Game case study

One of the sound technologies that Nintendo has patented is the language of the NPCs in the Animal Crossing series. Most games nowadays choose to invite voice actors to perform the voices of the NPCs when they are being produced. But this only applies to games set in the human world, what if the game is set in a non-human world? It would be a bit strange to use human language. So the sound team led by Kazumi Totaka has created a new language for this unique world.

In animal crossing, there are other sound designs to talk about besides the language of the NPC. Take the latest version of Animal Crossing: New Horizon for example. As I wanted to mention in my thesis, the game has a great design in terms of music, ambient, and animated sound effects. The soundtrack of this game switches with the time of day, 24 hours a day, it has 24 tracks, each one fitting the feel of that time perfectly. The silence of the early hours, the freshness of the morning, and the laziness of the evening. Animal Crossing: New Horizon is a casual game set on an uninhabited island, and its environment feels very comfortable. The sounds of the wind in the forest and the waves lapping on the beach are very effective in relaxing the player. And the different textures of the footsteps are very pleasant too! One of the lovely sound effects in this game is that after crafting something, the character has an animation showing off the item, and the corresponding sound effects fit well.

The NPC’s voice is at 6:01-7:12, and the sound effect showing off the item is at 8:23.