sound in gaming

Ace combat zero ost- zero

This piece of music really gets you in the mood to fly jets and shoot down bad guys

Legend of Zelda- intro

This intro sounds super retro, like you’re playing the game on an arcade machine, it also gets you in the mood to go on an adventure

Shadow of the colossus- track 01

This piece of music really captures the feel of the game, it is a glum orchestral score that is quite beautiful

Super Mario bros- soundtrack

This is probably one of the most well-known pieces of music in gaming, it’s not a great soundtrack but when you hear it you are instantly reminded of super Mario bros

Halo- halo theme

This is another very iconic soundtrack, it really gets you in the mood for an adventure through space

Music is so important in gaming because it creates an atmosphere, for example horror games will have quite suspenseful music while adventure game will have epic sounding music, the music in games is a main part of what gets you in the mood to play a game, you wouldn’t want to play a horror game listening to happy/cheerful sounding music.

Waveform:

A waveform is a representation of how alternating current (AC) varies with time. The most familiar AC waveform is the sine wave, which derives its name from the fact that the current or voltage varies with the sine of the elapsed time. Other common AC waveforms are the square wave, the ramp, the sawtooth wave, and the triangular wave. Their general shapes are shown below. 

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/waveform

Pitch:  the quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone.

Hertz: Hertz is a unit of frequency (of change in state or cycle in a sound wave, alternating current, or other cyclical waveform) of one cycle per second. It replaces the earlier term of "cycle per second (cps)." http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/hertz

Decibel level: The decibel (dB) is used to measure sound level, but it is also widely used in electronics, signals and communication. The dB is a logarithmic way of describing a ratio. The ratio may be power, sound pressure, voltage or intensity or several other things. 

http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm

Sound generator: A sound generator is an object that makes sounds. These sounds may be produced in a nearly infinite number of ways, ranging from a foot stomping on the floor to a fire engine siren. Regardless of the origin of the sound, it is always the same thing — vibrations in the air that make a pattern recognizable by aural senses. While the ways to make sound are nearly limitless, practically all sound-generating objects fall within two main categories: single-tone and multi-tone. Each of these processes makes a full and complete sound pattern, but in different ways. 

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-sound-generator.htm

Foley:

What is Foley? What does it take to be a Foley Artist? Many of you might be very familiar with the craft, or maybe you have only heard the word in passing, but Foley is one of the many sound elements that helps bring a film together. It's arguably one of the more important parts of sound design, because many of the important sounds that really add to the character of the film are all created in post on a Foley stage. http://nofilmschool.com/2012/11/foley-artist-gary-hecker

Timbre:

Timbre is a word that describes the tone or unique quality of a sound. If you play the same note on a piano and on a guitar, each note will have its own timbre. http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/timbre

Psychology of sound

Games that use sound as information:

Super Mario bros – level complete sound

The sound that’s heard at the end of every level of super Mario level signifies the completion of that level and is one of the most satisfying things to hear if you’re stuck on a hard level

Sonic the hedgehog – collecting rings

The sound that’s made with every ring you collect in sonic lets you know you’re doing something right, the faster you collect rings the faster the sound gets at lets you know you’re doing well

Metal gear solid – alert sound

The sound that’s made when you are spotted in metal gear solid tell you that you have been spotted by an enemy.