Level Up.pdf

402 LEVEL 15 Some Notes on Music
Decide whether your sound effects are realistic or cartoony. This will
generally be set by the theme of your game, but sometimes there are
exceptions. Realistic sounds make the world feel grounded in reality but
sometimes the sounds can be too subdued. Cartoony sound effects are
exaggerated and great for “ video game - y ” things like extra lives and
treasure collection, but sometimes they are a little too “ on the nose ” and risk
taking the player out of the game ’ s world. Make sure your sound designer is
using sound to its greatest potential. Make sounds go “ up ” in pitch and
tempo to make something sound positive, like collecting an extra life or
completing a task. Make sound effects go “ down ” to reinforce negative and
failure situations.
Regardless of which style you choose, sometimes your sound designer will
have to “ sweeten ” a sound effect because the real world version just
doesn ’ t sound right. For example, I have found that breaking bones never
sound right; they sound more like dry twigs cracking. Instead, we
“ sweetened ” the effect with the sound of a bowling ball cracking into pins.
When you are creating attack and reaction sound effects for your
characters, work with your animators to determine timing. You want to
make sure your sound effect doesn ’ t last longer or end before the animation
does. Once you have determined the animation ’ s timing, create the sound
effect to fit. Make sure your sound programmer knows what frame of
animation the sound effect is supposed to play on.
Sounds can be used to give the player a warning or clue to something
else in the game. The whistle of a falling bombshell can give the player
enough of a chance to dive for cover. A crackle of electricity or ominous
thrum of magical power will give the player pause when approaching a
protected doorway. A player can search for an item like a lost pocket
watch or misplaced cell phone by following the sound of its ticking or
ringing.