[For her Monthly Musing, Elsa has chosen to talk about sound effects instead of music. As Elsa points out, sound effects can not only be entertaining -- listening for them can be crucial to playing well! Want to write your own Musing? Click here and start writing! -- JRo]
I'll admit I rarely notice music in games and I tend to go to the menu and turn the ingame music down when I have that option, but I turn the "sound effects" option up - way up, to maximum uppness! For a points wh0re such as myself, there is nothing quite like the wonderful "pathunk" sound effect you hear when you've made a headshot in MAG, or better yet, the "headshot" voice of the announcer in UT3 that always makes me think I'm at a monster truck rally.
The ingame sounds that I generate through an action are of far more interest to me than background music. The sounds of the various guns give a sense of weight or power. When I wield the heavy machine gun in MAG, the low rumble makes me feel like a tank mowing down hapless soldiers in my sights. When I wield the small machine gun as a side arm, it has a high fire rate with a small clip... and it's speed makes me feel like I'm zipping around the battlefield because of it's light sound (even if I'm wearing heavy armour and actually moving slower). The "sound" of the guns actually makes me play differently. Shotguns! Ah, the shotgun. Such a satisfying sound, though maybe only secondary to the boom of a high powered sniper rifle as it hits it's far away target... only to produce that wonderful headshot sound effect!
The ingame sounds not only let me know how I'm doing, but they also give a sense of enemy movements... the swish of a missed knife swipe can allow me time to dance away and defend myself with a return "swish". Even the sound of footsteps in some games can alert me to the presence of the less-than-stealthy player running up behind me. In games like Warhawk, the low rumble of an overhead dropship means driving my tank to safety under cover, without even looking around for the dropship. The "tzzzzz" sound of the green beam of the binoculars usually gives me time to kiss my ass goodbye and think of where I want to respawn.
Every game has these sounds, not just shooter games. In RPG games there is often a unique sound associated with picking up loot - it gives audio feedback that you picked the item up and didn't accidently run past it and leave that +2 Charisma robe lying on the ground. For other games, the sound of opening a treasure chest gives an almost pavlovian response of "what will I get?". In fighting games there are effects when you land a hit, and when you miss. In RPG's there is often that wonderful sound of a weapon being unsheathed when an enemy is nearby and you go automatically into "fight mode". Every game has these sounds that are heard and reacted to on an almost subliminal level.
What fascinates me about these sound effects is not just their relation to an action I perform or another player performs, but also their relation to the environment. With surround sound, footsteps actually sound like they are on your right, or behind you. As you turn, the sound changes directionality. Reloading your gun in an open field often sounds entirely different from reloading your gun when running down a cement hallway. The programming involved in creating sound relative to the player in the game must be an amazing feat, but when done in multiplayer and the sounds are all relational and co-related to other players... it really is incredible! The layering of sounds - tossing a grenade and hearing it's distant boom while reloading your gun and hearing a sniper shot whizzing by your ear. To become really good at a game, particularly in multiplayer, you have to play the game with both your eyes... and your ears. Then again, I'm old enough that I still remember a time when "stereophonic" sound on the TV meant turning the TV sound off and playing an accompanying FM radio station that carried the corresponding stereo music for the show, and a later time when specific TV shows had the note ""In stereo (where available)". Sound engineering has come a very long way in a short time.
These ingame sounds lurk in our subconscious and their power becomes evident at odd moments in everyday life. I'll be walking through a parking lot and hear the backup "beep beep beep" of a vehicle... and I'll feel my heart accelerate as I automatically slow down and start looking around for Warhawk land mines. For me, these ingame sound effects are more than just noise, they are the "music" that I remember from games, especially the glorious sound of a headshot!
... and I leave you with the unique and adorable headshot chirp from Killzone 2, it's a tiny, barely noticeable sound... but your face is smiling when your brain hears it:
I do not really differentiate headshots from a normal shot, but I do enjoy the sound the avatar makes when dying. GAAHH! UUHH! and that stuff. I enjoy the sound effects too, they remind me of a game just as its music would.
The player's neck would literally bend at an angle of 30-40 degrees, and they would scream in horror from the impact. Of course, the death cry was the same if you shot them in the legs, or torso. But it was way more satisfying to plunge led into their brains and hear them suffer.
Also, a sinister fact about me: I used to know by heart, the order of the Goldeneye soldiers death-emotes when I was younger.
I have since forgotten the exact order, but I can still remember some of them.
Groovy!
