Surely the soundscapes, tones, character voices and background music have a significant impact in drawing gamers into an immersive experience. Sure the narrative and visual's are crucial, but sound is an important component.
Early games were heard on low-fi desktop computer speakers, and sound was limited to loops that served to reinforce the pace of the game and help provide signposts to success or disaster. There was little room for nuance.
"Guitar Hero" is a video game where sound is at it's core. It evolved out from cover versions of music to including original versions of Queen, Nirvana, Aerosmith etc tracks. Playing along with the authentic versions is a more satisfying Air Guitar moment than some crude sound-a-like.
Today gamers can fill a room and beyond with bone rattling sound to match the images on their big screen TV's. The sound design is more complex and layered providing more cues to the narrative.
Players can choose nominated soundtracks to match their preferences. Sport's Games mimic the big arena rumble, squeak of shoes on the court and use the voices of recognised athletes and broadcasters. We have Jay-Z curating the soundtrack to NBA 2k13
Are there sounds that feature in video games that have been implanted in the back of your head, never to be removed?
To jog the memory I found this compilation of the ten most iconic video game sound effects of all time from joystick division.
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