Menus

	The card's front face	The card's back face

Synopsis

Sounds in game menus.

Relationships

Peers:
Title Screens , Cutscenes .
Often uses:
Music , Contextual Music , Sound Effects .
May use:
Foley .

Description

The Menus constitute one of the distinctive components of sound design in games, along with the introductory Title Screens, the Cutscenes, and – the more “extensive” component – sound occurring during gameplay.

Sound in menus augments players’ Awareness for their actions. Frequently it is possible to perceive at least three kinds of semantics in menus sounds: navigation (‘neutral’ sounds), acceptance (‘positive’ sounds), and refusal (‘negative’ sounds).

Considering that moving through items in Menus is an abstract action, Sound Effects are the common solution. Yet, in order to augment the closeness between Menu sounds and game world sounds, some Menus integrate elements of Foley from the gameplay.

Music is also common presence in Menus. Usually that is “the music of the game” (or the “soundtrack” if it applies) but it can also change along time, e.g., according to the level being played (Contextual Music).

Examples

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