely vital when playing at the advanced levels (or against other players), because with few exceptions, the players will always hear the special infected before they see them.
Sound mapping a game, or creating the equivalent of road's shoulder markers, is an interesting concept, but the implementation would be tricky depending on the genre. It'd be a creative alternative to just throwing up walls or unconquerable obstacles (oops, not supposed to go there yet--that monster just killed me in one hit!). My question would be how to let the player know what the sounds mean. If an adventurer is traversing through a forest and the birdcalls and crickets die away to be replaced by the sounds of blinking eyes, does that mean their adventure has truly begun (ho, danger is afoot) or they should turn back (ho, danger is afoot and I'm only level one!).
The musical scores in game seem to matter as much as, if not more, than the identifying sound effects. Chrono Trigger and some other RPGs have such memorable scores that players remake them using beer bottles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AJMujiJ-UQ or Mario Paint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PHmE8MdTuI&feature=related There is just something about the mood of adventure that some of those scores instill. The nostalgia they produce matches any visual.
Cody Reimer
Freshman Composition TA
St. Cloud State University