Surprisingly
little has been written in the field of ludology about the structure
and composition of game audio. The available literature mainly
focuses on production issues (such as recording and mixing) and
technological aspects (for example hardware, programming and
implementation). Typologies for game audio are scarce and a coherent
framework for game audio does not yet exist.
This
article describes our search for a usable and coherent framework for
game audio, in order to contribute to a critical discourse that can
help designers and developers of different disciplines communicate
and expand the borders of this emerging field.
Based
on a review of existing literature and repertoire we have formulated
a framework for game audio. It describes the dimensions of game audio
and introduces design properties for each dimension.
Introduction
Over
the last 35 years, game audio has evolved drastically -- from
analogue bleeps, beeps and clicks and crude, simplistic melodies to
three-dimensional sound effects and epic orchestral soundtracks.
Sound has established itself as an indispensable constituent in
current computer games, dynamizing1
as well
as optimizing2
gameplay.
It
is striking that in this emerging field, theory on game audio is
still rather scarce. While most literature focuses on the production
and implementation of game audio, like recording techniques and
programming of sound engines, surprisingly little has been written in
the field of ludology about the structure and composition of game
audio.
Many
fundamental questions, such as what game audio consists of and how
(and why) it functions in games, still remain unanswered. At the
moment, the field of game studies lacks a usable and coherent
framework for game audio. A critical discourse for game audio can
help designers and developers of different disciplines communicate
and expand the borders of the field. It can serve as a tool for
research, design and education, its structure providing new insights
in our understanding of game audio and revealing design possibilities
that may eventually lead to new conventions in game audio.
This
article describes our search for a usable and coherent framework for
game audio. We will review a number of existing typologies for game
audio and discuss their usability for both the field of ludology, as
well as their value for game audio designers. We will then propose an
alternative framework for game audio. Although we are convinced
frameworks and models can contribute to a critical discourse, we
acknowledge the fact that one definition of game audio might
contradict other definitions, which, in the words of Katie Salen and
Eric Zimmerman "might not be necessarily wrong and which could
be useful too" (2004, p.3). We agree with their statement that a
definition is not a closed or scientific representation of "reality".
We
initially focus on a useful categorization of game audio within the
context of interactive computer game play only. The term "game
audio" also applies to sound during certain non-interactive
parts of the game -- for instance the introduction movie and
cutscenes. It concerns parts of the game that do feature sound and
interactivity as well, but do not include gameplay, like the main
menu. It even includes applications of game audio completely outside
the context of the game, such as game music that invades the
international music charts and sound for game trailers. We
intentionally leave out the use of audio in these contexts for the
moment, as there might be other, more suitable, frameworks or models
to analyze audio in each of these contexts -- for example, film sound
theory for an analysis of sound in a cutscene.
1
Making
the gameplay experience more intense and thrilling.
2
Helping
the player play the game by providing necessary gameplay information.