Sound

[Kaftan Barlast]

Sound is what makes you "feel" a game, if you have poor sound effects, players wont be able to feel what is happening.

 

 

It is especially important in FPS games, the way the weapons sound can make or break a game. I recall too many games that failed because the guns sounded like someone was banging two wooden boards together

 

 

Music is tertiary Im afraid, its nice to have but its not essential.

[julianw]

Music is tertiary Im afraid, its nice to have but its not essential.

I sometimes replay battles from Prince of Persia just for the music. The battle music in Kotor I was quite good, too.

 

Overall, I would take choice #2.

[Diogo Ribeiro]

I am a lawyer.

[metadigital]

...

http://www.audioatrocities.com/index.html

Dedicated to the study and enjoyment of truly terrible video game voice acting. From the earliest game systems until the present day.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do not go to this link: TRUST NO-ONE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Thanks to Numbers for originally posting this somewhere.)

[Walsingham]

Most humans (this means YOU) are primarily visual. Hence we use vision as the primary interface. However, when it comes to immersion nothing beats sound. I think this is because our sound reproduction technology is so far in advance of our visual reproduction tech. I can actually sit in a 3D sound representation of an environment while my poor eyes struggle with a 15" flat screen.

 

Moreover, I have never EVER looked at a computer screen and said "wow, it's like I'm back in the swamps of Africa" or wherever. I did precisely this two days ago playing Arcanum. The sound of insects humming away, and the dawn chorus of birds in the trees came over perfectly. Ditto for sound in the Close Combat series.

[Gromnir]

for Gromnir, sound is right up there with smell as far as importance goes. am exagerating... but only barely.

 

ever play a game w/o sound on? makes a difference, but it ain't crippling. turn off graphics? turn off gameplay? iwd had nice music, and that made game better, but am not sure how much better.

 

with some games, if you gots a real spiffy speaker system, you gets real nice effect with enhanced sound. can hear the bad guys trying to sneak up behind you... and you can feel the explosions in your chest with bass turned up... and if music is good, the total may be greater than the sum o' the parts. but even so, sound is still a second tier aspect. more important than good manual, but far less than gameplay or visuals.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Gromnir]

btw, the poll screwed us... were forced to go with 3rd option 'cause as 'posed to describing accurately our feelings 'bout sound, it described Gromnir best.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[metadigital]

btw, the poll screwed us... were forced to go with 3rd option 'cause as 'posed to describing accurately our feelings 'bout sound, it described Gromnir best.

 

HA! Good Fun!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The intention was to force respondents to give the best answer ...

for Gromnir, sound is right up there with smell as far as importance goes.  am exagerating... but only barely.

 

ever play a game w/o sound on?  makes a difference, but it ain't crippling.  turn off graphics?  turn off gameplay?  iwd had nice music, and that made game better, but am not sure how much better. 

 

with some games, if you gots a real spiffy speaker system, you gets real nice effect with enhanced sound.  can hear the bad guys trying to sneak up behind you... and you can feel the explosions in your chest with bass turned up... and if music is good, the total may be greater than the sum o' the parts.  but even so, sound is still a second tier aspect.  more important than good manual, but far less than gameplay or visuals.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ah, but more and more games are being designed with more diverse audiences, e.g. Half-Life 2 has closed-caption for hearing-impaired (I turn it on just to see what those Vortigaunts are saying ...), and also helps compensate for the sight-impaired (with audio feedback).

 

True, I don't expect a blind gamer to lead the frag count anytime soon (but maybe later), but gameplay is not totally dependent on graphics, either.

 

[Walsingham]

The question was about immersion, not about control, wasn't it?

[metadigital]

Game play. (Yes.)

[LadyCrimson]

My scholastic tests always said I'd make a good lawyer....

 

 

...I like battle and atmosphere sound...I don't care about background music and usually end up turning that off pretty rapidly. In fact, for RPG's anyway, I prefer no background music because it's creepier/more involving when I can hear birds and water and zombie moans without blaring violins and trumpets over 'em.

 

...I don't much like the footsteps in games either. They're always too loud and too 'regular'. "tap-pat-tap-pat-tap-pat" Drives me batty with headphones on. I wish they had a 'footstep audio OFF' option.

 

I was fishing in WoW with the music off and the water ripple sounds with the pretty lake while my avatar cast her line into the water was almost soothing. Not realistic, but kind of relaxing. For about 5 minutes anyway. Then I got bored. :D

 

Edit: I have this feeling I'm a bad-grammer&spelling Lady this afternoon..

[Musopticon?]

Yeah, it's kind of taking things too far, when one tries to relax in a game. I mean; the whole concept of rpgs was based on the notion that one loses him/herself in the game. And then you go fishing for shooting off breeze.

