Sound Design: Hollow Knight Contextual Example
Sound design is an essential component of any successful game. Without accurate sounds to fit the mood and location of events as well as the actions taking place the events that take place in the game will feel weird to the player. If a fight scene between the player and an enemy occurs and there are no sfx for blades hitting or arrows being shot then not only will the scene not feel as cool as it could but the player will be taken out of the moment.
A UK assistant editor, named Amar Ingreji, told Antonio Pavlov of Videomaker.com that “a good way to prepare to edit sound for a production is to read the script. After that you should figure out where the scene is set and what some of the background sounds might be.” This means that the best way to create sfx for a game is to think about exactly what is occurring in one scene. If you are specifically creating sounds for swinging a sword and hitting certain objects you don’t need to think much about location or background sounds, instead you are thinking about the sound occurring when that weapon is swung and when it collides with the object it is hitting.
For a contextual example of background sounds and atmospheric noise I’ve decided to look at Hollow Knight, an indie game made by Team Cherry, a small company based out of Australia. Hollow Knight merges the diegetic sounds of rain and ambiance with the beautiful score by Christopher Larkin, which is non diegetic, to make the immersive world of Hallownest. This cute little 2D platformer makes use of sound design to truly immerse the player into the location they are in. This is achieved through the sounds of rain falling in the City of Tears, acid bubbling in the Fungal Wastes and the sounds of the knight’s footsteps as they walk through different areas.
Other kinds of sound that occurs in the game would be the action sounds that occur during combat. For example, the clashing of nails (swords in Hollow Knight) between the knight character and any enemies they face. This truly immerses you into the game as you almost feel like you are in that fight with your nail clashing against theirs.
There are also examples of horror sounds that occur in the game. The flukes, located in the Royal Waterways, let out screeching screams as they chase you down at high speeds. Similarly, the Deepnest zone has dark areas that are almost pitch black outside of a small bubble around your character, unless you have the lumafly lantern. In these zones, the scurrying of spiders and little weaver enemies scare you without even being visible to you. This is all achieved through the amazing use of sound design in this game.
To create sounds for games and other products you have a range of options, from on location recording of a place to Foley work. Foley work involves getting objects and recording sounds you can make with them to use in your game. An example of Foley work would be using a sheet of paper in an envelope and pulling it out to make the sound of the doors in star wars
Bibliography:
Videomaker.com Antonio Pavlov