SFX Speak a Thousand Words

Every Saturday there is a One-Hour Game Jam held. It is an online jam. I try to take part in almost all of them. I love the whole atmosphere when I’m making the project, I’m under pressure, racing against time. I keep an energy drink handy and I keep refreshing the page of the jam for the theme to be announced.  When the theme is announced I scramble for the assets I need and quickly start thinking of a game I can make. Recently I purchased a sound effects pack and I was very excited to use it in the next jam. Usually I do not have time to implement music and SFX, but this time I was determined to use music in the next jam. Saturday rolled around. I started making a game, the game was ready, but it felt like the most boring game I had ever made. The game played well but it was very dull. There was nothing I could do about it. And I didn’t even want to do anything about it. When I buy something new I’m always in a hurry to use it and experiment with it. My impatience about the new audio assets overtook me and I decided to import the assets. Running out of time I didn’t get to play the game with all the audio assets implemented, I just kept adding them to my game.

Finally, once I had submitted the game I got around to playing it and to my utter surprise the game felt like a totally new game! I couldn’t believe this was the same game. The dull, lack-less game had changed to this new zealous game. Though I hadn’t even changed how the game played but it felt like my controls were more responsive and player was stronger and environment came alive!

Adding a couple of sounds had completely changed the feel of my game! If I learnt something here is that audio and sounds effects are the heart of the game. In a game jam or in any other project if you are faced with choices between adding better visuals or adding audio, you should always add audio. Your game’s heart with beat to the rhythm of the music.