SoundDesign

Using Sounds for Player Feedback

Posted on by aidangrennen

Introduction:

I have been working on creating sounds for Space Dunk recently, when designing sound for a game you have to make sounds for every interaction the player will encounter. Sounds are one of the ways that players receive feedback from the game, and good feedback can be the difference between a average game and an amazing game. Feedback does not only have to be visual, sounds can also be used to provide the player with feedback as long as you don’t throw too many sounds at the player at once.

Examples of Excellent Sound Feedback:

There have been several games with great sound design recently one of the best examples is Alien Isolation. This horror game uses sound to help raise the tension of being chased through a spaceship by an alien. The game relies on the sound to help set the mood of being hunted without the game having to show you the monster. The Halo series is another example of games with phenomenal sound design. The weapons that the enemies use against you all have very unique sounds so the player can tell what weapons the enemies are using without even seeing the enemies, this is also true for the enemy types the player can tell what enemies are around based on their dialog. When the player is in critical health a very subtle beeping sound warns the player that they can’t take much more damage, this sound is not too loud so that the player can hear all the other important sounds. This is one of the hardest parts of sound deign, making sure that the sounds don’t overpower each other. In any game there are certain sounds you want the player to hear every time however, you don’t want other feedback sounds to get drowned out. If a sound you are using to give the player feedback can’t be heard then the player is not getting the feedback they need.

Space Dunk Audio Feedback:

While working on the auditory feedback for Space Dunk I have been using QA testing to find out if any of my sounds are too loud or too soft. The first time I created a sound for the ball being thrown it was so quiet that if there was any other sound being played when a ball was thrown the players could not hear the throw sound. This is one of the first projects I have worked on where the sound wasn’t designed as an afterthought this has allowed me to get feedback on the sounds from QA and this has resulted in sounds that work together much better.

Sound Design

Posted on by aidangrennen

This week I started working on the sound design for Space Dunk, I am not in charge of making the music but rather all the sounds effects. The sound effects in a game give the players vital feedback that they can’t necessarily get from just visuals. The sounds in the game need to accompany each interaction however it is easy to add too many sound effects and then the player will be overwhelmed. The hardest part about sound design is finding the happy medium between too much sound and not enough sound. I started this process by making a list of all the sounds we need for the game. I separated the sound into three groups: Crowd Noise, Announcer Lines, and Game play Sounds. The crowd noise is cheering and chants that you would encounter at a sporting event, these noises are essential to help immerse the player. The Announcer sounds are also used to help immerse the player but it also gives the player feedback when someone scores a point. The sounds that give the players the most feedback are Game play sounds, these sounds are what is played when there is any interaction between players. Instead of finding samples to use I am planning on recording my voice and using synths to make all the sounds. Once all the sounds are recorded I will begin mastering them so that the volume levels on all the sounds are appropriate. Sound design is a lot like programming, it requires you to keep making tiny changes until something feels right. Sound is one of the most important aspects of a game, it gives the player feedback and also helps make the world you create feel more alive.