Sound is Not a Simulation - Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments - page 55

huge part of the murmur of a city that we no longer
distinguish it from the background noise—yet if
it stopped… we would notice the silence. The
street hawkers and homeless, a perpetual cry of,
“What do you want?”, “Can you give?”, “Have
you got any change?”, “Will you buy?”, Specific
sound markers in Dublin are, “flowers get your
flowers, get your fruit, get your veg, paper, eve-
nin' paper, any money for a hostel”. These oral
announcements could also be considered part of
the ambient sound track of the city. They would
in fact be the soundmarkers for particular urban
spaces. This multitude of sound still leaves out the
sounds related to the outside or inside acoustics
created by structures and objects such as build-
ings, cars, trains or metro stations.
If one moves to what urban dwellers consider
the apparently quiet soundscape of the natural
world, we find a multitude of sounds connected
to the society of animals, from mating cries to
hunting calls as well as the sound of eating and
foraging, flying, climbing and running. There is
the ambient sound of wind through trees, grass or
wood bending, rain storms, flowing rivers, rippling
water, small streams, and all of this situated in one
small area. Now relate this minimal soundscape to
sounds within gaming. Such a comparison might
lead us to ask how we can experience a real, or
significantly close to real, soundscape in a virtual
world if the sound design is limited to “character
or interface sounds” (Grimshaw & Schott, 2007).
This description might be considered too linear
and too connected to time and human activities.
The ability to comprehend space and the sounds
within it are not based entirely on the ability to
hear, it is also based on the cultural and social
context of both the sounds we hear and our in-
terpretation of them. Blesser and Salter (2009)
would argue that we cannot interpret and construct
sonic architecture without accepting the cultural
relativism of the sensory experience.
Therefore in my description of the urban rural
soundscape I cannot claim to be objective; my
choice of sounds relate to my experience of par-

ticular spaces, my interpretation of these sounds
lie in my education, upbringing, and the socially
constructed meanings that are inevitably tied to
certain sounds.
We again return to what Augoyard and Torgue
(2006) would consider the inherent problem of
describing or analysing a soundscape: the subjec-
tivity issue. If each group or individual perceives
sounds differently, how can we generalise when
constructing a soundscape? This argument could
cross over to many disciplines, within the arts it
is generally understood that a work of art is best
understood by the artist who made it. Yet the
artist accepts that their work will be interpreted
differently by every person that sees it. So what
makes a great work of art? Is it tied to cultural
phenomena, can a particular work be representa-
tive of a particular time? Do people understand
the meaning because it resonates with what is
happening at a particular moment, globally, politi-
cally and socially?
It is not enough to dismiss understanding how
the individual experiences sound because it is sub-
jective, we must explore how people understand
sound in particular places at particular times and
then look for similarities between other places
and people. Then perhaps we can generalise in
the construction of digital sound design based on
data that reveals particular generalities.

cONcLUsION

The interpretation and meaning of sound alters
in relation to personal, historical and cultural
experiences, as well as the context of our auditory
experience. The physicality of sound can alter
our perception of the space in which we hear it,
expanding or contracting the landscape and shap-
ing our psychological and sociological response to
place. If we wish to construct a digital soundscape
which simulates reality and creates the sense of
immersion, a study of the sociological impact of
the soundscape must be undertaken. However the