Understanding sound design theory

Understanding sound design theory.                                                 Nathan Bolton and Summer Bates

 Listen to at least 5 different pieces of gaming music/FX.

Tales from the Borderlands Episode 4:

Intro music for Episode 4 - The gamer maker used this music to create an upbeat/positive atmosphere. I would not change the music as I think it already sounds perfect for game and it makes it a lot more interesting.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNaPCIxCmWM

Zelda:

The sound effect used when you find an item in Zelda – the game makers used this to make you feel like you’ve accomplished/achieved something positive. It worked because it kept people playing, it kept them entertained every-time they heard the recognisable and iconic sound effect. It made people WANT to find items just so they could hear the sound effect.

Portal 2:

Turrets singing at the end – The music makes you feel calm at the end of the game. Even if there are no words within the song it still makes you stay to the very end, the music sounds intriguing and it leads you to the final cut-scene of the game.

Outlast:

The game make used some eerie music to try and make the player feel fear throughout the entire game. At some parts of the game, it is completely silent, making the player expect something bad to happen.

The game maker succeeded in making the music cause people fear, because the second the music starts, you know that it’s a dramatic part and it causes the player to know something bad is going to happen, you just don’t know when.

I wouldn’t use different music as the music is just as good as it is.

The Walking Dead:

The game uses different types of music, such as slow, yet eerie music to try and make you feel emotional, but also make you remember that they are always in some sort of situation.

The game maker succeeded in making you feel emotional throughout the entire game, not just because of the dialogue, but because of the music and FX.

No, the music makes you emotional enough.

The Last of Us:

The games uses smooth, kind of out of tune guitar for most of the music used in scenes, it sometimes made you emotional towards the scene, or to understand that danger is near, but because the music all sound slightly similar, it’s hard to notice what situation you’re in.

The game succeeded in making you feel like there is unknown dangers in the game, as there is no dramatic music whilst running or fighting. The music also works well with cut scenes.

Not really, because it gave you a sense that the game was realistic in the fact that it wasn’t like a movie/TV show, so limited music made it feel more real.

Why is sound important in game development?:

Music and sound FX are important within a games development. It can make the game more immersive and more interesting. Game developers use music to make you feel different emotions, making you want to play more. Sound FX and music could also be used to know what kind of personality a character has. If the music is low when a certain character is shown, it could be saying that this character is dark and negative. However, if the music is upbeat when a certain character is shown, it could be saying that this character is a happy and positive character.

Sound FX like a ‘Ring collect’ in Sonic the Hedgehog is an iconic sound. It is recognisable which helps people remember the game by just one sound.

What is a waveform?:
Waveform is a depiction of a pattern of amplitude in the time domain.Wavelength is the distance of one wave and the same point on the next wave. Amplitude is its maximum disturbance to its undisturbed position. Frequency is the amount of waves produced every second. Pitch is the frequency of sound, the higher the pitch, the higher the frequency per second. Hertz (Hz) is a unit used to measure the frequency of a sound wave. Decibel (dB) level is a unit used to measure the intensity of a sound. A sound generator is a vibrating object which produces sound.

Foley: Artificial sound. The sound effects which are made after a movie/game has been made.

Timbre: The quality of a musical note/sound/tone. (Distinctive)