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I must admit that I am starting to get sick and tired of reading about graphics. Whose got the best graphics? Is it XBox? Is it Gamecube? Is it PS2? Frankly, who cares? They all look amazing. Granted, consoles are a medium that is very much experienced primarily on a visceral level, but in all this debate (which I'm afraid to say I think plagues these forums) we seem to have forgotten an aspect of videogaming that, if used properly can be nearly, if not equally, effective as graphics.
Sound.
I believe we are reaching a level where quality of graphics between consoles will soon be indistinguishable. Developers will have to look for new ways to show off their new game, or distance themselves from being caught up in the mire of mediocrity that is the third party scene. I believe sound is the way to do that.
The pre-launch hype of Playstation 2's much vaunted 'Emotion Engine' has spectacularly failed to deliver. I won't go into that, that has been covered before. But rather than draw emotion from a crying graphics chip rendered human, it can be drawn out much more subtlely through sound and the effective use of it.
Take the popular survival horror genre. Rather than use superbly drawn monsters as te only fear in the game, use screams, use different types of music. To my mind Resident Evil is the only game that can do this. Sound can create fear, after all it is not what you see but sometimes what you don't see that creates fear (remember The Blair Witch Project?).
That isn't the only way sound could be used. Imagine playing an FPS where you can hear footsteps. You stop. But wait, whose footsteps are those? And why are they coming from different angles? The use of surround sound could also prove effective in creating what is sorely missing from amny of today's games - an atmosphere.
See? The possibilities are endless. Please tell me how you think sound could be incorporated more.
Sound.
I believe we are reaching a level where quality of graphics between consoles will soon be indistinguishable. Developers will have to look for new ways to show off their new game, or distance themselves from being caught up in the mire of mediocrity that is the third party scene. I believe sound is the way to do that.
The pre-launch hype of Playstation 2's much vaunted 'Emotion Engine' has spectacularly failed to deliver. I won't go into that, that has been covered before. But rather than draw emotion from a crying graphics chip rendered human, it can be drawn out much more subtlely through sound and the effective use of it.
Take the popular survival horror genre. Rather than use superbly drawn monsters as te only fear in the game, use screams, use different types of music. To my mind Resident Evil is the only game that can do this. Sound can create fear, after all it is not what you see but sometimes what you don't see that creates fear (remember The Blair Witch Project?).
That isn't the only way sound could be used. Imagine playing an FPS where you can hear footsteps. You stop. But wait, whose footsteps are those? And why are they coming from different angles? The use of surround sound could also prove effective in creating what is sorely missing from amny of today's games - an atmosphere.
See? The possibilities are endless. Please tell me how you think sound could be incorporated more.
I must admit that I am starting to get sick and tired of reading about graphics. Whose got the best graphics? Is it XBox? Is it Gamecube? Is it PS2? Frankly, who cares? They all look amazing. Granted, consoles are a medium that is very much experienced primarily on a visceral level, but in all this debate (which I'm afraid to say I think plagues these forums) we seem to have forgotten an aspect of videogaming that, if used properly can be nearly, if not equally, effective as graphics.
Sound.
I believe we are reaching a level where quality of graphics between consoles will soon be indistinguishable. Developers will have to look for new ways to show off their new game, or distance themselves from being caught up in the mire of mediocrity that is the third party scene. I believe sound is the way to do that.
The pre-launch hype of Playstation 2's much vaunted 'Emotion Engine' has spectacularly failed to deliver. I won't go into that, that has been covered before. But rather than draw emotion from a crying graphics chip rendered human, it can be drawn out much more subtlely through sound and the effective use of it.
Take the popular survival horror genre. Rather than use superbly drawn monsters as te only fear in the game, use screams, use different types of music. To my mind Resident Evil is the only game that can do this. Sound can create fear, after all it is not what you see but sometimes what you don't see that creates fear (remember The Blair Witch Project?).
That isn't the only way sound could be used. Imagine playing an FPS where you can hear footsteps. You stop. But wait, whose footsteps are those? And why are they coming from different angles? The use of surround sound could also prove effective in creating what is sorely missing from amny of today's games - an atmosphere.
See? The possibilities are endless. Please tell me how you think sound could be incorporated more.
Sound.
I believe we are reaching a level where quality of graphics between consoles will soon be indistinguishable. Developers will have to look for new ways to show off their new game, or distance themselves from being caught up in the mire of mediocrity that is the third party scene. I believe sound is the way to do that.
The pre-launch hype of Playstation 2's much vaunted 'Emotion Engine' has spectacularly failed to deliver. I won't go into that, that has been covered before. But rather than draw emotion from a crying graphics chip rendered human, it can be drawn out much more subtlely through sound and the effective use of it.
Take the popular survival horror genre. Rather than use superbly drawn monsters as te only fear in the game, use screams, use different types of music. To my mind Resident Evil is the only game that can do this. Sound can create fear, after all it is not what you see but sometimes what you don't see that creates fear (remember The Blair Witch Project?).
That isn't the only way sound could be used. Imagine playing an FPS where you can hear footsteps. You stop. But wait, whose footsteps are those? And why are they coming from different angles? The use of surround sound could also prove effective in creating what is sorely missing from amny of today's games - an atmosphere.
See? The possibilities are endless. Please tell me how you think sound could be incorporated more.
Sound definitely as important as graphics.
Well, as long as you're inncluding music in that too, it really set the mood for the game, warn of oncoming danger.
But has sound improved that much with this generation of games?
Probably not to the same extent as graphics, as it has been easier to have great sound in games in the past, when graphics were still a little blocky.
That said, more money goes into a game these days, so you could well have an entire ochestra used to create the music, rather than the standard beeps and whistles of an ancient console that we used to make do with!
Well, as long as you're inncluding music in that too, it really set the mood for the game, warn of oncoming danger.
But has sound improved that much with this generation of games?
Probably not to the same extent as graphics, as it has been easier to have great sound in games in the past, when graphics were still a little blocky.
That said, more money goes into a game these days, so you could well have an entire ochestra used to create the music, rather than the standard beeps and whistles of an ancient console that we used to make do with!
I think the only way of taking advantage of more better sound capabilities is to have your console hooked up onto a decent sound suround setup. I mean, its only a matter of time that your TV can produce decent all round sound. Sound needs to be all around you to be fully realistic. Like graphics, your eyes are locked on the TV, but your ears pick up sound from all directions. To make full use of sounds coming from next gen consoles, sounds needs to be behind you, infront or left and right, to get that realistic sound, just like eye candy you get from the graphics.
Meka Dragon wrote:
> Sound definitely as important as graphics.
Well, as long as you're inncluding
> music in that too, it really set the mood for the game, warn of oncoming
> danger.
But has sound improved that much with this generation of
> games?
Probably not to the same extent as graphics, as it has been easier to
> have great sound in games in the past, when graphics were still a little
> blocky.
That said, more money goes into a game these days, so you could well
> have an entire ochestra used to create the music, rather than the standard beeps
Thats the point I'm making, it has been neglected in the rush for things like anti-aliasing
> and whistles of an ancient console that we used to make do with!
> Sound definitely as important as graphics.
Well, as long as you're inncluding
> music in that too, it really set the mood for the game, warn of oncoming
> danger.
But has sound improved that much with this generation of
> games?
Probably not to the same extent as graphics, as it has been easier to
> have great sound in games in the past, when graphics were still a little
> blocky.
That said, more money goes into a game these days, so you could well
> have an entire ochestra used to create the music, rather than the standard beeps
Thats the point I'm making, it has been neglected in the rush for things like anti-aliasing
> and whistles of an ancient console that we used to make do with!