For today, I’d like you to find a quote or two from Whalen’s essay that you feel can shed light on the game I showed in class today…
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- nadavis on 11/8 – Paragraph Development
- mayal on 11/8 – Paragraph Development
- ehelm on 11/8 – Paragraph Development
- bshaffe on 11/8 – Paragraph Development
- rsalehi on 11/8 – Paragraph Development
Archives
Categories
Meta
In both cases, animated film and game animation, timed musical cues and sound effects typically suggest a responsive, narrative-specific environment aimed at either immersing the viewer/user in the spectacle of storytelling or engaging the viewer/user in the kinesthetic emulation of problem solving in a narrativized context.
“…the composer and game designers match appropriate
music to specific game environments. This type of music
functions to draw the player into the fictional world of the
game by making the environment more believable. “
“In general survival horror games rely on conventions of horror film sound to effectively create the mood of horror required for the game (echoing effects, screeching violins, dissonant bursts of symphonic noise at “startle” moments, etc.)…”
“silence…puts the player on edge rather than reassuring him that there is no danger in the immediate environment, increasing the expectation that danger will soon appear. The appearance of danger is, therefore, heightened in intensity by way of its sudden intrusion into silence” (Whalen).
“Also, at a smaller level, the satisfying “ching” of collecting gold coins reinforces that behaviour which is strategically advantageous to advancing in the game.”
Not sure if coins are needed in this game, but there was a “ching” every time the character found and grabbed coins.
“It is important that the videogame medium adopts certain roles for music from prior narrative media. Specifically, early cartoon music and horror films established certain tropes that videogames rely on today.”
“The key, fundamental overlap between videogames and films is
the fact that films and videogames basically rely on both aural
and visual cues to convey a sense of a consistent diegesis or
gameworld.”
“The fact that such a simple sound system could correlate so strongly to an emotional scale hints at the complex emotional interpretations made possible by different harmonies, chords and key changes.”
“The next scene initiates an encounter with zombies (Figure 12b), and enacts the standard danger state accompaniment of rhythmically intense music in a diminished or minor key. In other words, the silence has replaced the safe state music, and the danger music is more intense than similar music in, say, Ocarina of Time. As is the case with horror films, the silence of the first scene puts the player on edge rather than reassuring him that there is no danger in the immediate environment, increasing the expectation that danger will soon appear. The appearance of the danger is, therefore, heightened in intensity by way of its sudden intrusion into silence.”
“In fact, the “safe state” is not present at all in the same sense, so the music never settles on or even moves toward any kind of resolution. “
“Specifically instances of musical sound in videogames generally follow one of two trajectories: to expand the concept of a game’s fictional world or to draw the player forward through the sequence of gameplay”
“There are no enemies, so non-diegetic music is silent. The next scene initiates an encounter with zombies (Figure 12b), and enacts the standard danger state accompaniment of rhythmically intense music in a diminished or minor key.”
Instead of there being music during the safe state, it is silent. But when enemies (in this case, zombies) come into play, the classic minor key music plays and is “rhythmically intense.” This completely creates the mood of the game.
“Specifically, early cartoon music and horror films established certain tropes that videogames rely on today.”
I think this quote explains how once one sound is associated in our minds as evoking a certain emotion, in the future it will evoke that same emotion again.
“Experiments that analyze how viewers interpret purely visual media versus combined visual and aural media are helpful for exploring the cognitive processes involved.”
This quote shows that there is scientific backing for certain types of music helping to portray the tone of a setting in a game.
“The cartoon character acting in the space of the animation relies on musical
accentuation to make the illusion compelling, and the result is
that the musical cues and non-musical sound effects instill
objects with even more life than the simple appearance of
figures in motion.”
“These harmonic and instrumental choices demonstrate uses of music to convey a specific mood in accompanying the visuals. Diegetic and non-diegetic music blend with the sound to create a specific and compelling mood.”
“Diegetic and non-diegetic music blend with the sound to create a specific and compelling mood.”
Similar to the game Silent Hill: “…so in Silent Hill the music is always in a degree of ‘danger state’ in order to impel the player through the game’s spaces. The mood of the game is crucial to the horrific ‘feel,’ but it also provides motivation by compelling continual progress through the game.”
“Immersion is giving in to the seduction of the text’s story, to be blissfully unaware of one’s surroundings and the passing of time as one escapes into the pleasure of reading.”
I liked the above quote because that also applies to video games. Amnesia encourages you to wear headphones and play the game only at night to get a true feeling of the game.
“The key, fundamental overlap between videogames and films is the fact that films and videogames basically rely on both aural and visual cues to convey a sense of a consistent diegesis or gameworld. ”
Especially with horror movies and games. Music is key.
“Specifically instances of musical sound in
videogames generally follow one of two trajectories: to expand
the concept of a game’s fictional world or to draw the player
forward through the sequence of gameplay”
“Though there is an extent to which all games have a rhythm of alternation between “safety” and “danger,”… ”
The clip we saw definitely alternated between a “safe” time, when you didn’t have to worry, and a “danger” time, when there are zombies hitting you with an axe.
“In other words, the silence has replaced the safe state music, and the danger music is more intense than similar music”
“…the music is always in a degree of “danger state” in order to impel the player through the game’s spaces.” ” In other words, the silence has replaced the safe state music, and the danger music is more intense than similar music in, say, Ocarina of Time.”
“it represents a character’s relation to its fictive universe, mickey mousing roots the cartoon character in a whimsical world whose space is responsive only to the constraints of the character”