In Minecraft and Tekken, I will be researching the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound, equalisation, reverberation, high and low-frequency sounds and high and low amplitude sounds.

Diegetic Sound

Diegetic sound is audio within media that can be heard by the characters within the scene. For instance, in a movie, if a car explodes making a sound, the characters will hear that sound, making in diegetic.

Within Minecraft, there are diegetic sounds featuring sounds of pigs, cows, sheep and more as well as the sound that is made to accentuate the texture of grass, stone and other surfaces that you travel across.

Examples in the Tekken games feature the sounds when punches, kicks and throws are landed on players – which includes when a player directly impacts another and also when the opponent is thrown against a structure where the appropriate sound, depending on the material, is made. There are also the sounds that the characters make themselves, counting as dialogue.

Non – Diegetic Sound

Non – diegetic sound is audio within media that subjects within the world will not be able to hear. For example, in a movie, the music used to create atmosphere would not be heard by the characters as it is meant for the audience to react to; making it non- diegetic sound.

This is featured in Minecraft by the use of music that plays at the different times of day to convey an atmosphere to the player but not to the character in the game. Music is the same example in Tekken as different music is played depending on the type of level. The music changes as the environments change and the level design is described further by the type of music that plays.

 

Equalisation: High and Low Frequencies

Frequencies of different types are used in all audio but specific types can be used to convey a particular emotion or atmosphere. High frequencies are usually high pitched, thin and tinny whilst low-frequency sounds are bassy and rich.

An example within Minecraft would be when you approach a dungeon and a sound effect plays to signal this. This sound effect can be vast and shrill so as to startle the player or invoke fear. To get this vastness, high, low and mid frequencies are all utilised so as not to encourage a boxier sound. Deep, thundering tunes also play, meaning that lower frequencies would be enhanced to get more of a bassy sound.

In Tekken, the cutscenes with dark and intense content have very deep and grumbling themes and so low frequencies would be greatly evident to intensify the ominous and threatening atmosphere. The richness of the audio allows it to become powerfully daunting.

 

Amplitude

The amplitude measures how loud a sound is.

In Minecraft, the amplitude of sound varies in relevance to distance to the subject making the noise. For example, the sound a sheep makes will get quieter as you walk away to add depth and dimension to the world.

In Tekken the amplitude of the sounds made when attacks land varies depending on the strength and force behind it. For instance, a throw or a more powerful combo hit will be made to sound louder than a basic single punch to emphasize the idea that there is a technique to the character’s moves and therefore places weight behind the moves and intensifies the experience.

 

Reverberation

Reverberation, or reverb, is the persistence of a sound after the original – often referred to as an echo or delay. It can be used to tell us about the nature of the space that we are in (vast for example) and it can be used to tell the listener how far away somebody is, the principle being, the more distance, the more reverb.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mJfuGI5FTfI&t=3s

(From time 6:03)

In Tekken, reverb is used to accentuate the nature of the level environment. For example, in Tekken 4 in the Laboratory stage, when the characters travel across the ground, the sound of their footsteps reverberate to give a sense of the surroundings in the chamber.

In Minecraft, the lack of reverb is also used. When inside a small enclosed space like a house, the lack of reverb in your footsteps when walking around enhances that idea. Although, if the room were to be big, the reverb wouldn’t change to show that and still remain boxy – which may seem like a limitation for the game in terms of what could be done with the sound mechanics in this situation.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading ~