From 1975 to 1985, 8-bit video games were the new exciting game for children and adolescences (even adults). Many of the sounds for 8-bit video games started as small beeps and boops to create sound while playing games. Over the time period of 8-bit video games, there has been a rapid evolution of simple sounds to complex songs through the discovery of looping. There are different types of sounds that helped compose the sounds and audio we hear in games today. There are two different dynamic sound categories: non-diegetic sound and diegetic sound.
Non-Diegetic Sound:
Non-Diegetic sounds occupy the background sound, such as background music and sound effects, in video games.
Adaptive non-diegetic sounds: sounds that occur in reaction to game play, but do not affect the player or environment.
Non-dynamic nondiegetic audio: commonly known as background music.
Interactive non-diegetic sound: sound that affects a player during game play.
Diegetic Sound:
Diegetic sounds are sounds that a user can hear within hearing distance, which may be sound effects or dialogue, in video games.
Non-dynamic diegetic sound: sound that occurs within hearing distance of the user, but the player has no direct involvement with the sound.
Interactive diegetic sound: sound that a player makes, such as footsteps or weapon impacts.
This breakdown helps categorize the way that sound has been used in video games. Understanding the ways sound can be used helps create a better foundation for understanding how to make music by compiling sounds to create looping. Looping is the process of making a single strand of simple sounds repeat to create repetition or a pattern. Loops have been used in video games to create songs. To create diversity in a song, different loops can be layered and there can be variation in the order and lengths of different loops. The lengths of loops can help create a more accurate representation of the environment in video games. Long loops tend to be used in narrative-based adventure games and short loops tend to be used in arcade games. Game designers consider the ways that sound can directly and indirectly affect a player to create game that people will be interested in playing.
Sound plays an important role in video games because they make the visuals in a game come to life. Sound makes players feel more involved in the environment of the game. Looping is one method that helped create music in video games when technology restricted the methods to create music with only simple sounds such as beeps and boops.
If students were to learn about this material in class, students would understand diversity in simplicity and learn how to push limitations. Video designers of these games had to discover new ways to create music by simply relying on the materials they had. They reworked sounds by considering the materials they had and eventually discovered ways to progress sound and the technology they were working with. These boundaries may not have been pushed if it were not for the limitations game designers pushed to break through. Looping was a large advancement in 8-bit gaming that created music from the fundamentals which would not have been achieved if it were not for the artists that took risks and pushed their limitations.
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