Sound design in games

In response to: http://ftvms212-328-2013.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/sounds-in-video-games.html

Bringing up the point of sound design in games is very interesting, because I think it is often left unsaid how significant it is to the construction of experience. As mentioned in the previous post, many games rely on sounds and music in order to create a sense of ambiance and atmosphere, as well as for the construction of purposeful mechanics within the game world (e.g. footsteps in counterstrike)

Something which i would like to add to this discussion, is the idea of sound design as an indicator of pointed artistic direction. The interaction of sound-design, visual aesthetic and gameplay was previously a relationship heavily defined by necessity. The music accompanying 8-bit games on consoles such as the NES were limited to the sound capabilities of that console. However, we are now seeing a divergent attitude towards visual design and sound design, where it is possible to create games with the nostalgic visual aesthetic of outdated game design, with unrestricted possibilities to create sound-tracks which go outside of those originally tethered to their format. This means that visual styles intrinsically linked with novelty and ludic value can be placed in a state of juxtaposition alongside complex and detailed music and sound-design, significantly altering the experiential boundaries.

For example, Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery employs a low detail, 16 bit visual style. While this visual style is ratheer simple, it is matched with a complex soundscape of music, such as ambient soundscapes, and the occasional Sabbath-style riff (\m/). This juxtaposition of simple visuals with a varied and  complex set of soundscapes presents a new contextualization for the experiences within the game, and creates a sense of depth and connection to the visually simple game-world.

Similarly, the 2012 game Hotline Miami presents an example of this recontextualisation through using a visual style which is reminiscent of games of the time in which it is set, Miami in 1989, as a way of emphasizing the setting. The audio presented is a warped modern impression of the house music of the time, filtered through the madness and violence induced haze of the main character. This warped mix of diagetic content with non-diagetic context confronts the player with warped scenarios, which rely heavily on the changing music and sound-design in order to establish the different mission levels, intervening story sections and nightmarish-dream sequences.