The Importance Of Sound Design In Games
311Theif's Sound Design (and game design) are reasons for the first two games sitting at the top of the list of my favorite games.
The immersive sim has been such an influential genre of games, with its influence felt long past just the 0451 style games.
Sadly, most stealth games (and even others in the immersive sim genre) didn't learn from the sounds Thief and tend to focus more on the visual rather than using audio to navigate, which is a real shame.
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⛰️ FURTHER VIEWING FROM BOULDER PUNCH: ⛰️
Immersive Sims Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9iyzUyf92M_i49hfZCjBiuGz9P1xRPMT
• Thief Gold Vs. Thief 2 | Which Is The Better Game? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzc132dfwWI&list=PL9iyzUyf92M_i49hfZCjBiuGz9P1xRPMT&index=2&t=0s
• Gloomwood Demo - The Spirit Of Thief Lives Taffers! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZVNFjSLTLc&list=PL9iyzUyf92M_i49hfZCjBiuGz9P1xRPMT&index=2&t=0s
• System Shock 2 Review: An Immersive Sim Classic - https://youtu.be/ZiVLrD2Bgqo
•Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Analysis - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUY66sRaB5Y&list=PL9iyzUyf92M_i49hfZCjBiuGz9P1xRPMT&index=2&t=0s
•Dishonored 2 Anlaysis - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eek9kUpopnw&list=PL9iyzUyf92M_i49hfZCjBiuGz9P1xRPMT&index=3&t=0s
Why has this been the case? Why have developers for so many years ignored thief's design and fill games with enough mini-maps and "seeing through wall abilities" that you end up staring at a corner of your screen? Why didn't sound design in games learn more from Thief?
That's what I'll examine in this Boulder Punch essay as I'm currently on my mandated 15-minute break from punching boulders.
Is there hope though? There is, from the Indie world. A game called Gloomwood (from the people who made Dusk) are working on a spiritual successor to Thief, and look to help keep the immersive sim and 0451 style games alive.
Keep an eye out on Gloomwood, for it looks like there is hope for us who want to see others take note of Theif sound design.
00:00 - INTRO
01:07 - THE GAMEPLAY OF THIEF
04:23 - WHY DON'T MORE GAMES DO THIS?
05:57 - IS THERE HOPE? YEP...THROUGH GLOOMWOOD
07:32 - CONCLUSION
📺 FURTHER VIEWING: 📺
•Footage of Gloomwood from the developer - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxUGNg6k5PTI5NmU9pvwO-0vX1RBKvWnA
MUSIC USED:
•Kevin Macleod - Sneak'n Get Caught
•Kevin Macleod - Spyglass
•Thief 2 Soundtrack
#immersivesim #stealth #thief #gloomwood #0451 #boulderpunch #immersivesimgames #immersivesimcritique #immersivesimreview #immersivesimanalysis