Week 18: Sound For Games

The sound you find in modern video games is used in the same way as in films, it helps to create an ambience so that the player can identify with the place and also helps stimulate emotions such as fear, tension or suspense. Sound effects like gunshots and footsteps prompted by event triggers need to be believable if a player is to become imersed in a game. Like films sound plays a huge role in the quality of the game, nowadays expert composers and musicians are asked to work on games as well as film and tv so that the developers can ensure a high quality soundtrack that can help the game stand out.

The first video game that I owned was the original Tetris for Game Boy, and 15 years later I can still recall the main theme tune. Perfect Dark on the N64 also had had a brilliant soundtrack, I remember the carrington intitute music well and and the voice of elvis the alien was brilliant too. More recently the first Metroid Prime game on Gamecube had an amazing, eerie soundtrack that really added to the lonely, mysterious feel of the game, and the music in the opening titles are probably my favourite in any game.

The Legend Of Zelda Ocarina Of Time, however, was probably the first game I played where the music really stood out and became a major factor towards my enjoyment of the game. The fully orchestrated soundtrack adds to the scale of the game and creates an epic and cinematic feel. Every dungeon, temple, village and town has its own theme tune and each one is memorable and catchy. The sound even extends towards the gameplay when you learn how to play songs to progress in the game. The only area of the game where the sound is lacking is the speech, but that really didn't bother me. All Zelda games since ocarina of time have also excelled in the sound area, though none have quite managed to surpass OOT's musical quality. The latest Zelda, Twilight Princess, did not have a live orchestra; but the digital orchestration did allow the music to flow more smoothly between battle sequences, and I still got all tingly when the hyrule field music kicked in.