Audio/Music in Games

This is a review of two articles I found:

Article 01

Sonic Mechanics: Audio As Gameplay

http://gamestudies.org/1301/articles/oldenburg_sonic_mechanics

The definition of a game provided in Rules of Play is "a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome" (Salen & Zimmerman, 2003, p. 80).

- definition of a game

This article did not seem to have much on what I needed. it focused heavily on sound which might be useful later on in my project, however, I do not think I will be going that deep into audio/music.

Article 02

Subjective Measures of the Influence of Music Customization on the Video Game Play Experience: A Pilot Study

http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/wharton_collins

Mark Grimshaw has extensively studied sound and immersion in the first person shooter genre by using sound on/sound off subjective and objective tests, arguing that sound effects contribute to immersion (see, e.g. Nacke, Grimshaw and Lindley 2010). Kristine Jørgensen (2008) has likewise shown that sound influences the functional aspects of game-play, as well as the emotional connection to the game world.

- The importance of sound

Experienced game players would typically recognize this important role that music can have in alerting them to dangers or providing other information about the game.

- Inexperienced gamers may not be aware of this

‘Katherine’ found herself getting involved with the game, yet discovered she was more anxious “like there was something around the corner that the music was building up to.” However, unlike some participants who found the anxiety unsettling and a potential impairment to game-play, the heightened anxiety was felt by this participant to immerse her more in the game

 - music setting the atmosphere and helping immersion

An important (if unsurprising) finding of the study is that altering the music in a game changes meanings, actions, effects, and emotional response to the game. By varying the songs or altering the order of the songs, players not only experienced different immersive and emotional states, but also considerably changed how they play the game.

- Shows the importance of music style and selection when composing and gettign music for your game

Personal Notes

These two articles were very much intended for focus on music/sound in games. Even though this is a bit distant from my topic, it still provided some interesting points and ideas.