Despite its unrealistic nature, the sequence of sounds conforms to player expectations via what Chion ( 1994, p.
Inside limbo switch physical series#
It should also be noted that this series of sounds would normally be physically impossible, as in reality the sound of the explosion and the shockwave would be one and the same phenomenon. This orientates the player within the physical space of the game-world, giving a sense of depth to the environment along the spatial axis that the player is unable to explore due to the two-dimensional nature of the gameplay. The delay between the explosion and the shockwave also conveys some spatial information about the game environment, as it creates the impression that the explosion must be occurring very far away in order for the shockwave to take so long to arrive. The shockwave is preceded by a rising sound similar to that of a falling explosive shell and a muffled explosion.
Whilst behind cover, this feeling of safety is reinforced by removing some of the noise-like components via low-pass filtering of the explosion sounds.
This brain stem response communicates clearly to the player that the shockwave is a threat, prompting the player to find cover before the shockwave arrives. Juslin and Vastfjall ( 2008) found that sounds with large amounts of low frequency content and noise-like spectra resulted in increased nervous system activity in the listener, creating feelings of unease and sensory arousal due to brain stem activation. The sound of the shockwave is loud, has a large amount of low frequency content, and also causes the ambient sound of the level to duck when it occurs. The audio provides valuable instruction to the player regarding the manner in which they should approach this section of gameplay. In order to avoid player frustration, the developer’s expectations of the player must be clearly communicated. This combination of carefully placed cover and a constantly recurring deadly threat leaves a relatively small margin for player error. The player character’s maximum movement speed must be taken into account in order to ensure that cover is physically positioned in such a way that it is close enough to be reached within one shockwave cycle, but far enough from other areas of cover to provide a suitable challenge. The core challenge of this section of the game is to avoid the shockwave, which is a design decision that has implications regarding the level geometry. These ludic functions of sound are unique to the medium of video games, and INSIDE provides a valuable case-study in combining multiple functions using the single core mechanic of persistently looping audio. The “musical suture” (Kamp, in: Ludomusicology: approaches to video game music, Equinox, Sheffield, 2016) created by continuously looping audio during death and respawn is also examined with regards to immersing the player within an evolving soundscape.Ĭollins ( 2008) posits that interactive games must ensure that the player hears sounds that provide feedback based on their actions, instruct them as to their objectives, and orientate them within the world of the game. The concept of spectromorphology proposed by Smalley (Organised Sound 2(2):107–126, 1997) is used to analyse the way in which musical cues can retain ludic functionality and promote immersion in the absence of diegetic sound design. This paper uses this aspect of the soundtrack as a case study, examining the effects of looping sound effects and abstract musical cues on player immersion, ludic functionality, and episodic engagement. Released on Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and iOS, 2016) features a gameplay section in which rhythmic audio cues loop continuously both during gameplay and after player death. The manner in which soundscapes evolve and change during gameplay can have many implications regarding player experience.
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