I know all the death sounds for the monsters in Doom and Doom 2. I loved at the end of Doom 2 you got to see the monster gallery and watch their death animations.
I just discovered another cool sound, at least cool to me. I've been playing Shadow Hearts Covenant and I love the sound it makes on the judgement ring when you hit the tiny strike area. It really lets you know you did something slightly more difficult, and that your subsequent attack will be more awesome because of it.
Music (when it's well done) has a massive effect on how I engage with a game - but I have so much love for sound effects. They're a really subtle, useful way of conveying information to the player, much faster than any visual effect or pop-up message could do by itself.
As always, an awesome writeup.
"In stereo (where available)"... oh wow, I just had a flashback of the whole Family Ties intro, and so many other shows, from back when TV was a thing you watched instead of downloaded and recorded.
I always liked that squishy shatter noise in Resident Evil when you aimed the shot upwards and as zombie got in close. It was so satisfying watching their heads explode with that noise; which is weird, considering you were wasting your best ammo on a weak enemy.
Playing BF1943 was an interesting experience, similar to what you describe, because I can't remember another time since playing CS in high school when there wasn't any music during the rounds. All I had to go on were different sound fx; tanks rolling up, sniper shots whizzing by, the yells of the opposing team's soldiers nearby. Probably would've made a better experience if I had surround sound in my room, but I got the gist. The "YOU ARE THERE" vibe.
Glad I'm not the only one that loves the Killzone chirp!
@Andy... awesome picture!!
I don't mean to denigrate the music in games, it's just that for me personally I love the sound effects and I often find that the music can overshadow these wonderful sounds (though admittedly, some of those sounds can get annoying after awhile! LOL!)
Just recently finished Mass Effect and now just diving into Mass Effect 2 and I must admit, there's a perverse pleasure I get by blowing to smithereens the heads of those synthetics in the game.
"To become really good at a game, particularly in multiplayer, you have to play the game with both your eyes... and your ears."
This exactly. In MAG I depend hugely on the sound effects to tell me the status of the battlefield. "The enemy mortar batteries are online" means to get the hell under cover. You see green smoke pop beside your AMV and you strain your hearing for the words "sensor strike." With so much visual information already going on you become incredibly reliant on auditory cues and signals, such as the booming of a nearby airstrike, the cries of a fallen comrade who was watching your back just a second ago, or the last second beeeeep of C4 which tells you that you've only enough time to hit the deck.
Speaking of Pavlovian responses, one of the reason I love the MG in games is the powerful impression that you're mowing down rows of enemies, just from the unsuppressible bellow of it. One wee thing I loved in MGS4, when you let loose with a machine gun Snake reciprocates the sentiment with an action movie-type roar. Great touch.
I agree about the sound effects. There are some games I play where I turn down the background music but I always always always keep the FX on, whether I'm playing a shooter or RPG or whatever.
Not to mention that in some games, it's kindof necessary for survival, like in Left4Dead2 - some of the special zombies will appear, and you hear them first. It makes life so much easier when you know WHAT is coming, even when you aren't sure from where.
I agree about the sound effects. There are some games I play where I turn down the background music but I always always always keep the FX on, whether I'm playing a shooter or RPG or whatever.
Not to mention that in some games, it's kindof necessary for survival, like in Left4Dead2 - some of the special zombies will appear, and you hear them first. It makes life so much easier when you know WHAT is coming, even when you aren't sure from where.
Wow, with all the topics I was throwing around for this Monthly Musing, I never once thought to talk about sound effects. Great idea, and great article! :D
I usually raise the sound effects over the music. Only recently did I do that differently with mafia 2 (50's music was stuck in my head a week after I beat it)
Front paged? I usually don't classify my Monthly Musings as Monthly Musings (I usually use the Rants/Commentary tag) but I guess I forgot this month. Meh... not a biggie, though ironically I got more comments on my other monthly musings that didn't get front paged! LOL!
@Red, yeah, most of my blog ideas come from something someone says or a personal experience - a quick observation or laugh while gaming that just turns into my blog. :)
@Byronic... this was actually last week's blog. This week's just went up (though I guess the timing was bad with the two blogs now being a bit concurrent and an overabundance of "Elsa"! LOL!)
Hi Talia!! (and ironically I have a half worked on blog entitled "bullshit!" LOL!!)
... I'm glad others also appreciate the magic of sound effects in games! :)
Congrats, Elsa! I know you've never played it, but one game that has very rewarding audio feedback is The Wind Waker. Every time you fight an enemy, you're rewarded with a series of musical sound effects that just make it really fun to pummel a guy! (yes, I will eventually talk about something other than Zelda.)
