Different types of audio elements in video games
There is a popular phrase in the gaming community “pling pling plong”, and it’s a sound some of us recognize instantly. This signals Gwyn’s theme from the first Dark Souls game. The theme comes back in the middle of a fight in Dark Souls 3 and it creates and emotional callback, marking the importance of the moment. Just hearing the first sounds of the “Lumiere” theme of 2025’s GOTY winner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a sure way to spend the rest of the day humming it. The mushroom power-up sound effect from Super Mario Bros has become a pop-culture reference.
Needless to say, audio is of great importance to how we experience and remember video games. Apart from great music, in games we also have audio queues, dialogue, sound effects and other elements of sound design.
In previous blog articles we’ve talked about the importance of testing Audio, a task also known as AQA (Audio Quality Assurance) and the significance of audio components in open-world games.
Now we’re taking a different approach, we’ll be summarizing audio elements, where they fit in and how do they contribute to the aural universe of a game. Let’s begin!
Sound Effects (SFX)
What would you expect to hear as you walk through a forest? Perhaps twigs breaking under your footsteps, rustling leaves, a running river, birds chirping, maybe a distant wolf howl or the crackling of a nearby fire. What about if you would hit something with your sword? Well, the sound it makes depends on the texture it lands on (wood and rock will sound very different).
Sound effects are manufactured sounds which intentionally accentuate the environment of a game, contribute to its worldbuilding and enhance interactions. Sound design and music are meant to complement each other, to highlight narrative points and actively support gameplay.
Known in the industry under the acronym SFX, sound effects can come in many forms such as:
🔊Diegetic sounds: Referring to ambient sounds you would naturally find within a game’s world. For example, if your game is set near a beach, the sound of waves would be diegetic. Other examples are animals that would naturally inhabit a location, weather effects, smoke coming out of a factory vent or a TV turned on in the background. What’s diegetic doesn’t necessarily subdue to our natural rules, but rather to what’s natural for the world of the game. If we’re on a field of floating magic emitting a sound of crystals, the magic would be an ambient sound.
🔊Gameplay cues: In addition to what could be logically found in a game region or level, there are also sounds which are not meant as part of the environment, but rather to convey something to us directly. Sounds meant not for the characters, but for the player. As examples we can think of what we hear when we level up, pick up an item, use an item, cast a spell, gather powerups, and other such actions.
🔊Notifications: This refers to pop-ups that can be overlaid in a game to let us know about something that happened outside of the action phase. It can be that we reached an achievement, a part of the content has finished loaded, new content is available, or any other type of notifications.
🔊User interface: UI sounds are what we hear when we open a menu, scroll through different options, select items or perform any action related to the game’s interface. Sometimes they can be associated with the general theme (e.g. opening a medieval map may sound like unravelling a scroll), but it can also they can also be generic sounds, designed to tell the user that an action has been performed.
🔊Emoting& character sounds: Here we’re not referring to dialogue or scripted reactions, but to sound effects that the main character would make, heard from time to time or upon interacting with the environment. Things like grunting, breathing, humming, reacting, and so on, are meant to make a character feel lively, perhaps even indicate their mood or give some narrative clues, without being related to a specific event in the game.
Voice-over (VO)
“I need a weapon”, “Hadouken!”, “Hey, You, You’re Finally Awake”, “It’s A Me, Mario!” Iconic video game lines stick with us and their voices too.
Of course, when we discuss audio, dialogue is a huge part of it. For narrative games it may even be the main one. Voices recorded by actors are part of a game’s audio, since we’re dealing with virtual worlds, most of the time the voice is the character. With motion-capture technology, some games may use the physicality of the actor, but more often than not, it’s the voice which embodies the essence of the character.
In order to be processed on top of the background of the game, voice-over lines are recorded separately from ambiance, as clean as possible. They are recorded in the studio and added in post-production. Here are three types of voice-over we might hear in a video game:
🎙️In-game dialogue: Dialogue is usually a straightforward example of narrative device and it’s also a good example of video game audio. Conversations bring the characters to life, they give us context and create a background. Scripted lines can make the players understand what’s happening, while also adding flavor.
🎙️Narration: As we know, sounds can enhance storytelling and what better tool to tell a story than to… well, to narrate it. Some games have a narrator character who talks to the players, recounting what’s happening. This role can be used with many purposes, even to mislead the audience, in the case of an unreliable narrator.
🎙️Dubbing: Translation and Localization help us to reach a larger audience and be closer to people’s hearts, and this doesn’t apply just for text or subtitles, it can also apply to voices. Recording the original line in another language is a way to bring the game closer to home for a larger player base.
Music in video games
Here are examples of where we can find music in a game:
🎶Menu theme: The theme or the song with which the game opens, it sets the tone for the entire game and usually, it’s often one of the more memorable pieces of soundtrack.
🎶Credits song: Just as the menu theme opens the game, the credits song closes it, bringing a conclusion to the experience.
🎶Main character themes: Building a character does not happen just through visuals and text, musical themes play a key role in describing a personality and even introducing it in key moments of the gameplay.
🎶Ambiental music: Apart from sounds of the world, games use ambient music to set the tone and create a background for the level.
🎶Boss/fight music: When an action scene is triggered and music intensifies, it’s a sign that things are getting serios.
🎶Diegetic music: Music in a game can be diegetic as well. Since we’re moving through lively worlds, it may occur logically around us (e.g. we pass by a tavern and there’s a bard playing inside).
Accessibility
The world of video games is vast and it should be enjoyed by all of us, so of course, we can’t forget the importance of audio in accessibility. Sound design plays a major role in making the game available for more players.
Accessibility in audio primarily addresses players without sight or gamers with hearing problems.
For people with visual impairments: Audio is their only way of experiencing a game, apart from tactile feedback. Good sound design is crucial both when it comes to conceptual aspects, as well as the technical implications. Through a well-designed audio experience, sound effects to guide the player, narrated menus and cohesive storytelling, we can play entire games solely through sound. The Steam category of audiogames provides some great examples of this.
For people with hearing loss: Players who are hard of hearing or deaf will not experience audio cues, so in this case, sound must convey through visualization. Tools like Audio Radar use visual signals to add a layer of awareness that replaces sound.
As we learn over and over, the world of video games is full of mixed talent, and each role contributes with its unique set of skills. Here we’ve touched a bit on the implications of audio in game development, but beyond these brief descriptions hides a universe of crafts.
Now, close your eyes and imagine you’re walking through your favorite zone. What is the first sound you hear? Is there any music to accompany it? Do you hear any voices?
