Project 1&2 – Some thoughts 2

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The soundscape is an extension of the term Landscape, originally proposed by urban planner Michael Southworth in his 1969 paper ‘The Sonic Environment of Cities’. The concept of soundscape has been used in a variety of fields. Soundscapes are divided into the natural acoustic environment and anthropophagy. These include the biophony, the sounds made by living things in nature. The geophony, the sounds of weather, and other natural elements. And finally the anthropogenic sounds, the sounds produced by human activity.

In the game, three subjects need to be noted: the sound itself, the environment, and the player. The environment is objective, but the sounds in the environment are at the service of the player. This is the immersion of the first perspective game. 

Both projects, this time, have a heavy task of shaping the environment’s sound. And the documentary is a first-person perspective shoot. The surrounding sound will be produced with the audience as the central sound reception point to make it more immersive.

In addition to being immersive, soundscapes can also influence the emotional development of the player, this keeps the player’s attention focused on what is happening in the game. The sound elements in a soundscape can be divided into three types, depending on their attributes and functional differences: Keynote Sounds, which are created by geography and climate and reflect the location or period in which the listener lives. Sound Signals are noticed by the listener and act as a cue. Sound-mark, This is a sound that is unique to an area. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a great example of this, as all areas of the game are filled with soft, calming white noise. For example, standing under a tree, the player will hear the rustling of leaves in the breeze; at the water’s edge or by a waterfall, the sound of water flowing; at the sea’s edge, the sound of waves emerging and receding; and inside, the sound of air flowing through the ventilation ducts. Once in the game, players can stop and listen to the ambient sounds at any time. These never-ending sound effects make you feel like you are really in nature. While the player is immersed in the comfort of nature, a fish swishes through the river. The natural ambient sounds distract the player, while the cues of natural species activity hold the player’s attention. The soundscape of the environment is fundamental to the immersion of a game and a first-person view work, as it decides the base of the game’s sound world. As Jonas Breum Jensen (The leading principal sound designer of Hitman 3) put it in an interview, “I think in sound design, it’s a lot about not what you see in the camera but what you have in the periphery that simulates that there is a breathing world around you that has consequences.”

  • Update 12.5 – Bibliography – Bernard L. Krause. Soundscape Ecology: The Science of Sound in the Landscape[J].BioScience,2011-03,61(3):203-216. & Marinna Guzy. The Sound of Life: What Is a Soundscape?[EB/OL]. & Michael Southworth. 1969. The Sonic Environment of Cities.
  • Update 12.5 – Game work reference – Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo, 2020
  • Update 12.5 – Intervirw – How Hitman 3’s hard-hitting sound was made. Interview by Christian Hagelskjær, with Jonas Breum Jensen, Gabriel Johannesson and Ivo Sissolak. https://www.asoundeffect.com/hitman-3-game-audio/