Interacting with and listening to game sound
The audiences perception of a sound is dependant on how they listen to it, how one listens can be discussed in terms of Michel Chion’s three modes. The first is casual listening, this is defined as recognising the source of the sound, we instinctively gather information about the world through casual listening. This mode provides the listener with the general characteristics of the objects around them. The second is semantic listening, this is the act of listening and interpreting messages in the sound. This could be seen as not only listening to the words someone speaks, but the tone in their voice. Karen Collins provides the example of the beeping tower in fallout 3, one can casually listen to the beeps and determine that there is a tower in the area and maybe even the distance. One can also listen semantically, providing they understand morse code, and determine a message within the sound. Lastly there is reduced listening, this is focusing in on the auditory qualities of the sound irregardless of the context. As a sound designer we must be conscious that the player can be listening in multiple modes at any time.
Collins goes on to explain the development of these listening modes to accommodate interactive gaming. The musicologist David Huron proposes some additions to Chion’s theory with signal listening, sing along and retentive listening. Signal listening refers to how the player listens in anticipation of a signalling sound. Singalong listening is the act of following along with the sound, an example of this would be karaoke games. Retentive listening is the act of listening with the intention of recalling the information later.
Interactivity with sound in video games is largely dependant not on listening, but the invoking of sound. There is a fluidity to interactivity in game sound, to accommodate for this Collins provides a diagram to separate and identify the different categories of interaction.
Cognitive/psychological interactions are in the centre of the diagram because Collins sees them as a constant phenomenon from which all other interactions take place. This is considered a constant phenomenon by Collins because ‘active reception’ is a form of interactivity (this is informed by Manovich’s reasonings on the misinterpretation of interactivity in computer based media). There is a distinction between two categories of psychological interactions, that which takes place between the player and the game, and that which extends beyond the context of the game itself.
This text was extremely useful as it provides a good basis from which to approach sound design in games. It did stray a lot into more general interactivity in games which I found to be not as focused and valuable but it was still interesting. With a greater understanding of interactivity in games, one can achieve a higher level of it.