Fus Roh BLOG... The Importance of Sounds and Music in Games

Coming from a very musically oriented family, I have always had a soft side when it comes to music and sounds and the effect they can have in the media.  When I say media, I of course am referring to my favorite form of media, the game industry.  I have always loved how when music builds up in a game, only to lead to an epic boss battle that the player remembers for weeks.  This blog will outline the amount of work and time that goes into creating the music and sounds that make games so great.

When I think of music and the impact it can have on the gaming experience, I think of one game. Skyrim.  The Elder Scrolls series is world renowned for their ability to transport the player to a far away land where giants and dragons still roam the land.  The only complaint I had with the series was the recurrence in voice actors that occurred in Oblivion.  Bethesda responded to this issue by adding more actors to their credits, by over 70+ people.  This showed the dedication they felt and how important it was to them to get the sounds right in the game.  When it came to the music, I feel as though no game does event based music better than Bethesda.  They have a way of creating tension as a character moves throughout the landscape, only to hit the player with the scores crescendo as they round a hill to see a castle looming in the distance.  Its an effect that really allows the player to get the best sense of immersion in the game.

For our game we used the FMod programming library to try and create the same effect for our players. Using 3 Dimensional sound we were able to able in subtle sounds such as tress groaning as you pass by, or echoes of footsteps as the player traverses our dungeon level.  As a developer, even I experience a feeling of  unease as I heard the sounds of distance wolves as I moved through our forest.  Without sound however, these feelings could not be expressed to the player and the game would feel dull and uneventful.  This is why I believe sounds and music are one of the most important assets to a games design.

Next time in the Blogosphere, I will be going over Deferred Shading and its in game use.