Analysing Audio Issues In Games

Analysing Audio Issues In Games

Although sound in games isn't visible, good sound design is the key to an immersive and successful game.

Personally, no games stand out to me that have memorably poor sound design, so I did some research to look into games which do have poor sound technology and in turn take away from the experience of playing the video game.

Due to quickly advancing technology and even separate departments dedicated to games audio production, the sound in games is often excellent nowadays with very few if any faults as its thoroughly checked and is a large focal point, to help make the game as immersive as possible. However, if there is an audio issue it’s usually found quickly or within the beta of the game so it can be changed and improved.

Far Cry 3

On an online Steam forum a new discussion was made about an audio bug in Far Cry 3, overall the sound effects and quality are pretty good for the game, however; there are multiple players commenting on how there was suddenly no sound for footsteps, to switch guns, for reloading and for doors closing when previously those noises were working. Understandably this would seem annoying if basic features which were previously there suddenly disappear. What's more this issue seems to be pretty common too as many other players on the forum commented on their struggles with this problem too. Suggested solutions recommended by players on the forum consisted of reinstalling the game, rebooting the computer, using certain items like the wingsuit in the game, verifying the local cache and making the problem more widespread and visible in hope that the game makers at Ubisoft would be able to patch the issue.

Reference: https://steamcommunity.com/app/298110/discussions/0/624075567008765351/

(found through secondary research)

Life Is Strange

Life is Strange is an incredibly immersive game, one in which the players can easily get sucked into and the main characters are relatable. Although there’s not an issue with the audio itself in Life Is Strange, the lip syncing in the game can be poor sometimes, which takes away from the realism art style and makes it so the speech and sound effects are less effective, this is a creative issue and could be improved with more money invested and the animators paying more attention to detail. The games soundtrack in Life Is Strange is beautiful with a good use of timbre.

(A video a recorded of bad lip-syncing in Life Is Strange)

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

I asked my friend and Nintendo Switch user, Amy whether she had ever came across audio issues within games she has played and she told me about The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and how before she got it she had heard of a few issues with its audio and showed me a YouTube video online featuring the problem. When you open up your inventory to equip and select new items a high pitched and high frequency noise played and glitched, making it play over and over again even when you leave the inventory. Some compared the noise to fingernails on a chalkboard. I think the game makers patched this issue now however another creative alternative would be to re-record a sound that’s of a lower pitch for switching items so easier on the ears and if an issue like that was to appear again it wouldn’t be so unbearable to listen to, Foley could be used to do this.

Reference: https://youtu.be/1cGXsp0HmFs

How To Further Improve Games Audio

A way to improve audio nowadays is to make it feel as if it is coming from different directions so it seems more realistic, this is known as 3D Audio, it helps immerse the player further and can even enhance gameplay accuracy, making it easier to track upcoming danger and enemies, examples of games which use 3D audio are Overwatch and Uncharted 4.

Video on 3D audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9wGomzrt44

Another feature which can make a games audio even better is by making the sound effects hyper-realistic, this means that the sounds in the game will be exaggerated to sound more effective, even more extreme than how it would sound in real life. For example if you broke your nose in person you may hear a small cracking sound however through the use of foley you could bite some uncooked macaroni or pasta to create a more dramatic and extreme sound. This would be hyper-realistic and can be applied to just about any action in games.

In conclusion there's a lot of attention to detail paid to audio and sound design nowadays as there's a separate department dedicated to producing and developing the sound so there are very few faults to pick and when there is a technical audio issue like a glitch or bug it is often found quickly and improved or patched.

Life Is Strange Game Review

Life Is Strange is a five part episodic role-play adventure game in which the protagonist is gifted with extraordinary time reversing abilities. You can make decisions based on your personal morals to achieve different outcomes throughout the game, it has even been compared with The Walking Dead game.

Review:

A PewDiePie Gameplay:

The Map

The map in Life Is Strange is somewhat restricted, for each scene generally to a certain room or location, though the area you have to roam is small there are many things to be discovered which can help uncover secrets and unlock achievements within the game, which leads us to believe each detail of the setting has been carefully thought out as the scenery and settings also correlate to real life as well, with litter on the floor, graffiti, homeless people, birds and squirrels. The atmosphere is very immersive.

Graphics
Personally I think the graphics for Life Is Strange are very good considering no cgi was used and they've paid very close attention to details within the game like rays of light shining through windows and toward the audience making it seem really realistic and giving the game an atmospheric feel to it. Not using CGI made the game cheaper to produce, ensuring more to the series could be released in the future, however CGI may have made the game appeal to a larger audience as the graphics would have looked much better and the lip syncing would have been greatly improved, I can see why they didn't use CGI though. The animators making the game are very talented and their skills shine through with their thorough character design.