[LadyCrimson]

I've never understood the hunting games. Play a PC game so you can sit and stare at the screen waiting for a deer to 'walk' by?

Zzzzzzzzzz...........

[213374U]

"MOST IMPORTANT" element of a game? No.

 

I'd say writing is the most important element of a game. I think the poll is not very well defined, however, and hence I'm not voting. What are we talking about here, technical quality or efficiency of use of available resources and good design?

 

Doom 3 had an excellent graphics engine, from a technical standpoint. but I just didn't like what they did with it. And VtM-B didn't use any cutting-edge sound technologies that I know of, but the voice acting and soundtrack were truly outstanding.

 

For me, graphics play an important role in immersion. Not technical quality, but level design, textures, etc. The same goes for sound. But for some reason I'm more willing to play a game with mediocre graphics and excellent voice acting than vice versa. However, writing is still what hooks me to a game or makes me want to come over here and rant about it.

[Musopticon?]

I agree wholeheartly.

 

 

 

Has anyone noted that your avatar is way too cool for this forum?

[213374U]

[Musopticon?]

:::T.O.M.B.S-points +3:::

[Meshugger]

In terms of gameplay, good sound is a requirement. The music however, is almost as important as the story. A good soundtrack can elivate the atmosphere in a game tremendously, if done right.

 

Good examples:

- Unreal 1

- Deus Ex

- KotOR 1 & 2

- Baten Kaitos

- The Final Fantasy-series

[metadigital]

"MOST IMPORTANT" element of a game? No.

 

I'd say writing is the most important element of a game. I think the poll is not very well defined, however, and hence I'm not voting. What are we talking about here, technical quality or efficiency of use of available resources and good design?

...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The point of the poll was to get people to (re-) evaluate the importance of the sound dimension of a gaming experience. Talking is good!

...

Doom 3 had an excellent graphics engine, from a technical standpoint. but I just didn't like what they did with it. And VtM-B didn't use any cutting-edge sound technologies that I know of, but the voice acting and soundtrack were truly outstanding.

 

For me, graphics play an important role in immersion. Not technical quality, but level design, textures, etc. The same goes for sound. But for some reason I'm more willing to play a game with mediocre graphics and excellent voice acting than vice versa. However, writing is still what hooks me to a game or makes me want to come over here and rant about it. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can't argue with any of that.

[Gabrielle]

I've never understood the hunting games. Play a PC game so you can sit and stare at the screen waiting for a deer to 'walk' by?

Zzzzzzzzzz...........

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For the lazy hunters who do not want to get up ealy in the morning, go out in the cold and wait for a deer.

[Walsingham]

I agree. As a free thinking human being I already play computer games in the same style I go hunting. i.e. not wash for hree or four days, drink beer, and eat poorly cooked food.

 

I've relaxed in copmuter games. i used to drive out to the beach in GTA4, just to listen to the surf.

 

Music i would say is a moot point in any decent crpg. There is no way they could produce enough music that would not be dul after three or four hours. You ought to be playing the game for ten times that long. Just get rid of it!

 

PS Am playing Morrowwind for the first time. Mix of the Gladiator soundtrack, the Tigerlillies, and the Prodigy.

[213374U]

Music i would say is a moot point in any decent crpg. There is no way they could produce enough music that would not be dul after three or four hours. You ought to be playing the game for ten times that long. Just get rid of it!

Well, they could have certain tracks only for critical points in the game, and just soft background music for the rest of the game. An adequate soundtrack can really add to the experience, but then again, everyone's taste is different. What I think is fitting you may consider out of place. There's no clear solution to that.

[Dark Moth]

There are some games where I think sound/music really helped to establish the mood. One good example is Halo 1+2. The music would change depending upon situation, and might change drastically if you were entering a new part of the game. I loved the soundtrack in both of them. Another earlier example is Diablo 1. The music in there was quite creepy, moreso than the sequal.

 

Same with GTA: Vice City. The choice of music in there was great. :D

 

Sound isn't a make-or-break thing for me, but it definitely helps, and kudos to any game with good music.

[CoM_Solaufein]

Sound is very important. It can't be crappy music or sound effects. No distortion going through my speakers. It must be near perfect.

[metadigital]

I think there is cause to seperate the score from the sound, which is why I titled this thread "sound".

 

 

Of course a good score can improve the mood, immersion, tension, suspension of disbelief, practically everything (just watch The Omen and tell me it isn't so ...), but equally music on repeat can soon take away almost everything that it gave the game.

 

The GTA series seems to have clevery invested in audio, so that it is even possible to load up the player's own music.

 

I think the soundscape in NwN was pretty well handled; the soundtrack of the first game, particularly when the PC had to descend into the jail, was very apt (chains and screams).