Studies have found that 60% of the impression that media leaves on us is from what we hear. It's because it takes less concentration to process sound than visuals. This being said, sound design is the most underappreciated process in game development.

One of the first things I do when designing a game is to get a picture of what it should sound like. I'm not a sound guy, I couldn't actually make it sound like I want, but if I know early then I can start figuring out how to get the sound "just right".

When we were coming up with the concept for Rumble Box, everybody (including my teammate) thought I was crazy when I said the best fit for a fast-chaotic fighter would be lounge/swing music. But what happened is that the music set the feel for the rest of the game, and it loses most of its unique atmosphere when you turn off the sound.

Other games that I absolutely can't imagine playing without sound are Jet Set Radio (the music IS the experience), Katamari Damacy (not just the music, but the feedback that you get from picking up objects is central to the chaos), Half Life 2 (I can't play this without the neighbors getting pissed, the louder it is the more you feel the excitement), Secret of Mana and CastleVania:Symphony of the Night (those two have possibly the best music ever written), Space Invaders (bump. bump. bump. bump. bump. bump. bump. bumpbumpbumpbump)

So yeah, I think it's important :)

Quote: Original post by JBourrie
Studies have found that 60% of the impression that media leaves on us is from what we hear. It's because it takes less concentration to process sound than visuals. This being said, sound design is the most underappreciated process in game development.

Very interesting Joe, did not know this but I am absolutely sure it is right.

I really can't play a game without good music/sfx.

Visit this website:

http://www.tokyoplastic.com/

And you will notice that even such low detail objects/graphics are hugely interesting due to fantastic sfx / music.

Well, I must say I stopped playing rumble box solely because I couldn't mute it. I like to spedn my gaming time listening to foreign news and science programming, and rumble box drowns those out since I cannot lower the volume or mute it. Personally I think you all sound slightly crazy.

I would think for most people its the following.

GAMEPLAY
GRAPHICS/SOUND

Between those three elements. Great sound is very nice and it can really make a movie of game, but no amount of good sound design is going to save a crappy game. I don't think sound would ver make me play a game with inferior gameplay, although it will make me sitck longer with a game that has decent gameplay.

I find Darkmortars comment rediculous, and JBourrie's is just pure psuedo stastical nonsense.

All this isn't to say that sound design isn't important, but I would think for 90% of gamers it is way way down the list of things.

Behind story, replayability, interface design, blah blah blah

If you're so convinced that Darkmortar's and JBourrie's comments were so "rediculous and just pure psuedo stastical nonsense" then I have a challenge for you.

For a month watch all of your TV, DVDs and films on mute. Furthermore, play ALL video games on mute as well.

Then see if your attitude towards their statements is the same. I think you'll find audio impacts to a greater degree than you realize. This is not just because this is my area of expertise. Sure graphics are important- so is game play. Everyone needs those and pays close, close attention to both. But the game play is affected by good or bad sound as well because it is part of a package...an experience.

Just my thoughts.

Quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
.... Personally I think you all sound slightly crazy.
... blah blah blah

You can surely express your opinion about this subject matter without saying that we are all slightly crazy.
As you already know, all games are different. Some of them have no sounds & music at all like most serious games or even casual games. And some games are design to have a full spectrum of sounds & music like MMO's.

Adding to nsmadsen challenges, try driving a vehicle, walking in a street or any daily activity with ear plugs or headphones. See how it affects your activity...

J

...and try playing your favorite music on mute.

Well ok I will try to be more eloquent.


No one is going to argue with the weak thesis that sound is very important to many forms of media. Hell with music and radio it is th entire thing. But at the same time i think it is foolish to claim that it is the most underappreciated element of game design.

I really think GAMEPLAY is the most underappreciated element sadly. I see a lot more games with good music and graphics and horrible gameplay than I see the reverse. My suspicion is that since you work in the sound design industry your standards are much higher so 90% of everything sounds like crap to you. I am pretty sure this is not the case with most gamers. I serious % don't listen to the sound at all prefering music (or in my rare case enriching prgramming).

I am not saying sound design isn't important I want to stress that, but claiming 60% of the impression media leaves on you is auditory is just a classic case of pseudo statistics. Care to cite a study? You can make an exactly equally plausibly sounding statement.

