Sound is used in all games whether its an old retro game or a new shooter sound is used to set

pace and mood. It also communicates the theme of the game to the player. Some sounds are
more noticeable than others and in some game series sound was the main component used
throughout as spoken dialogue was rarely used.
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 is a psychological horror game, in which the main protagonist is trapped in the town
of Silent Hill, where the town warps its own image to match the protagonists psyche. The town
is populated by hellish monsters, who are there to punish the protagonist. They can only leave
when they have come to terms with the situation that has called them to Silent Hill.
In this game sound is very important as the field of vision is very limited, therefore you have to
go off of what you hear instead of what you see. Silent Hill 2 uses many different music tracks to
convey the intended emotion to the player. In the beginning, when Marys letter is being read
out, the track that is being played has a very soft and yet inquisitive tone to it giving us the
feeling that something is not right with either the letter or James account of Marys death. The
music then takes on a more sinister and distorted feeling as James gets closer towards Silent
Hill, which reflects the towns environment.
This music was made with the purpose of making you feel uneasy and on edge, which makes
Silent Hill more of a psychological horror over your classic horror. In contrast to this soundtrack,
which becomes softer when you start to explore this town, there is the harsh sounds of the iron
gates and the sound when you pick up maps or notes within the game. The infamous siren is a
major factor in the games psyche as it makes your hairs stand on end.
When this siren goes off it means the world is going to twist from the 'overworld' to the hellish
nightmare Silent Hill is so famous for. These sounds were made to be harsh as they make you
jump and brings your mind back to the fact that you are playing a horror game, as the music
sends you into a trance.
The purpose of Silent Hills music is to immerse your mind in the game and its plot while the
game takes advantage of the vulnerable state it has drawn your mind into. The sound creates a
hypnotic and dark environment. The sounds from Silent Hill gives off a distorted sense of
fantasy and morality that strongly reflects the protagonist, James Sunderlands moral standpoint
and his actions before the games events have taken place starting with him murdering his wife
right up until he the letter sent by his dead wife at the beginning of the game.
Interactive sound is where your character interacts or does something and as a result a sound is
played. Some of the interactive sounds in Silent Hill are the footsteps when you move the
analogue stick in any direction these sounds become louder as the character starts running. A
sample of adaptive sounds in Silent Hill is the radio used to detect the monsters, the static that
the radio emits becomes louder as you become closer to the enemy.
Acousmatic sound is where a sound is played but the object or person making that sound
cannot be seen on screen. An example of acousmatic sound in Silent Hill is the infamous radio
as it can alert you to an enemy's presence but you cannot see the intended enemy.
There are a few legal issues pertaining to the music and sounds in the game. Konami are big
game developers and will want to retain all copyrights to the sounds and music produced for
their titles. The sound producer Akira Yamaoka is paid by Konami which is where he is paid by
Caitlin Farmer

the company to produce sounds for their game titles and in return Konami has the copyrights to
all sound assets produced on their premises. The soundtracks were also produced by Akira
Yamaoka and there may be an additional clause in his contract that states he earns extra
money from sales of this soundtrack outside of the original use. In other words if the
soundtracks were used outside of the game e.g. in a film extra money payment would go to its
creator.
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is a post-apocalyptic action role playing game set in the United States after
the 'Great War'. This game was developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by
Bethesda Softworks. The composers for this title are Inon Zur and Mark Morgan although the
music on the in game radios are songs recorded by different artists such as Bing Crosby and
Billie Holliday, the music used on the radios are from the 1950's and the music sends your mind
back into that era with helps aesthetically, the music in Fallout: New Vegas sets the pace and
the feeling of the game as most of the music is upbeat and lets off the feeling of an adventure,
the songs played on the radio are called on the air sounds and are diegetic sounds.
Some of the interactive sounds in Fallout: New Vegas are the footsteps and the sound your
character makes when they jump. Some of the adaptive sounds in Fallout are gunshots fired
from the enemies and the enemys footsteps. Sometimes the shots can come from an enemy off
screen and this is an example of acousmatic sound within the game.
Fallout has a lot of different tones and music for leveling up, fights and for the menu within the
game which is also known as a pipboy.
There are obvious copyright issues pertaining to the music within the game as many of the
soundtracks are recorded by artists who had no involvement with the game such as Kay Kyser
and Frank Sinatra. These tracks have their own copyrights outside of the game and with their
use within Fallout also.
Fallout: New Vegas contains 65,000 lines of dialogue which is 25,000 more than its predecessor
Fallout 3. All lines of dialogue spoken by the character are chosen by the player and the NPCs
have appropriate responses to the lines chosen. Although your character never speaks the
other NPCs do have spoken lines. Allowing the player to choose the lines of dialogue enables
them to become immersed into the game and the story.
Sound is important as it can control the whole feeling of the game. Tone and environment are
set by the music and this is something no one should forget.

Caitlin Farmer