[-empyre-] Digital Game Sound

[Claudia Pederson]

Hi George, I think about Eddo Stern's Dark Game 92008-ongoing) as a really
exciting project along the lines that you speak of (sound). See:
http://vimeo.com/1726109
http://rhizome.org/editorial/2011/jan/31/darkgame-2010-ongoing-eddo-stern/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk-XXFWcP8M

On Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 10:44 AM, George Karalis <gsk52 at cornell.edu> wrote:

> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> Hello all,
>
> I've enjoyed following this month's discussions, and appreciate the
> opportunity to make a guest appearance. I am fresher to this field
> than the rest of you (a newb, indeed), but I hope this may provide a
> fresh perspective as well. At Cornell I have been oscillating between
> the theoretical issues of gaming, such as those addressed here this
> month, and the nuts and bolts of game design and programming.
>
> I would first like to raise a discussion around the role of sound in
> digital games.
>
> User studies show that sound provides extra information to players and
> makes them feel more immersed in the game environment. Yet, research
> into game sound does not extend too far beyond that. Sound in games
> (like that in film) has remained adjunct to visuals. Even so-called
> music games like Guitar Hero hinge on visual feedback and merely
> employ a musical setting. Likewise, game sound technology and
> development tools are rudimentary compared to those for graphics.
>
> I have taken a relatively practical approach to this issue with my
> current game project Square Waves (square-waves.com), attempting to
> develop from the ground up a game that foremost considers sound. This
> research quickly led me into "audio games," sound-only games developed
> primarily for blind and visually-impaired audiences. (Hence, I refer
> to digital games broadly, as opposed to using the more common yet
> exclusive term "video game.")
>
> Audio games, despite their history and persistence, have remained
> tucked away--practically unknown outside of their small niche. They
> have traditionally been low/no-budget productions from solo developers
> and hobbyists, though recently a few indie operations have released
> titles with higher production value geared toward larger audiences. A
> couple of examples to check out are Papa Sangre (www.papasangre.com)
> and BlindSide (www.blindsidegame.com).
>
> To tie these concepts in with previous discussions, we may consider
> the relation of audio games to countergaming. To what extent can
> removing (or displacing) graphics in digital games defuse the "armed
> vision" and other militaristic associations that have been noted
> earlier this month? Could audio games change players' perceptual
> perspectives to deepen not only their experience with the game world
> but also with physical reality?
>
> I'll stop with this broad sketch, as I am not sure in which direction
> the discussion will go. I am very interested to hear your thoughts
> throughout this week.
>
> Best,
>
> George
>
> --
> George Karalis
> Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences
> College Scholar Class of 2013
> gsk52 at cornell.edu
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