Games like The Vale and Frequency Missing can be played with just sound. In Mini Metro you add to the ambient sounds as you place stations and new tube lines.įinally, there are games where sound is your main way of navigating the world. Touching petals in Flower adds notes to the classical music. There are games where you create the audio with your actions. Not only what is happening, like the sound of someone boarding your ship, but where that is happening in relation to your character with spatial audio.

Then there are games like Uncharted, Alba, Fortnite and Sea of Thieves that use audio to indicate things happening in the game. This is more than just background music as it reacts and integrates with the sounds the player is making while they play. There are games like Limbo, Hellblade, Overboard and Super Mario Odyssey that use sound to set the mood and aesthetic of the play. Doing this intentionally can help younger players discover a new world of sound in the games they play. Playing a game with headphones helps the player focus on the sound. As well as this, audio is often a crucial aspect of interactions and clues for puzzle solving.īecause of this, video games (like walking in nature) are a powerful way to learn to notice and use the sounds around us.

But just as important is to develop more than just cursory listening.ĭespite their name, i video games use sounds just as much as visuals to create their worlds.

We encourage children to read, watch and observe. Of the different senses, it's easy to overlook the importance of hearing.

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