Let me challenge you with this the next time you turn on your PlayStation system Xbox pc Wii cube hell even SNES or Saga Genesis play what ever game you please, and before the game starts turn down the volume. Now tell how was your experience, if you tell me anything but awkward I know your lying. Sound in video game has and always has as much importance as much as sound in movies.
Actually it's debatable to say that they even more of an importance due to it being and more interactive experience. It is wasn't for sound, you would not get the fully impact of the gun fire that your character faces, the monsters they must tackle, the fear from a haunting atmosphere, as well as all the music that gets you in the mood.
Here's a couple of perfect examples: Visceral Games Dead Space, of course the visuals Isaac Clark's suit, the bloody aftermath of USG Ishimura atmosphere, and of course the discontented, wrenched Nero-morphs do play a huge role on your sense of fear, but there's a little more then that. The electronic/orchestral game scores, puts your nerves on edge. Utilizing a similar scoring style as the Alien movies, however they go one step beyond by giving you the sensation that you are never save, and death is always around the corner.Now if you were to mute that, you still have the sound design aspect.
Every spec of sound design within dead space is to keep you under the full experience. Every step that your character takes, engulfs you in the seemingly emptiness of the ships hull, however the random sounds of Necro-morphs clambering though the vents, and the distorted screams, echoes though the halls, only reminds you on how inhabited it actually is. Even if you muted the ambiance out from the game, you would still have the actual creature; the Necro-morph. The clambering of long claws against the hard haul of the Ishimura, the disgusting churning sound of creamy fresh and organs being ripped and rearranged, and lastly the blood curling screams and battle cried of each Necro-morph who's soul mission to tear you in have would make your hair stand on end.
I understand that even with all this muted this can still be a somewhat starling experience due to the jump screams, however I can promise you, your death count will increase with the lost of all audio. This also takes me into another example; sound is as in real life important to your survival, without any depth of danger, you will be coming well acquainted with the Continue Button. In my youth while getting to understand audio, served in the military and worked with many Marines on my base. The number pass times between drilled and militarily duties were to play Call of Duty. No need to really explain what Call of Duty is... a military first person shooter, that grown men loose their girlfriends too and little child troll players to cause epic rage quits... that about the just of it. (Lol)
Now, I very been a huge fan of the series, but what I can concur is that COD is best played with the volume turned up. I always wondered why this was, since I wasn't an avid fan of the series, so one day in the middle of one of their tourney's I grabbed the remote and muted the games. After about a 5-minute wrestling match with several armed Marines I composed myself and pleaded "Seriously, try playing the game with the volume down, I want to see if it's the same." "What the fuck for" one of them asked, "I want to see if your still nice enough to make the kills you do with no since of depth." they arrogantly approved. One of them played with he TV muted, and not even 10 seconds later he died, re-spawned and died after about 30 seconds, re-spawned and died in a minute. After 30 minutes of everyone re-spawned every couple of seconds they cranked the music us loud. They suddenly lasted about 5 minutes before their next re-spawn then 15 minutes. I asked one of them, "why'd you die so easily" where they frustrated, "we cant hear what comes next, I here who's shooting".
COD has one of the best sound design when it comes to guns and bullets, which understandable since most enlisted force play it at their leisure, but when a trained member of the services who does this for a living has difficultly playing in a way a simulator...
Sound can speak loud then words.
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