Group tutorial feedback

In yesterday’s group tutorial, Dereck and I both showed the current work in progress. As Ingrid mentioned, the game design students think about different things than we do, they think more about the overall visuals and gameplay of the game. So the presentation of sound is something we should be thinking about. What does sound offer to a game other than helping the visuals and making the experience better? This reminds me of a puzzle-platform game I played many years ago, Limbo, a 2D game where you can only move sideways (going right is forward, going left is backwards) and the player has to manoeuvre the little boy to find his little sister. One level stuck with me, when I got to the end of the screen, a giant spider would forever appear with its legs outstretched and pounding the ground, blocking my path. I only had two options to walk backwards to avoid his attack and walk forwards to be stabbed by its legs. Of course, I couldn’t go forward, but it was impossible to go backwards and I was confused by this for a long time. So I kept moving forward and backward to avoid its attacks and after a few rounds, I heard something land behind me, just off-screen to the left. I got closer and saw that it was an animal trap and all I had to do was push it to where the spider’s legs were falling and it would clip off the spider’s legs and I would be through. The spider keeps hitting the ground to shake the animal trap off the tree and then uses sound to alert the player of the clue to the pass. In this game, the sound is added to the game mechanics and becomes part of the gameplay.