game sound dokumentation

• Genre: Adventure

• Published: 12. February 2007

• Publisher: Sony

• Developer: Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark

• Sound: Vincent Diamante

Flower is a game developped by Thatgamecompany (designed by Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark) and released in February 2009 for PlayStation 3. The role of the player consists in controlling the wind in the third person point-of-view and move flower petals through meadows, hills and human constructions. By getting close to flowers you will gather more petals and have an impact on the environment, since it enables you to bring back to life certain dead areas of the landscape. Flower is focused on provoking emotions in the player, mainly positive and relaxing, but the game also has darker places and atmospheres.

Flower's goal is pretty simple but the game lives mostly from its atmosphere in which sound plays an important part. Sounds in Flower has mainly the purpose to underline the players actions. It indicates for example when the player passes by a flower or reaches a checkpoint. It partly helps to give the player feedback but mostly contributes to the game‘s mood.

Flower has a background sound which changes with the player‘s progress and navigation. It alters with each level as well as within the level itself, when the player reaches certain checkpoints. It also adapts to the player‘s speed and therefore makes navigation more exciting, giving it a feel of lightness and dynamic.

Objects like flowers or windmills trigger sound that fits harmoniously into the background music. Additionally there‘s the sound of grass which occurs as the player is moving low through the grassland.

In Flower, the player's character itself is and has the sound of wind, which underlines navigation throughout the world. The sounds may be influenced by the player's speed and adds to the game's dynamic gameplay.

Objects and movement allow the player to interfere and interact with the music and atmosphere given. It motivates the player to keep exploring the environment in search for new sounds and sound combinations. It brings about a continuous variation.

In the beginning of each level, the background music will be calm, if sad and melancholical, at a times but will pick-up speed as the player begins to gain momentum.

When a player finishes a level, he may hear birds, insects and further nature sounds that weren't in place before as life is reeintroduced to the world. Sudden silence at the end of the level may also be used, which builds up suspense of more things meant to come.

Flower most effectively suggests change in time by the varying level design. In the beginning, the player flies through wild landscapes whereas in the later levels he must reintroduce nature to grey cities and industrial areas.

As according to the nature of the player's character, the only audible sounds are that of the wind progressing through grass and objects. Further sounds are introduced when the player has won a speed boost.

The recurrent theme in Flower is rebirth. Not only must the player reintroduce vibrant colours to a desolate world, he must also destroy industrial trash and reintroduce nature to a grey world left behind. Wind carries flower's seeds and therefore related sounds are predominant in Flower.

The deeper the player is into the level, more instruments are introduced, evocating progress. Basic progress through the game is audible through a female choir that sings for a half a second when the player reaches a checkpoint. When making a sudden and significant impact in the environment, sounds will reflect such achievement by a bassy crash of winds which suggest something of great scope has happened.

Flower's background music may range from ambient to orchestral and the pace may be slow or fast depending on the player's progress.

The background music is played by different classical instruments (piano, string and wind instruments, choirs) and most of the sounds are realistic, the most important one being the blow of the wind through grass. Objects like flowers, human constructions or dead areas will react to the touch of the player and produce sounds and melodies. The background music will also dynamically respond to the player's actions in the game's world.

Link to Proteus Analysis Page

As flower does have a specific goal and stunning visuals, the role that sound plays isn‘t as big as in Proteus but nevertheless crucial for a thrilling game experience. While in Proteus, sound is the main motivation for the player to keep playing, in Flower, it adds to the atmosphere and the gameplay.

Object sounds are less prominent than in Proteus and rather subtle in comparison to Flower.

The player in Proteus is less prominent than in Flower, as he is neither visually nor audibly present.

Although the sound in Flower depends a lot on the player's location, his progress and his speed of movement, it is much more predefined than in Proteus. In Proteus, the player's main motivation is to experiment and experience sound, whereas in Flower mostly underline the general atmosphere of the current environment and contributes to a thrilling gameplay.

Artikel erstellt von Filipe Simonette, Helen Galliker, Julie Baechtold, Rosina Brosi 2013