Sound is Not a Simulation - Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments - page 54

do not hear the voices of hundreds of men dying
or in pain, a sound that would exist in a real war.
Our experiences of explosions are controlled lest
we be deafened, but where is the artillery con-
stantly humming over the horizon, the perpetual
whump, whump of helicopters marking or spotting
territory? Jørgensen (2008) argues that symbolic
sounds are key components in Player V Player
games, more so than background. For her, game
context is key: what kind of game is it and what
type of space does the avatar inhabit? Jorgensen's
research focuses on the situation oriented ap-
proach which interprets sounds in reference to
events, rather than object orientated perspective.
She argues that the gamer must understand the
rules of the system in order to both manipulate
it and understand that it “can affect individual
actions” (Jørgensen, 2008, p. 2). This concept
reflects Blumer's (1986) symbolic interactionist
approach, where humans “define each other's
actions instead of merely reacting to each other's
actions” (p. 79). The other person in this case is
the gameworld.
There may be several schools of thought on
sound within gaming. If the sound is too real,
would it terrify the gamer, distract them, annoy
them, or just confuse them? Both Schafer and
Smith have looked at the history of the sound-
scape and analysed the possible cause and effect
of certain soundscapes on the human condition
(Schafer, 1977; Smith, 1999, 2004). However,
a new research model is needed to identify how
certain sounds trigger emotive or psychological
responses, particularly to the soundscape that is
featured in a large number of games: war sounds.
For a conclusive multi-method we must first
decide what is actually needed in a digital game
space. For example, if the game has no point of
free space where the player can actively listen to
their environment, is it necessary for a detailed
soundscape? This question may be answered
by the questionnaire approach; a series of semi
structured interviews may reveal how people hear
a space that they only traverse through. This type

of interview allows the interviewer a certain level
of control which directs the interviewee down
particular paths. Equally it allows the interviewee
to expand on themes outside the limits of the ques-
tion, which can reveal unexpected information
(Bryman, 2008).

the Mapped soundscape

If we were to map the soundscape of a city where
would we start? Would we first categorize it, a
heading from loudest to quietest or might we
break it up into specific human sounds, crowds,
individuals, groups of five or more, age related or
gender specific? Females have a different tonality
to their voices compared to men, children have
higher pitched voices to adults, and teenagers are
louder than everybody. Then we refer to acoustics,
how different do people sound on a pedestrian
street as compared to a car filled street or even a
park? We can then examine the architecture of the
space, the height of the buildings their position
and how this might change the reverberant space.
Then we could move on to city noises, for
example trams running through a city. This would
sound at a very low but continuous level, marking
specific territories within a city at particular times.
Then there is the multitude of cars, trucks and
vans and the occasional house alarm, fire alarms,
fire trucks, police cars and ambulances sounding
off regularly throughout the day, reminding us of
sickness, danger and intrusion. The continuous
hum of traffic that never quite stops, but it shifts
in decibel level throughout the day and sits along-
side a cacophony of beeping horns. There is the
opening and shutting of thousands of doors onto
streets, which might include the hiss of sliding
doors, the beeping signals at pedestrian traffic
lights, or a robotic voice counting down till we
can cross the street. These sounds are part of the
ambient soundscape of most cities, but they are
still just a small part of the overall sound.
Maybe we think we have not heard the sound of
a million footsteps pounding a street—it is such a