Enhancing Immersion through Sound Design

The days of limited sound capabilities in games are long behind us, but even with advanced 3D environments, audio can still fall flat if not properly designed. Effective sound design is crucial for drawing players into the game world, weaving subtle narratives, and crafting immersive experiences. By applying the right techniques, sound design can elevate the player experience, adding depth to both 2D and 3D environments and making virtual spaces feel more expansive. Our work on World of Mechs, a VR game developed by Studio369, has yielded valuable insights that can be applied to various game development projects. The key principle is to consider the player's perspective and tailor the sound design accordingly. In World of Mechs, players are seated within a giant combat machine, so we focused on creating an immersive audio experience from the cockpit's viewpoint. To achieve a massive, intense feel, we layered essential sounds like movement and artillery fire with additional textures, reverberation, and sub-effects across the full spectrum of audible frequencies. Although these details might not be immediately noticeable, they contribute to a richer, more engaging sound environment. A comparison of the autocannon sound with and without sub-effects demonstrates the significant impact of these additional layers on the overall audio experience. If World of Mechs were designed from a third-person perspective, the sound design approach would be entirely different. Instead of the deep, rumbling sounds from within the mech, the player would be more likely to hear environmental sounds like the crunch of earth as an enemy mech approaches or the distant clang of ammunition hitting its armor during battle. In reality, sounds rarely have abrupt beginnings and endings; they naturally rise, fall, and linger. To achieve a more organic sound, it's essential to incorporate texture into your audio assets, particularly at the start and end of each sound. Regardless of whether you're using pre-existing sound packs, recording your own samples, or generating new sounds, your final output will likely be a complex combination of samples and effects. By adding lead-ins and tails to these sounds, you can help players uncover more subtle information about the game world and create a more immersive experience. For instance, a trailing reverb can add authenticity to the sound of a massive, metallic mech, while abrupt or quickly dampened effects can detract from the player's impression. Extending the tail of a sound can also make it resonate more, as demonstrated in the behind-the-scenes clip of a weapon energy blast with and without trailing reverb. Just as real-world sounds don't usually have abrupt starts or stops, loud tones are rarely sustained perfectly. A simple pitch shift or tremolo can add realism to any prolonged effect or note. For a distinct sci-fi effect, applying a tremolo or warble to a sound can give it a pulsing, energetic feel. Sometimes, drawing inspiration from real-world cues can help convey more information to players naturally. For example, the sound of a glass filling with water can serve as a metaphor for recharging in-game technology until it's ready to unleash a powerful blast. The intensity of a sound can be heightened by 'fattening' it, as demonstrated in the weapon reloading sequence. This approach can make the sound more engaging and immersive. In games, it's common to encounter larger, tougher versions of enemies, such as mini-bosses and main bosses. While these characters may share similarities with their smaller counterparts, they should ideally have distinct differences in design, movement, and sound. Achieving a meaningful, audible difference between these characters requires more than just increasing the volume of their sounds. Conveying a shift in intensity involves adjusting other layers, such as increasing the blunt impact at the expense of intricacy. In World of Mechs, we designed movement sounds for three tiers of robots: light, medium, and heavy. The quick, light mech has a lighter, more agile sound, while the slower, heavier mechs have deeper, harsher sounds. If the same sounds were simply scaled up in volume for each class, the player wouldn't feel a significant difference between the light, agile mech and the heavy, rugged one. The size of each mech can be accentuated not only through movement but also through the sounds of its weaponry, as demonstrated in the behind-the-scenes clip comparing the three tiers. Beyond size, sound can be scaled for other characteristics, such as the condition of different factions or classes of machinery. Some mechs might be brand new, while others might be battle-worn and rusty. Both might share the same core mechanized sound but can be treated with different filters or sensibilities to convey a larger story beyond the immediate battle. By paying attention to these details, players may gain a sense that the giant combat machines, despite their differences, are from the same time period and manufactured with similar capabilities, while an approach that exaggerates differences between factions might tell a different story, such as high-tech vs. low-tech or terrestrial vs. alien. Although it would be ideal to provide games with an infinite variety of audio for realistic variation, this is not practical. As sound designers, we work with a limited set of assets that the game cycles through repeatedly, so it's crucial to understand how each sound is used and design our audio to combat player fatigue. For example, footfalls could be created by pooling various stomps that the game engine pulls from randomly, preventing players from noticing a pattern. However, we often work with a limited set of step sounds that play repeatedly, with adjustments only for different terrain. In these cases, it's essential to mask the uniformity of the step cycle. To aid immersion, we avoid making one step sound drastically different from the other and soften the edges of the step sequence. If one mech step included a high-pitched whine while the other let out a hiss, players would notice the repetitive pattern, which, although amusing at first, would eventually detract from the immersive experience. The same principle applies to other repetitive gameplay mechanics, such as artillery bursts and reload sequences. By manipulating pitches, textures, and levels within each cycle, we can mask the obvious uniformities and keep players engaged. Just because an audio sample sounds great on high-end studio speakers or headphones doesn't mean it will sound great on the player's end. As sound designers, we must anticipate how games will be played and heard, whether on small mobile devices, laptop speakers, or high-end surround sound systems. While World of Mechs is designed for the Meta Quest 2 headset, we also considered how the game might be cast to other screens or captured and shared on social media. It's essential to play sound files on various equipment, from high-end to low-end, to identify areas for improvement and ensure the best possible sound experience for all players.