The following is some of my general ideas for how sound could adapt and change in response to changes in the environment. This was written before the updated storyboard was shared with the group, so ideas from the post below will need to be adapted and altered to fit – it was more of a brainstorming session regardless.
Based on the idea for the project, there are three different aspects of gameplay that will change the characteristics of the ambient sounds that are heard throughout the experience. These are: growth stage (1-3), day/night (1 or 2), and season (1-4). This creates 24 possible states that the ambient sounds can be in at any given time, through a combination of these environmental characteristics. The ambient sounds heard will be controlled using states in Wwise. For instance, the different stages of these characteristics could affect the ambient sounds like this:
- Growth Stage
- Stage 1
- Sounds that occur closer to the ground (such as insects, or flowing water) are louder and are the most present
- Stage 2
- Sounds that occur closer to the ground fade slightly and sounds that occur higher up (such as birds, or the wind) begin to be heard
- Stage 3
- Sounds that occur close to the ground fade even more and the higher up sounds take centre stage
- Day/Night
- Day
- Animals that are diurnal can be heard
- Night
- Animals that are nocturnal can be heard
- Season
- Spring
- As flowers bloom, the sounds of insects such as bees and wasps are present
- Rain and wind are present, but are sporadic and not very intense
- Summer
- The weather is at its warmest and calmest
- Autumn
- Any animal movement sounds have an extra layer, as the animals may be treading on fallen leaves or twigs from surrounding trees
- Rain and wind are present, but are sporadic and not very intense
- The sound of the wind on the trees has a different character, and the leaves on the ground are dead and dry
- Winter
- The sound of water becomes less noticeable, as much of it begins to freeze
- The weather is at its worst and most intense
- Snow/rain and wind happen often and are more intense than the other seasons
- Spring
- Day
- Stage 1
The sounds of the tree growing should also reflect the characteristics of the environment. For example, as the tree grows larger, the sounds of it growing should have more low frequencies, as the tree is bigger. Perhaps in autumn and spring – since the tree is drier than in the spring and the summer – the growth sounds could be more crunchy and dry sounding?
I also had the idea that any music that the game has can also follow this pattern. Perhaps the music could start very sparse in terms of instrumentation, and then fill out as the growth stages progress. A good example of this is the hub in Super Mario Galaxy – as the player progresses through the game and more areas of the hub are revealed, the music for this area becomes much grander (Mario Galaxy Comet Observatory 1-3). There are definitely ways of representing the other environmental characteristics of gameplay through the music. Perhaps a different piece of music for each season, or depending on whether it’s day or night? Or even a change in the instrument playing the lead melody? These changes don’t need to be drastic – as there is some clear variation based on these environmental changes.
Sounds that have a clear visual source will definitely need spacialization, but perhaps sounds that don’t have a clear source that the player can be mono. Or perhaps it could lead to some interesting results if these unseen sounds were spacialized – even just some of them.
Overall, the environment and the changes in it that happen throughout the experience have a lot of potential for creating a lot of variety in the sounds heard by the player. I’m feeling quite optimistic about all the challenges this could present, as I believe it is a wonderful creative opportunity for everyone working on sound for the project.