Graphics are the most important element of game design because it is easier to process images than sounds. 80% of the impression a game leaves on someone is because of graphics.


Doesn't that sound nice?

Anyway humans are very visual creatures, and sound and music are also very important to us too. But GAME DEISGN is always going to be the most important element of game design. Without a good game you have nothing. Just like without good sound you have no music etc.

IDK sorry to get all uppity but I am sick of working on projects where everyone feels like there little fief IS THE MOST IPORTANT thing. Cause you know what for 99 out of 100 people they are wrong about it.

And no I am not some bitter game design person, I work on designing maps/levels and I know what I do while important, is much much less important than the core gameplay elements.

Everyone's all "play a game without the sound and see what it's like". Well you actually can. Nearly any game. It's not as easy, it's not as fun, but off hand I can't think of a game where you can't.

Now, here's the flipside. Play it without the visuals. Not so easy now is it? Most games become pretty close to impossible.

Sound is very important to the feel, but it is often left till the end because it is not absolutely essential to be able to play. You know you have a good/bad game on your hands without the investment of sound and music, so it's actually fairly wise to leave it till late in the project. As an element that improves the experiance but is not strictly essential, I think it should go in about the same time as environmental art is being added, levels are being built (levels are essential but the quantity is negotiable), shaders are being written and so on.

And as for why programmers tend to bodge it in in 5 minutes (you know what I mean), well that's obvious. It's because it's relatively easy. Not that I've had to do sound with the effects where it reverberates differently depending on the environment and stuff, but even that doesn't seem too bad compared to some of the stuff that's expected for visuals. And audio technology hasn't been progressing anything like as fast as graphics, so once you've got a good system you should be able to re-use it quite heavily.

EDIT: Oh, and as for this:

Quote:
Original post by jackULL
Adding to nsmadsen challenges, try driving a vehicle, walking in a street or any daily activity with ear plugs or headphones. See how it affects your activity...

People do that the whole time! I thought someone into music would have an ipod... Sure, it affects you. But shut your eyes and see how you do.

"And audio technology hasn't been progressing anything like as fast as graphics, so once you've got a good system you should be able to re-use it quite heavily."

-RAZORUNREAL

This statement is really quite unfounded, especially when you consider all of the amazing VSTs and new virtual instruments that are coming out yearly. These newer samplers are so realistic, you can almost get a live recording feel from a good computer and several samplers. Plus there are virtual choir samplers that will sing whatever text you type in. Also, there are programs that will now accompany you in real time and adjust to your tempo (speed). There are also programs now that will transcribe what you play and print it out. None of this was around ten years ago... at least not to this degree.

I'm not saying the audio improvements are happening at the same pace as graphical improvements, but clearly there have been leaps and bounds.

Plus when you consider the fact that many of the tools becoming very powerful and more affordable- you have to recognize advancements. The fact is many of the tools I use on a daily basis in my home studio (and the one at work) were only available in major studios 10-15 years ago (and at a much bigger price tag).

I personally think its kinda dumb for everyone to sit here and debate which part of the video game experience is most important. As I stated in my earlier post- I look at them as a total package. They are all important and play vital roles to the entire video game playing experience. Audio plays an important role- one that often times is more on a subconscious level for those that are not "musically-gear" folks.

You know, we were just talking about this a few days ago when we were talking about games we've worked on, some good some bad. The thing that really made the game or broke the game was the player input. Not game design, not graphics, and not audio. All about how a person interacts with their game. And I'm not just talking about mouse vs keyboard vs gamepad...the level of sophistication and ultimate usability of the game's controls. (Which is why I've decided to buy a Wii first before 360 or PS3)

Just look at Super Mario on NES. Not very fun to look at anymore. But still plays like a dream. classic. You could dress up the visuals, the audio and call it "Super Mario All Stars" ...oh wait they did that. But they didn't mess with the controls at all because they work.

Games with horrible stories that play well do better than games with high polish, clever writing and clunky controls. That's a generalization to be sure and I can already think of some exceptions.

Take a look at any game you don't much care playing and ask yourself if it had anything to do with the graphics, the audio, the story, or the controls. How good are any of those things if you don't get to see or hear much of them because just playing the game frustrates the living crap out of you!

Input and input programming I think are highly underrated and is probably the most important thing about games.

And this coming from an audio guy.

Tony