Guidelines for Sound Design in Computer Games

Authors

Abstract

The inconsequential exploitation of sound in most computer games, both in extent and nature, contrasts with its prominence in our daily lives and with the kind of associations that have been explored in domains such as music and cinema. Sound design remains the craft of a talented minority and the unavailability of a public body of knowledge on the subject has greatly contributed to this state of affairs. This leads to a mix of alienation and best-judgment improvisation in the broader development community. A sensitivity to the potential of sound for the enrichment of the experience with emphasis on game specifics is, therefore, necessary. This study presents a contribution to the practice of sound design for computer games. An approach to intentional sound design, informed by multi-disciplinary interpretations of concepts including emotion, context, acoustic ecology, soundscape, resonance, and entrainment, is distilled into a set of design guidelines that holistically address the different sound layers.

Keywords

Acoustic Ecology, Audio, Computer games, Context, Design guidelines, Emotion, Game audio, Game design, Game sound, Game sound design, Human-Computer Interaction, Sound, Sound design, Soundscape, User experience

Subject

Human-Computer Interaction

Book Chapter

Game sound technology and player interaction: Concepts and developments, 17, pp. 362-383, IGI Global, October 2011