Sounds just like me... In games I like call of duty I almost play more by sound then even sight. I'm always turning the music way down in games(though there are a few rare cases were I like to have it). A good part of the time I'll leave it on really light, but if its a shooter, or something where the sounds are really going to help, the sound effects and tv volume all go WAY up.
Far too often I end up yelling at the people in Oldschool Free For All(CoD4) to stop picking up the stupid powerups. *eye roll* People may as well just send up a flare or smoke signals. That sound helps me track them better then a UAV.
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Contest:
12:00 PM on 09.23.2010 | 
As always, awesome blog :)
The player's neck would literally bend at an angle of 30-40 degrees, and they would scream in horror from the impact. Of course, the death cry was the same if you shot them in the legs, or torso. But it was way more satisfying to plunge led into their brains and hear them suffer.
Also, a sinister fact about me: I used to know by heart, the order of the Goldeneye soldiers death-emotes when I was younger.
I have since forgotten the exact order, but I can still remember some of them.
Groovy!
I just discovered another cool sound, at least cool to me. I've been playing Shadow Hearts Covenant and I love the sound it makes on the judgement ring when you hit the tiny strike area. It really lets you know you did something slightly more difficult, and that your subsequent attack will be more awesome because of it.
As always, an awesome writeup.
"In stereo (where available)"... oh wow, I just had a flashback of the whole Family Ties intro, and so many other shows, from back when TV was a thing you watched instead of downloaded and recorded.
Guy on the End: "BOOM! HEADSHOT!"
I always liked that squishy shatter noise in Resident Evil when you aimed the shot upwards and as zombie got in close. It was so satisfying watching their heads explode with that noise; which is weird, considering you were wasting your best ammo on a weak enemy.
Would be great if I could play MAG w/ you guys.
:)
@Andy... awesome picture!!
I don't mean to denigrate the music in games, it's just that for me personally I love the sound effects and I often find that the music can overshadow these wonderful sounds (though admittedly, some of those sounds can get annoying after awhile! LOL!)
Great write up!
This exactly. In MAG I depend hugely on the sound effects to tell me the status of the battlefield. "The enemy mortar batteries are online" means to get the hell under cover. You see green smoke pop beside your AMV and you strain your hearing for the words "sensor strike." With so much visual information already going on you become incredibly reliant on auditory cues and signals, such as the booming of a nearby airstrike, the cries of a fallen comrade who was watching your back just a second ago, or the last second beeeeep of C4 which tells you that you've only enough time to hit the deck.
Speaking of Pavlovian responses, one of the reason I love the MG in games is the powerful impression that you're mowing down rows of enemies, just from the unsuppressible bellow of it. One wee thing I loved in MGS4, when you let loose with a machine gun Snake reciprocates the sentiment with an action movie-type roar. Great touch.
@Nihil
You should!
I agree about the sound effects. There are some games I play where I turn down the background music but I always always always keep the FX on, whether I'm playing a shooter or RPG or whatever.
Not to mention that in some games, it's kindof necessary for survival, like in Left4Dead2 - some of the special zombies will appear, and you hear them first. It makes life so much easier when you know WHAT is coming, even when you aren't sure from where.
I agree about the sound effects. There are some games I play where I turn down the background music but I always always always keep the FX on, whether I'm playing a shooter or RPG or whatever.
Not to mention that in some games, it's kindof necessary for survival, like in Left4Dead2 - some of the special zombies will appear, and you hear them first. It makes life so much easier when you know WHAT is coming, even when you aren't sure from where.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qsYHufmuqQ
@Red, yeah, most of my blog ideas come from something someone says or a personal experience - a quick observation or laugh while gaming that just turns into my blog. :)
@Byronic... this was actually last week's blog. This week's just went up (though I guess the timing was bad with the two blogs now being a bit concurrent and an overabundance of "Elsa"! LOL!)
Hi Talia!! (and ironically I have a half worked on blog entitled "bullshit!" LOL!!)
... I'm glad others also appreciate the magic of sound effects in games! :)
Bad Company 2. Oh my god, I play that game for the sound alone sometimes.
M-M-M-M-M-MOOONNNSTERRRR KILLLLL!
Oh, Unreal Announcer. Everything I do in that game, I do for you.
Far too often I end up yelling at the people in Oldschool Free For All(CoD4) to stop picking up the stupid powerups. *eye roll* People may as well just send up a flare or smoke signals. That sound helps me track them better then a UAV.