How do I make the player feel engaged in the music? How do I design good enough sounds so the player doesn't want to mute the music? How do I make the user 'feel' how I want them to feel? In general those seem to be the questions that I'm currently thinking about. Most of the time these are very difficult questions to answer, especially when you're limited in both time and experience. At this point the best that I'm able to do is reference other games that are similar to 'Ascension' and develop a general strategy so that i can get a general feel for how atmosphere should be implemented.
Battle Sounds/Music:
Most action adventure games have some type of themed sounds/music to make the player feel involved. While the player is not dying or in danger of dying an average game would play music that is slightly upbeat, but not with a high tempo so the player feels like he/she actually is in danger. Why does that matter, music is music? Actually that's not always true. In general music cannot be interchanged in most situations, most music is designed to fit in a specific place in a game. Next time you play a game, preferably an adventure or an RPG, try either muting the volume or listening to music.
I'm sure you as the player will feel detached from the experience, you might even lose interest in the game at some points. Granted some genres don't have that problem nearly as much as the more story heavy or action heavy games, for example racing games. Racing games don't have this problem nearly as much as other genres, because there is no one sound or feeling attached to the driving experience. There also is personal preference, as some people might like to hear the sound of their engine or others who like to listen to their favorite music.
Read Below the video before watching it.
Fable 2 (Xbox 360):
Listen to this video first without the sound. After you finish it think about the depth, how you feel versus how you think you should feel. Then watch it again with sound, and see if you felt the same way as before. Granted, it's not the same if you have played the game before, because you would be expecting it or know what the general feel of the game is.
Example of a good player environment:
Genji: Days Of The Blade (PS3)
As you watch the video of Genji, take note of the music, the sounds the players character makes and the sounds of the enemies. For the most part, thorough the game and this video, you will notice that both the visuals and the audio are themed towards the theme of Feudal Japan.
Next Time:
Sound And The Player Experience Pt.2 (Ninety-Nine Themes)
Posted By Darren
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