HOW DOES AUDIO HELP MAKE YOUR GAME FEEL AWESOME??

Choice of a game’s sound scape can vastly change the perception of a product.

 

It’s a shame to say but I have come across some really good games out there that have just lacked oomph with audio and that oomph would have made the game feel absolutely amazing!

 

So when I find these games I tend to think of how they could have been improved sonically.

I have come to find I have a very clear expectation and idea of what a game could and should sound like. The feelings that I want to portray at that particular time and situation.

  • Those feelings that are conveyed by sonic style choices, by use of emotional textures, harmonic movement and creative presentation.
  • Using  use-case analysis to identify what and where and why things could be improved upon in competitive products

 

These are questions that are investigated and figured out by the project’s audio lead.

 

So what does the audio lead do?

The audio lead understands what audio does for gameplay and emotional feedback and how to best utilize it to maximize the immersion

They will identify how and where audio is needed and what tools and technology are required to achieve it

They will champion for audio features to support and enhance the gameplay and narrative

They will ensure that the best sounds are designed at the highest quality for the experience

They are aware of audio best practices – mix levels and techniques. Practice efficiency in implementation and maximise seamless audio responsiveness to the experience. 

 

Developers Don’t Drop The Audio Ball!!!

 

 

The feeling of being on the same page with audio, investing into an efficient pipeline, and designing to a clear style guide and audio goals is like sailing on the breeze. Audio is one of the most underrated crafts that can add or subtract a lot to the perception of your game. It’s often a shame of seeing highly potential games miss out due to a lack of clear and polished audio design.

I have consulted to both companies that had some great audio knowledge but often more than not, they don’t know their final audio goal or what clear steps they needed to be able to achieve it and have left it more or rather up to incomplete asset lists.

  • Replacing music / composer choices that didn’t suit or add the necessary oomph
  • Re-creating sounds for more satisfaction impact
  • Re-creating sounds with better style consistency
  • Replacing people who walked out on projects
  • Identify approx %30 more sounds assets that were overlooked or needed variations and weren’t taken into consideration
  • Producers who didn’t know what they wanted and asked for assets without clear goals but also did not trust the audio person they hired to help them. It’s ok if you don’t know what you are doing – this is not your specialty, but good news is there are plenty of people out there who can help you if you ask for it. Sure you will have to pay a fee but it will be much more worth it to keep your mind free of that worry and know you aren’t going to miss something that you may not be aware you could do or should do?
  • Creating music in a format that the composer signing the contract did not know how to write and now has to hide.

Developers made audio mistakes by not involving someone early who knows what they’re doing, but also not involving anyone who knows what they’re doing and missing out on key decisions they could have made strategic choices that would have saved them time, money, missing resources and poor quality.

These are primarily due to not allocating enough resources for audio. If you could see poorly thought out audio as sloppy graphics and inefficient code you may think differently about how much resources you invest in your audio. The issue is sound is invisible and to the untrained ear it doesn’t have ‘value’ or it is easy to obtain.

 

FUN-FACTOR

A fantastic sounding game makes for a fantastic experience – which is what is part of something feeling FUN.

Audio being the key psychological tool for emotional feedback dictates that the more fun the audio the impression your game will have will be more positive.