Sound Design: The Unsung Hero of Game Design
When people analyze what makes a game feel satisfying, these are what’s normally brought up: game mechanics, art, economy balance, story, and music. Rarely do people comment on the actual sound effects the game has; this is strange given that the sound effects of a game impacts the feel of the game more than people give it credit to.
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Imagine if in Super Mario Bros., there were no sounds that played when you collected the coin: not only would it be less satisfying to pick up a coin, but the players would also lose an indicator that the coin positively impacted the player by making them one coin closer to a 1-up. Keep in mind, Super Mario Bros. had no instructions so the sound effects played a large role in teaching the players.
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Take another example from a less iconic sound: when playing a First-Person Shooter (such as Overwatch), there’s audio feedback for when the player is hit. While the hit sounds are not as iconic as the coin sound from Super Mario Bros., they still play an important part in making the game feel satisfying and informing the player of what’s happening in the game. Through the chaos that the player would be experiencing in these types of games, notifying the player through sound that they’ve been hit is the best way of informing them of this information; on top of that, if the player is wearing headphones, the sound can quickly inform the player of where they were hit so that the player can make the split decision of either returning fire from that direction or retreating away from the sound to recover.
The team has been well-aware of the importance of sound design since the start of the project; with the game running on making the experience as juicy as possible, sound design is something everyone wanted to see be successful. Ever since the start of the project, I’ve been experimenting with the sounds to find how to make sounds that are both satisfying for the game and also informs the player of the game’s status. Most of the beginning phase revolved around making small adjustments to the sound and planning for the sounds. The last few weeks have brought a huge focus on making the sounds as strong as they could be.
As mentioned in the previous Dev Log, I’ve been consulting an expert in Sound Design given that I’m still learning how to make effective sound design. Through the consultations, I’ve been receiving feedback on how to make effective sound designs and improving the current sounds added in the game. I’ve also been experimenting on the side with sound to learn new tricks in creating sounds. Below are some lessons I’ve learned in sound design from both the Sound Design expert and my own experimentation.
Where’s the Footsteps?
When analyzing the sound design of the game, some people may notice one set of sounds is missing: the character’s footsteps. This may come across as odd given that there are enemies walking towards the players (who are also constantly running). This is a deliberate decision.
Planning for Sound Design isn’t about adding sound to everything that makes sounds, it’s about deciding what sounds are important for the player to hear. If everything had a sound effect in the game, there would be a clutter of audio and the player wouldn’t be able to tell what they are to focus on; this is why the sound designer needs to plan what should the player hear.
In the case of Disco is Dead, there’s a lot happening on screen already that the player needs to be aware of. They need to know information such as when they slapped an enemy, when an enemy is defeated, when an enemy hit them, when the status of an enemy has changed, and when Super Mode is ready. These information are important for the player to be aware of since the player’s status and actions change based on these. In the case of the player’s footsteps, the player’s status and actions aren’t impacted by the footsteps (unlike other games where the footstep sounds indicate to the player when they are moving or staying still along with the type of ground they are on); this makes adding player footsteps an unnecessary clutter to the audio thus they were never added to the game. By removing the footsteps, the player can focus on the other aspects on the game that they need to focus on.
Location, Location, Location
When recording audio, the location of the recording is important to keep in mind. The slightest background sound (whether it be a refrigerator humming in the room nearby or someone slightly rubbing one leg against the other) can ruin a recording. The reverb of the room will also play a huge part; if there’s too much of an echo (such as a parking lot), it’ll be extra hard to edit to sound natural. Most professional Sound Designers will have a room of their own in which they have customized to reduce environment noise; I’m not one of those individuals. There is a room that could be booked out for a strong recording environment however, the room isn’t always free so it was best to save that room for the voice actors. Thus, I was on a quest to find a place to record. Upon doing so, I have created a checklist to check for the best recording spots when one doesn’t have a recording studio.
Private Spot is Better than Public. This comes as an obvious advice; public spaces (such as a classroom) tend to have crowds of people who will make background noise, which is not good for recording sound effects. With that in mind, it’s good to make sure your private space (such as a home) is fit for recording; in my case, the school’s dorms is not the most suitable place for recording due to the sounds of the air conditioner, refrigerator, people in the hallways, etc. This is why I started to search for public places to record.
Check for Reverb and Environment. As mentioned earlier, there can’t be too much reverb in the selected public space and not too many people. The best space to pick is a small room that could only hold a few people in it; just be aware that no public space is truly sound proof so as long as there’s people nearby, there will be background audio. Thus, finding a room away from popular spaces are the best choices. Time also plays a major role in these rooms; using a public space at night is better since there will be less traffic and less background audio.
Need a Giant Wing? Be the Wing!
When getting materials to perform the desired sound effects, it’s best to get materials that best simulates what needs to be recorded. For example: if there needs to be a “spit take” sound effect, all that’s needed is a cup (best to pick the same cup type that the character is drinking out of), water, and a lot of spitting; combine those and you get an effective spit take sound effect. There are also effects where the realistic sound is unsatisfying and it’s best to use something entirely to make the sound; an example of this is the sound of grabbing an object. If you grab an object right now (such as a cup), you’ll notice no sounds come from it; the grabbing sound will become more satisfying if you recorded plastic being crushed and played that when something was grabbed. These are best case scenario sounds.
Unfortunately, not all sounds can be easily accessible; take, for example, A Giant Wing from Discothulhu. It’s impossible to find a Bat Wing that’s the scale of multiple streets; thus, something needs to be improvised to make it sound like you found one. In order to accomplish this, the impossible object needs to be broken down visually, require an explanation of how that aspect would impact the sound, and find a way to recreate that effect. Here’s how Discothulhu’s Wing was broken down:
The Bone Structure: After examining Discothulhu’s Wings, there’s a bone structure that serves two purposes for Discothulhu’s flight: it is the source of movement for creating Discothulhu’s momentum for flight and keep together the material between the bones together. This suggests the main movement should come from the bones to impact the other materials and the rest of the materials for the wing shouldn’t be too free. To create this purpose, a ruler and a few pens were used to construct a bone-like material.
Strong Flap: Since Discothulhu’s wings allows him to be lifted off the ground, this suggests that his wings are strong. Thus, there must be a strong a sturdy feel to every flap of the wing. To do this, I used regular paper and taped it to the bone structure to create a strong flap.
Expansion and Contraction: Discothulhu’s wings would expand and contract in his animations to allow for the movement to create the strong flap. Thus, a crinkly sound should be blended in with strong flap sound to create this sense of expanding and contracting. To do this, a plastic bag (that was semi rolled up) was taped to the bone structure to create a crinkly sound without lasting too long.
The Scale: While the current sound would work for Discothulhu if he was the size of a human, we need to keep in mind that Discothulhu in the game is taller than skyscrapers. This would impact the sounds of the wings since they would be heavier; the current set-up suggests a lighter object. To create that heavier feel, digital enhancements were used; the pitch was strongly deepened and the bass increased drastically.
While the invention may not look like the most professional or pleasing object to show off, there isn’t a worry since the players will not see the invention. Instead, they will hear every component needed for Discothulhu’s wings along with the scale and buy into the existence of Discothulhu for the duration of their play.
