Listening to Fear - Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments - page 193

requires a high level of perceptual readiness in
regard to sound” (p. 10). The level of attention
required vis-à-vis sound must be increased all the
more so as computer game environments are often
designed to limit the visual perception of the gamer.
Whether it is by means of a constraining virtual
camera system (Taylor, 2005), by using stylistic
effect such as the thick fog shrouding the streets
of Silent Hill (Konami, 1999), or by drastically
reducing sources of light, game designers have,
through time, found a variety of ways to force the
gamer to utilise their ears in order to help their
player character survive in the nightmarish worlds
in which they play.
To fully comprehend how horror computer
games manage to frighten the gamer, one must
understand how sound is structured, as well as
be aware of how the gamer makes meaning with
the information the sounds carry. From this point,
many questions arise. What are the implications of
the generic context on the reception of the sounds
in horror computer games? On what basis should
we approach the sound structure of those games?
How does this structure allow for the mise en scène
of the dreadful elements or horrific strategies of
the games? What are the basic functions of hor-
ror computer game sounds and, once again, how
can the game work on these functions to create a
sentiment of fear and dread in the gamer?
As it will be further explored in the next sec-
tions of this chapter, I make the hypothesis that
sound in computer games should be approached
directly in regard to its purposes towards gameplay.
After all, gameplay is what mainly distinguishes
computer games from their linear audio-visual
counterparts: the main difference between com-
puter games and films being situated in the par-
ticipatory and interactive nature of the videoludic
medium. Therefore, it is mainly through a study
of gameplay that true understanding of the role of
game sound can be achieved. In this perspective,
I also suggest that sound should be addressed in
a way that is both accessible to designers and the
most common gamer. In order to do so, I firmly

believe that adopting a position that emphasizes
reception issues of gameplay can provide a more
productive model than one that would be grounded
directly in the production aspects (implementation
and programming) of game sound.
Overall, this text aims at explaining how hor-
ror game sound works in a way to elicit specific
emotions in the gamer. Adopting a gamer- and
gameplay-centric perspective, it wishes to high-
light how the inner relations of the sonic struc-
ture and the different functions of game sound
are used to create strategies based on the micro
events and on the overarching generic context that
regulates these events. With examples borrowed
from the Alone in the Dark (I-motion, 1992-1995,
Infogrames, 2001 & Atari, 2008), Resident Evil
(Capcom, 1996-2009) and Silent Hill (Konami,
1999-2008) series, and from the computer game
Dead Space (Electronic Arts, 2008), this paper
will also try to demonstrate how the notion of
genre, instead of being merely a tool to classify
games, rather impacts on the expectations of
the gamer and therefore structures the way they
organize and make meaning of sound in relation
to the game context. 1

APPrOAcHING HOrrOr
cOMPUtEr GAME sOUND

Before we try to understand what purposes sounds
serve in horror computer games and how they
contribute in generating fear, it is essential to take
a look at the numerous factors which condition
the gamer's journey and influence their listening
through their gaming sessions.

the Horizon of Expectations

In her topic Game Sound: An Introduction to the
History, Theory, and Practice of Video Games ,
Karen Collins (2008) noted that “game [sound]
has been significantly affected by the nature of
technology […] and by the nature of the industry”