Five essential things to listen out for in game audio
Gwen Raymond
Tuesday 22nd March 2022
Audio in games is essential. Just as important as beautiful graphics, engaging gameplay or engrossing writing. When you think about early iconic games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Space Invaders, you think about the sounds they made, and when other media such as film and television reference video games, the shorthand used is often that of some audio cue like the uncanny chirping of an Atari 2600.
Audio might do more than any other aspect of a game in immersing the player in the world. Just close your eyes and imagine an exciting firefight. What you're hearing in your mind's ear is the clatter of shots through air, the whizz of bullets going by a little too close, and the ping and pops of them driving into the car you're taking cover behind. The firing might suddenly cease, leaving you alone in the cold tone of a dimly lit and deserted street. Even the absence of sound is essential.
Audio in games tells the stories, and sucks you into the world. Despite all of this, audio in the daily schedule of games development is often an afterthought
Audio in games tells the stories, sets the mood, gives feedback from game mechanics, and sucks you into the world. Despite all of this, audio in the daily schedule of games development is often an afterthought. Many audio teams are absent of programmers, QA, or production and have to beg, borrow, and steal from other departments, usually on a limited schedule.
Of course, this isn't true everywhere, but it's true more often than it should be. I'm an audio programmer at Rev Rooms, a dedicated games audio co-development studio based in Brighton. This studio was borne out of the many years we had collectively worked in game audio, the things we learned along
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