We always talk about how beautiful the visuals in games are. We love the beauty of landscapes and character design. We love the intricate stories they weave. But, we never talk about the audio in games. It's the unsung hero of games. Audio plays a huge role in making games better, but it's often overlooked.
People have constantly talked about how games like Mass Effect 3 and Grand Theft Auto V feel so alive. Sure both games feature amazing visuals for characters and locations. That's not why thy feel alive though. Both games feature incredible levels of ambiance. You hear characters having side conversations non stop. There's the sounds of engines revving in GTA and the sounds of news reports or battles going on in Mass Effect. We never notice but if we're just looking at the screen it won't be as alive. Sure, we'll see hundreds of pedestrians carrying on with life but in silence. It'll be like a silent film.
Another thing that it helps with is immersing a player into the game. Let's look at Skyrim. We hear the sound of heavy armor rattling as the character walks. The sound of stepping on snow is different than the sound of stepping in mud. There's no two dungeons or caves that sound the same. When a dragon approaches the sound of wind picks up. That's not all.
The music that plays when a dragon comes is to get the adrenaline flowing and immerse you in the game. It's the reason God of War has some of the greatest music for boss fights ever. It's not there to let you know it's a boss or give it a different sound. It's to instill emotions, mainly fear. Here's the thing, it works, that's why it's been happening for decades now.
One of my favorite aspects of audio in a video game is when the music is used emphasize big moments, key choices or significant events in the game. The music is used to show Two games that do this really well in different ways are Red Dead Redemption and Saint's Row: The Third. Both of these games manage to pull it off and change the players mood while conveying emotion with music.
In Red Dead Redemption when John Marston crosses into Mexico Jose Gonzales song "Far Away" plays. It's a song about feeling dead because no matter what you do things just get worse. John just wanted to get his family and now he's lost in Mexico, which he isn't fond of. It's a sad song and it makes you feel like crap especially while riding through the desert, and it should. It especially stands out because there's only one other instance when music plays. The second instance when music plays is when John is finally riding back home to his family. As John rides through the forest the song "Compass" by Jamie Lidell. It's a song about finding your way back to love. During these trips is also one of the few times that there aren't any random events so as not to distract from the moment.
In Saint's Row took a different route. In one mission the player parachutes from a helicopter and attacks a party in an attempt to take over a penthouse from a rival gang. At this point the Saints are down and out. They're at a low point. As you parachute down "Power" by Kanye West plays. It's mixed so that the only voice work comes in the middle of beat breaks. As the Saint's reclaim some of their lost power it highlights the seriousness of the situation for them. The ending presents a choice for the player and people argued about which was cannon until the sequel. However, "Holding Out For A Hero" by Bonnie Taylor plays making the choice obvious. Showing that the Saint's are violent sociopaths but they aren't bad people. Similar to the scene with "Power" playing the voice work takes place during beat breaks. Characters chime in to tell the player he's making the right or wrong choice creating a powerful scene.
Audio work goes unnoticed. It's like camera work, no matter how good it is most people will only notice when it's bad. We all notice when voice actors do horrible work, but how often do we commend great voice actors? Audio is just as important as visuals but it's always overlooked.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
Follow @OriginalKingD
People have constantly talked about how games like Mass Effect 3 and Grand Theft Auto V feel so alive. Sure both games feature amazing visuals for characters and locations. That's not why thy feel alive though. Both games feature incredible levels of ambiance. You hear characters having side conversations non stop. There's the sounds of engines revving in GTA and the sounds of news reports or battles going on in Mass Effect. We never notice but if we're just looking at the screen it won't be as alive. Sure, we'll see hundreds of pedestrians carrying on with life but in silence. It'll be like a silent film.
Another thing that it helps with is immersing a player into the game. Let's look at Skyrim. We hear the sound of heavy armor rattling as the character walks. The sound of stepping on snow is different than the sound of stepping in mud. There's no two dungeons or caves that sound the same. When a dragon approaches the sound of wind picks up. That's not all.
The music that plays when a dragon comes is to get the adrenaline flowing and immerse you in the game. It's the reason God of War has some of the greatest music for boss fights ever. It's not there to let you know it's a boss or give it a different sound. It's to instill emotions, mainly fear. Here's the thing, it works, that's why it's been happening for decades now.
One of my favorite aspects of audio in a video game is when the music is used emphasize big moments, key choices or significant events in the game. The music is used to show Two games that do this really well in different ways are Red Dead Redemption and Saint's Row: The Third. Both of these games manage to pull it off and change the players mood while conveying emotion with music.In Red Dead Redemption when John Marston crosses into Mexico Jose Gonzales song "Far Away" plays. It's a song about feeling dead because no matter what you do things just get worse. John just wanted to get his family and now he's lost in Mexico, which he isn't fond of. It's a sad song and it makes you feel like crap especially while riding through the desert, and it should. It especially stands out because there's only one other instance when music plays. The second instance when music plays is when John is finally riding back home to his family. As John rides through the forest the song "Compass" by Jamie Lidell. It's a song about finding your way back to love. During these trips is also one of the few times that there aren't any random events so as not to distract from the moment.
In Saint's Row took a different route. In one mission the player parachutes from a helicopter and attacks a party in an attempt to take over a penthouse from a rival gang. At this point the Saints are down and out. They're at a low point. As you parachute down "Power" by Kanye West plays. It's mixed so that the only voice work comes in the middle of beat breaks. As the Saint's reclaim some of their lost power it highlights the seriousness of the situation for them. The ending presents a choice for the player and people argued about which was cannon until the sequel. However, "Holding Out For A Hero" by Bonnie Taylor plays making the choice obvious. Showing that the Saint's are violent sociopaths but they aren't bad people. Similar to the scene with "Power" playing the voice work takes place during beat breaks. Characters chime in to tell the player he's making the right or wrong choice creating a powerful scene.
Audio work goes unnoticed. It's like camera work, no matter how good it is most people will only notice when it's bad. We all notice when voice actors do horrible work, but how often do we commend great voice actors? Audio is just as important as visuals but it's always overlooked.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
Follow @OriginalKingD
