When i first think of sound in video games i think it is important to realize how essential they are to most games. Not just as Whalen says in the article as a tool for reinforcing behavior or emotion, or telling they story they are part of the immersion into the game as a whole. To prove this just think about a game and how that game would be different without music. Whenever i play a video game the music and sound is a very important part of playing the game. When I play competitive games online I have to listen to the sounds of the game and the background music or I don’t play as well. I am not fully immersed in the game world without the music and the sounds of the game playing.
Most games use sounds to reinforce and control behavior in the game. For instance in Ocarina of time when your character, Link, gets hurt he makes a grunt of pain. This not only immerses you into the game world it also gives a audio incentive to avoid harm to Link, beyond losing part of your health heart.
I think Whalen chose the perfect game to base his argument around in Ocarina of Time. Every area had a different sound track that helped set the mood of the area and increase the immersion of the player. I remember to this day most of the music in that game and as a child it definitely made the game stand out from a lot of other games i was playing. The mechanics of the game also reinforced the music in the game because your character could play music and had to learn and play new songs to advance the story line. Other games have made music tie into their story and play but I’ve never seen it done better than Ocarina of Time.
Another game that i thought we should play as an example of music really adding to the game is another game that i play a lot on the same website as The Crossing; Winterbells
Ah, Winterbells. If Enya made videogames, this would be it.