Sound and Music in games add a whole new level to your experience as a player. I for one have always been a huge fan of horror games such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Silent hill. Turn the music off and any suspense or horror really floats away, without sound you are constantly realized that the game you are playing is not real. No the monsters won't jump out of the screen or come smashing through your door. I am sure that big boss over there is friendly, not like there is any sound to tell me otherwise.
In this blog I will be discussing music and sounds more personal to me and how they affect my own gaming experience. Everyone has their own opinions, their own idea of a good song or good sound, but the following ones are my personal favourites.
Firstly lets talk about soundtracks. Now I may just be a typical emotional wreck of a girl but for me music in the right part of a game can make me feel tremendous joy, horrible sadness, longing, excitement and many more feelings which a story on its own couldn't create. There are many big names in the gaming industry for music, some such as Sam Hulik (Mass effect series) and Martin O'Donell (Halo 2.) It isn't just the composers who get interested. Many well known music artists, such as Florence and the Machine (dragon age 2) also enjoy creating music for video games.
For this example I shall take the game Bastion.
Here is a game which revolves around sound and music, without it the game would make no sense (albeit it doesn't make much sense with the sound either.) You live on the Bastion after you wake up to find your world destroyed and all the people you knew are dead and gone. You meet an older fellow by the name of Rulf with a voice that could melt butter - I'd go as far to compare him to Morgan Freeman but that may be pushing it. You are then thrown into a world of music and narrative sided with fighting. There are two particular songs that when I head them, in one case I felt joy - it mean't another human. Then the other song made me heart ache for the poor boy. Yet at the end there was a song that mixed the two together, causing the game to end beautifully. That experience will be remembered for both its story and music much more than the gameplay itself. Heck half of the game I forgot I was even playing, as you just zone in and out of the action to hear the narrators voice and music in harmony.
Another similar case would be Hotline Miami, although this is not one I can talk much about myself as I haven't played it... but I have friends and other people who love the game because the gameplay along with the music is quite psychedelic - leaving them in a state that would be hard to replicate by other means. Yet the game on its own would most likely not stand.
Then there is sound in games. I ask you to watch this clip with sound:
Now watch it again on mute. Ok, so you knew what was coming, but I would hope you noticed how different the video is without its sound. Sound creates atmosphere, which couldn't be more important for horror games. Even the small recognizable sounds of getting an item, or even just footsteps are so important within a game to make it seem realistic. If my horse made the same sound galloping on sand to it running on rocks I would know something went very wrong in the development - although I suppose some smaller companies could be forgiven.
I'd like to talk a little more about Amnesia specifically. I have watched many horror movies - laughed at most, I have played many games, but no game has successfully made me hide under my covers in fear quite like Amnesia. I have played it far too many times, I know where the monsters are and all the needed items (I tend to enjoy messing with the monsters too) but it still terrifies me. Why? the insatiable noise of grinding teeth in the dark. The different grunt sounds that make you want to run in fear, the little sounds that mess with you as you wander down a dark corridor. The ambiance throughout the game is beautifully crafted with use of lighting, sounds and how it gets into your head, plays on your sub-conscience... This to me, is how powerful sounds can be in a game and how it can really stick a game in your memory.
Now I leave you with the following videos of music in games that can bring a lot of emotion and feeling:
Mass effect Leaving Earth - skip to about 1:30
Those Childhood memories
And who could forget?
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