3 Principles of Sound Design for Games – by Rob Bridgett

With the increased processing power of a new console generation on the horizon, we inevitably find ourselves dazzled by what this new computing power allows us to do with sound. Yet, it is important not to lose sight of the fundamentals of sound design.

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Written by Rob Bridgett

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Having been through at least 3 console generational shifts as a sound designer (though I am sure it is more!) the most common hope is that each new combination of processing power and architecture will solve or fundamentally fix many of the technical problems and limitations we encounter with sound… however, only after shipping that first game on a new device, do we realize that the more things change, the more they really do stay the same.

With much of the attention on the technology and specs of the upcoming devices, now is actually a great time to think instead about the elements of sound design that do not change across console generations, are not dependant on technology at all – fundamentals that can apply to any platform, any genre and any project.

As sound designers, composers, voice designers, we all have a great deal of responsibility to our audiences to offer them an immersive entertaining experience in which to navigate, explore, and express themselves. When our work is successful, the player will rarely notice the subtle and detailed work that has been done to accomplish this engagement. When nothing is pulling you out of the world of the game, then the role of all sound is one of true immersion.

While technology often brings many improvements and opportunities, the fundamentals of good sound design seem to remain consistent, and without good design, the technology is often of very little consequence.

While technology often brings many improvements and opportunities, the fundamentals of good sound design seem to remain consistent, and without good design, the technology is often of very little consequence. One of my go-to examples is the game Limbo (released in 2010 and still as beautiful an experience today as it was then) – a game that could have easily been made, and shipped on the previous generation of devices and processors available to its team.

While everyone else seemed to be chasing a promised land of photo-realistic ideals, the developer, Playdead innovated with aesthetics and visions more or less un-reliant and un-defined by the limits of technology.

On this note, I would like to offer three guiding principles for good sound design, inspired directly by Braun’s legendary Product Designer Dieter Rams’ 10 Principles of Good Design’ (well worth reading – much of it also highly applicable to integrated sound design in game development)

These are very high level, simple and memorable principles for game sound that, hopefully at least, never shift or move, no matter what the platform, technology or the genre (though there are certain to be some exceptions). The fun part is that they can generally be used to evaluate and talk about almost anything that you may be playing or working on.

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