Guidelines for Sound Design in Computer Games - Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments - page 371

sion. The idea is to allow the player/character to
produce the sound that translates the actions that
are intended to occur. An interesting collateral
effect is that, in this process, the player/character
substitutes or participates in the correspondent
sound and, consequently integrates into the overall
composition. In contrast to the former guideline,
in order to cope with this one, it seems relevant
to allow for actual sound input.
Conceptually, this differs from strict voice
commands in the sense that the input does not
reflect an order for something to happen but rather
the actual sonic expression of something as if it
were already happening. This is indeed a relevant
distinction, with some implications both in format
and semantics. One difference is the nature of the
emitted message: Text versus expression. Another
is the timing and duration of the message. In the
case of voice commands the order precedes the
action and its duration does not depend on that
of the action; in the case of the approach we are
suggesting, the stimulus and the action are theo-
retically simultaneous: The action starts as soon
as the stimulus is identified (despite, in practice,
that this will imply some latency) and lasts for as
long as the stimulus is maintained. Consequently,
there are also differences in the kind of control that
is possible for actions that are flexible regarding
duration. Also, it is conceivable that we interpret
variances in the acoustic parameters along the
stimulus (intensity, pitch and so forth) and dy-
namically shape the action according to preset
conventions. Furthermore, there are significant
aesthetic differences: For instance, the proposed
approach evidences great potential regarding the
exploration of the input sound as a component of
the game's artistic value. Finally, there are differ-
ences in terms of the emotional impact underlying
each approach: For example, if we are actually
giving orders, as in some war games such as Tom
Clancy's EndWar (Ubisoft Shanghai, 2008), voice
commands may feel more appropriate, while, in
some other scenarios, making non-verbal sounds
may provide a better experience. Again, we em-

phasize that we are not arguing the value of one
approach over the other: our aim is to contribute
to the enrichment of the space of possibilities.
One final point that should not be overlooked
is the potential ludic value inherent to making
sounds: that is, in performing at the interface.
Thus, not only the ludic meaning of the triggered
actions but also the activation itself becomes part
of the game. This is a rare opportunity. Typically,
the activation level is not conceived of for the
purposes of providing fun. There is not much joy
in the act of pressing keys at the keyboard, moving
the mouse, pushing buttons in controllers and so
on (although, to be fair, there is fun inherent to
the use of some interface devices such as steering
wheel and pedals, musical instrument imitations,
and some modern game console controllers). Of
course, the design of the sounds that are supposed
to be input-a matter that fits into Guideline 1-has
a determinant importance on the kind of achieve-
ments that may become possible at this level of
the game.
Other hypothetical examples would be: driv-
ing a cart on a path while avoiding running over
crossing animals by producing the sounds of the
engine and possibly the emergency brake, gain-
ing focus over a wooden box to move it on a rock
floor by imitating the sound it would make and
controlling directions with mouse or keys, mak-
ing a ball jump different heights according to the
modulation of some established sound, shooting
a gun by vocalizing the shots, shooting different
guns using a feature of automatic weapon selection
based on their distinct shot sounds and so forth.

Guideline 5: Allow Integration
of Player's context into the
soundscape composition

Context plays an important role in interaction
processes. Also, sound is both part of that con-
text and a way to express it. It is worthwhile to
explore the possibilities in terms of soundscape
composition and, particularly in respect to affec-