Audio’s impact on the gaming world

To put it lightly, sound is colossal when it comes to gaming, and has been even back from its humble beginnings. Commercial gaming started to take shape back in the 1970s. The quintessential classic game of Pong is as simple as it gets by today’s standards. However, the implementation of the “beeps” and “bops” adds to the game. Even though you can see you have hit the shot, you get to hear it too. Strangely, it’s satisfying, and it gives you a feeling of confirmation without you really realising it.

Through simple soundtracks or repetitive noises, audio can soon become a huge part of the brand identity for a game. Pacman is heavily known for its “waka waka” sound – you hear that and you think Pacman. For a gaming franchise, that is gold. In a way, sound engineering can be seen as an advertisement. It works in the same way – you hear something catchy or repetitive and it’ll get stuck in your head, along with the image you pair it with. Clever, right?

Let’s move on a little bit. Gaming and audio have taken another big leap forward. You may not think it straight away, but the art and engineering that goes into the audio of a game are just as important as the visuals. Sound gives a whole other dimension of immersion. It can put you straight into the center of a war-torn town, the driver’s seat of a V8 muscle car, an intergalactic battleship, a desolate haunted forest. You name it, there is a sound for it. Sound sets the ambience and the scene for your mind to be taken away to another place. Audio immersion is therefore vital in video games.