Music
The music in the game gives a very chill vibe and is good relaxing background music, its ideal to the game and fits well, it doesn't distract the player from the game or story. The game makers have even released an exclusive soundtrack to the game available in the collectors edition of the game. Many fans of Life Is Strange often comment on how good the soundtrack is and the sound effects in general in the game are very good, with even the sounds of heavy rain and chirping birds. A lot of your senses are engaged when playing, when there thunder and lightning you see a flash and hear the growl of thunder and the dual-shock controller vibrates, further immersing the player.

Controls
The controls in Life Is Strange are quite simple and easy to use, ideal for gamers or people new to games. There's a control to reverse time whenever you please too, you can adapt camera angles to your delight too.

Cinematics

The best quality of Life Is Strange is probably its cinematics, the game is massively aesthetically pleasing and as it is an episodic series so often feels more like a movie/tv show but instead you actually get to help make decisions that affect the outcome of the game which can be very fun.

Story
The story-line to life is strange is exciting and captivating, playing the game is like reading a good book or watching your favourite tv series. After each episode you're hooked and want the next one, in desperate need to know what happens next, all the characters are well developed and authentic and the player naturally becomes attached to some as you see new bonds forming and friendships between characters. If I were to simply explain the story-line of Life Is Strange, it would be:
A passionate photography student moves town in hope of achieving her goals and is reunited with her childhood bestfriend who looks (and acts) a lot different and is seemingly troublesome, later you discover her friend has gone missing and no one seems to care, the pair team up in aim to find her alive but get into a lot of trouble along the way.

Content
There is quite a bit of content covered in this game and real life issues are raised too, like drugs, guns and the loss of a loved one, Life Is Strange has a sensitive approach to the topics. A key feature which makes Life Is Strange stand out is the main characters Max and Chloe's relationship is unique, the pair end up falling in love.In the games industry there isn't much visibility for the LGBT community so this drew a lot of peoples attention and was a big move forward towards equality and visibility of different orientations and sexualities which sometimes the media or parents will hide from children as its still to this day seen as wrong by some people or in some cases people use LGBT visibility as a marketing technique. However, Life Is Strange doesn't do that and by looking at the cover and reading the description of the game you wouldn't know there'd be a same sex relationship in the game, which makes it seems as if its normal, which it is! Whats more, with your time reversing powers you can prevent a girl from committing suicide, this raises awareness about mental health and depression and how there still there isn't enough support for those who suffer with it.

My Opinion
Personally, I love Life Is Strange and the game its self is very fun to play and I often found myself trying to talk to every character possible and explore every corner of a room efficiently in hope not to miss a single detail and take all the photos possible to collect achievements. I found myself relating deeply to the characters and having to think on my feet when in a difficult situation and deal with the consequences, teaching you to think ahead and how your actions will affect others. Life Is Strange is a beautiful story with a lot of heart and meaning, not only can it deliver an important message effectively but it is also engaging with a low level of difficulty. This is definitely one of my favourite games and I think anyone could play and enjoy this game though I'd mainly recommend it to teenagers and young adults. I look forward to playing Before The Storm and Life Is Strange 2.

Sound & Foley

Why is music and sound fx so important within games development?

Aspects like sound and music in games can often easily go over-looked even though a lot of thought goes into the process.The main aim of sound effects is to help immerse the player in the experience as it appears more realistic and captivating, creating an enjoyable experience.The more engaged your five senses are, the more atmospheric the game appears, for example a certain sight could be associated with a sound and feeling (engaging 3/5 senses) eg. axe hits wood—> hear wood being chopped—> Dual-shock controller vibrates.Without sound effects and music, video games would seem very different to how they are now and we certainly wouldn’t find them as entertaining and enjoyable. Music can be used in the background to fill silences and be placed specifically to create an effect, like screechy suspenseful music could be used in a horror game to add tension at an intense point. Also some games music is iconic and can easily be recognisable, like Super Mario Bros.

(By Google definition)
Waveform- a curve showing the shape of a wave at a given time
Wavelength- distance over which the waves shape repeats
Amplitude- maximum extent of a vibration or oscillation, measured from the position of equilibrium
Frequency- the rate at which something occurs over a particular period of time or in a given example
Pitch- the quality of sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone
Hertz- unit of frequency
Decibel- a unit used to measure the intensity of sound
Sound generator-a vibrating object which produces a sound
Loudspeaker- an apparatus that converts electrical impulses into sound, usually used in public places

What is Foley?
Foley is adding sound effects after the shooting of a film, here's an example:

Welcome To My Blog!

Welcome to my blog!

I'm a student at South Leicester College, studying Games Design. I'm interested in a career in the games industry because I've always loved video games and appreciate the work going into creating them. I'd love to be a concept artist/character designer/animator/graphic designer in the future and am excited to start my journey to creating my portfolio.

As a child my favourite games were Grabbed by The Ghoulies, Street Fighter,Pokemon and Sims 3.

I'd spend hours designing characters and when Sims 4 released and I discovered I could change the dimensions and shapes of every feature on their faces, I'd experiment for ages. I'd take care over the interior and exterior design of their houses and upload my projects to the online gallery where others would download my content.

My current favourite game is now Overwatch!