Diegesis Theory


 

9/24/19

Use of Sound http://devmag.org.za/2012/04/19/video-game-audio-diegesis-theory-2/

  • Sound gives feedback to the player, often in addition to visual feedback. This is most obvious in the interface, where buttons make noises. In the game itself, audio feedback helps the player feel his actions have an effect, an example is the sound played when a gun is reloaded.

  • Sound gives the player information about the game and its world itself, for example, the sound of approaching enemies warns to player to get ready. It also helps draw the attention to important game events.

  • Sound forms part of the award system of games. The sounds and flashes that go with completing a row in Tetris make the act much more pleasurable. It is a short-term award that supports the long-term award of not dying and beating a high-score.

  • Sounds help create realism. They help to immerse the player deeper into the game world and encourages the suspension of disbelief. It helps put the player in the scene, making her part of the action. Explosions without audio are neither believable, nor very dramatic.

  • Sound creates mood and pace, most often as background music. The cinematic soundtracks used in strategy games have nothing to do with realism or feedback or information. Instead, glorifies the setting, it makes the events feel epic, and so enhances the player’s feeling that he is doing something important. Similarly, the action-packed feeling of an arcade game is as much a result of the blingy music as it is of the actual gameplay.

Diegetic in terms of game audio boils down to “is it in the game world?“

A movie example of diegetic music (as most music is non-diegetic for the player to feel certain moods without affect on the story) is the cantina band from Star Wars: A New Hope.

Effect - In setting sounds created from activity of the avatar.

Zone - Worldly sounds generally ambience. Helps with spatial immersion.

Affect - elements the ‘affect‘ the player. Non-worldy music to help set mood. “enlarge social, cultural and emotional references“ (an Tol & Huiberts)

Interface - like effect, plays off of interaction, but does not relate to the world.

a read for next week: https://download.captivatingsound.com/Sander_Huiberts_CaptivatingSound.pdf