Sound?

[Zanthal]

Would sound spoil a text adventure? I'm guessing that's why it isn't implemented already, since it's very easy to add to a browser page and link.

I was thinking along the lines of some spooky theme music in the dungeons, some effects of wind through the trees and bird calls in the forest, and sound effects particular to the type of weapons being used in combat. Of course it would have to be optional to mute the sound.

[Badstench]

Just about every console and computer RPG I've played has started with a visit to the sound settings.

First thing I do is lower the volume of any music to nil or so low as to be almost inaudible. (I will then plonk on a set of headphones and listen to music of my choice, usually at volumes that always remind me of the warnings my parents used to nag me about ruining my hearing).

I don't mind sound effects as much unless they are totally inappropriate to the surroundings. Sound effects can create an atmosphere (I remember playing the original Doom game... the sound effects when walking through the levels of Hell were very disturbing... but also very appropriate. I both hated and loved it!)

The one saving grace for this suggestion is that sound can be optional.

But in a game like this where the sound would be tied to a page or game location, it mightn't work so well. If most people are like me, I click through the game locations quite quickly. This would cause the sound to manifest in a stuttering way? Mind you, I'm a puter-klutz... I don't really know what I'm talking about when it comes to "how-things-work".

[Zanthal]

You have a point I didn't consider ... if you quickly move between locations there isn't much time to set up the scene.

Alright then, sound and theme music would have to be associated only with scenarios and situations where your character spends a decent amount of time. In a dungeon, at the location of a particular event of time type, and combat.

To me I think it would add an element of ambience that would improve the game.



did I forget to mention I don't know how the game Doom came into the discussion?

[Corgrim]

I'm with Badstench on this one. Turning off music is the first thing I do in a game. While I can see mood music setting the scene, I can also see it causing delays, and being really annoying when I stop playing (leaving game open) to use another site for a while.

Of course, if it's optional, I'd just be one of those turning it off.

PS while we know our author can write, I don't know whether he has any musical skills...

[Taleria]

I would love to have sound in Sryth. I don't know how easily this could be implemented, but maybe there could be an option in the account settings for those who don't want sound, or have the default setting be no sound and then anyone who wanted it would need to make the effort to change the setting. I love game music, and if music is too much effort, even short sound effects would give the game an even deeper level of immersion. I've played interactive fiction with sound effects and music and it made me feel emotions more strongly than just reading the text in silence. I think this suggestion should be sent to the GM. At the very least, it would plant a seed that he could either water or not.

[Joddelle]

Since Sryth is in a framed window, adding sound would be trivial. Except for combat - combat screens break the frame and would unload any background sounds playing.

But short "smash" or "bump" sounds, or "screams" would be really cool in combat.

[Lugwy]

Personally, I would rather it didn't have sound, though I'm willing with it being optional. Why? I find that it detracts from the immersion--for me, at least--since what I have in mind may or may not coincide with the sounds coming out of the speaker, and that is if everything is peachy and there's no "stuttering" or somesuch.

EDIT:

Additionally, there is perhaps the added loading time on top of all that. Some may not mind it at all, but others would. I don't mind it at all...sort of.

I guess I rely too much on my imagination, though, so this is just my two pieces.

[Maskull]

I've played quite a few other graphical RPG games online that had no sound. And that was the best part of them. Ha! A little ambiance with sound in this game would be great, as long it doesn't slow down my clicking, of course.

[Oldschool]

Still occasionally when I get an icon I'm expecting a *poof* or something and then remember that we have no sound.

[Lightwielder]

I guess I rely too much on my imagination, though, so this is just my two pieces.

No, I think you have it all wrong. I think imagination is what is so great about Sryth. It allows you to conform it in your mind to make the reading and immersion most comfortable and enjoyable to you. I think sound would detract from that too much to be worth it. That's also why I don't want to see pictures of characters of Sryth, because I like to imagine them on my own.

It's like reading a book, but you influence it. Sound and pictures (With the exclusion of the dungeon map feature) make the imagination part incredibly difficult.

[Maskull]

It's like reading a book, but you influence it. Sound and pictures (With the exclusion of the dungeon map feature) make the imagination part incredibly difficult.

I must interject that's generalized. It all comes down to what you are used to. Most human experience, particularly in the Western world, revolve primarily around the visual, auditory and kinesthetic representational systems. So it's not unusual for one sense to expect a certain degree of latitude and bleedthrough from another. I like to read and listen to music at the same time while comfortably reclining on my vibrating massage chair, for example. When one of them is missing from the experience, my mind notices it. So it's not necessarily incredibly difficult. It just depends on what you've developed for yourself. Have you noticed, for example, when you play a graphical RPG with background ambient sounds that you start missing them later when you turn them off? It's Pavlovian.

[Lightwielder]

I must interject that's generalized. It all comes down to what you are used to. Most human experience, particularly in the Western world, revolve primarily around the visual, auditory and kinesthetic representational systems. So it's not unusual for one sense to expect a certain degree of latitude and bleedthrough from another. I like to read and listen to music at the same time while comfortably reclining on my vibrating massage chair, for example. When one of them is missing from the experience, my mind notices it. So it's not necessarily incredibly difficult. It just depends on what you've developed for yourself. Have you noticed, for example, when you play a graphical RPG with background ambient sounds that you start missing them later when you turn them off? It's Pavlovian.

Oh, actually I know. I have an iTunes playlist that I listen to all the time when playing Sryth. If I don't turn it on, it feels like something is missing. One of the songs, if I am not playing Sryth and I'm listening to it, I am reminded of Trithik, because I'm so used to it. I'm talking about sound in the actual game, which I don't want.