Can You Hear It Now?-the Beauty of Sound
By AnomalousSilence
Try to imagine what virtual worlds would be like without the key sense
of sound. Pretty lifeless, isn't it? In past MMORPGs, I have simulated
this experience by muting the volume and playing: the experience was
extremely bland. The lightning bolt that I cast could not be heard as
it struck a group of Orcs. The combat music that would normally get
my blood pumping, all the more in the midst of a heated battle, was
gone. And finally, when the Orcs overwhelmed us, and the group was wiped
out, I couldn't hear our dying groans and our collapse onto the cold
dirt. Sound, just like other aspects of MMORPGs, must be done with both
precision and passion.
How much sound, however, is too much? When does sound
become distracting and when does it significantly impact game play?
What of voiceovers? How should Sigil handle these major aspects of Vanguard?
Sound within any world - be it virtual or real - significantly
enhances the perception of everything around you. Say, for instance,
you are walking up to a magical, blue-glowing tower. You can obviously
see the magical emanations coming from it, but can you hear them? Hearing
the magical energies can depict not only the strength of the magic,
but the type of magic. Weaker magic would be signified by weaker sound.
Strong magic would have forceful sounds. The type of magic can also
be represented: if it was Druidic magic, the sounds could be like the
wind howling or trees growing rapidly. If the magic was of a healing
nature, the sound would be soothing and relaxing. If the magic was strong
and arcane, a variety of unique and compelling sounds would emanate
from the magical tower. Hearing the magic, along with being able to
see it, adds to the immersion of the player within an actual world.
Music is a sound category which greatly adds to, or hinders,
any game. Music sets the mood for the environment that you are in. If
music in a zone is done poorly, the zone can be horrible and not much
fun to be in, even if the graphics are unique and interesting, and the
mobs are compelling. The musical selection in Vanguard (that which is
known to us so far) is brilliantly stunning. The four musical compositions
- Bordinar's Cleft, Cobalt Deep, The Highlands, and Nusibe Necropolis
- are unique and can be played repeatedly, for hours on end, without
growing old. These compositions are only a small sample of what will
exist in Vanguard. Articles from the recent media blitz have stated
that combat music changes depending on the situation and current position
of the battle, with music also changing depending on environmental effects.
With such variety only in the beta stage of the game, players are sure
to be pleased with Vanguard's musical variety.
Minor sound effects, such as the sound of footsteps, the
sound of being hit, the sound of jumping, the sound of attacking, and
the sound of dying can tremendously alter game play and can become a
nuisance if not handled properly. Vanguard seems to be taking the right
direction from information thus far released. When it rains, you can
hear your footsteps as if walking in mud. The same goes for snow, sand,
grass, and other environmental aspects.
It is when these minor sound effects become repetitive
that sound hurts the game. Characters often make a grunt sound when
jumping in MMORPGs, and people can become easily distracted and annoyed
at those people who seem to have nothing better to do than jump around
constantly instead of doing normal things such as fighting an actual
monster, crafting an item, or having a battle of wit (go, Diplomacy!).
Each time your character is hit or hits something else and makes a grunt
sound, it can distract your attention from the situation at hand, as
the sound is constantly repeated. It is when these sounds are played
occasionally from both the player and the monster that the same sound
effects are helpful to a game.
Voiceovers are another important game play aspect for
today's MMORPG that, if not done correctly, can become repetitive and
monotonous. World of Warcraft and EverQuest 2 presented two highly contrasting
and appealing ways to handle NPC voices. World of Warcraft has NPCs
say various phrases when hailed. In EverQuest 2, minus the expansions,
the majority of NPCs have voices. As seen with the two recent expansions,
however, voiceovers for most NPCs cannot stay consistent, as is the
case with the core game. With complete NPC voicing, the dialogue cannot
be changed unless the voice is removed or completely reworked.
As added with an expansion, EQ2 also gave players the
option to change their character's voice for emotes, being hit, and
dying. Player voices can be both a bad and a good thing. Offering too
few options for the player to select from becomes boring and doesn't
really set characters apart. Offering a wide variety of tone ranges
and overall voice moods, though, adds to the character and will not
become tedious to listen to. If done correctly, voiceovers for the players
to select for their character to use, in certain emotes, and other sounds
can significantly raise the immersion of a MMORPG.
The voice of MOBs impacts the game, along with all the
previously mentioned aspects. In EQ2, if the option was turned on and
downloaded, the intelligent MOBs such as Orcs, Humans, and the Undead
would say phrases as they came after you, and in the midst of battle.
This was quite flawed, however, with male and female voices often mixing
to where a male character would yell, in the middle of a fight, in a
female voice. The combat voiceovers grew old quickly, as there was a
small selection of sayings. After only a few battles, you had heard
it all.
After all of this, let me explain what is optimal for
a next-generation MMORPG such as Vanguard. Starting with NPC voiceovers,
a healthy mix between EverQuest 2 and World of Warcraft is best, leaning
more towards the latter in style. To keep the primary dialogue interchangeable
and to allow the NPC to have voice, NPCs should say a variety of phrases
when hailed. These little sayings must depend on race and gender, as
seen in World of Warcraft, and have a minimum of ten sayings per gender
and race, with the preferred numbers being 15 or 20, if not higher.
This keeps things lively with a variety of sayings.
Imagine, however, finally reaching Mr. Big Boss Dragon
after hours upon hours of raiding, only to read text and hear a typical
voice as if you had hailed any normal NPC. How boring is that? Raid
monsters and major NPCs should have voiced dialogue. If you and your
guild have been waiting for Mr. Big Boss Dragon to spawn for weeks and
finally raided his lair and reached him, you should hear him talking
to your entire raid party, which only adds to the reward (assuming you
kill him!). Major NPCs obviously play a substantial role in Telon -
so why not give them a voice to distinguish them from the other less
important people in the world? With only a few voiceovers for raid bosses
and major NPCs that add flavor to the game, disk space isn't needlessly
used.
Player voices should definitely be included in Vanguard
as well. With the MMORPG market continuously growing, and with players
having a need to set themselves apart from everyone else, a wide variety
of voices for the player to select from is needed. As with NPC hailing
voices, a minimum of ten voiceovers to choose from (not including the
option for no voice) per gender and race should be included, with the
ideal number of options being 15 or 20, if not higher.
If Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is to truly be the next-gen
MMORPG in all areas, sound must be one of them. The sound effects and
voiceovers within Telon cannot quickly become repetitive and must add
to the overall atmosphere of the world. In the music, weather, and footsteps
categories Sigil seems to be doing sound perfectly. The music thus far
presented to the fan base, as well as newer information recently released,
shows that Sigil truly cares for sound and how it relates to every aspect
of their upcoming game.
All in all, Sigil seems to be taking Vanguard in the right
direction in the sound department. Just remember that sound is important
to any virtual world and often goes unnoticed. Sound can greatly interfere
with your playing experience, or highly enhance it, allowing you to
have all the more fun. When you enter the world of Telon for the first
time, pay attention to sound and you'll find out just how much it affects
your gaming experience.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Game Page.
