Menus
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| The card's front face | The card's back face |
Contents
[hide]Synopsis
| Sounds in game menus. |
Relationships
Context:
Sound Places File:M385px-SoundPlaces-front-v20.png.
Peers:
Title Screens 
, Cut-Scenes File:M385px-Cut-Scenes-front-v20.png, Gameplay File:M385px-Gameplay-front-v20.png.
Often uses:
Music 
, Contextual Music 
, Sound Effects 
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May use:
Foley 
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Description
The Menus constitute one of the distinctive components (Sound Places) of sound design in games, along with the introductory Title Screens, the Cut-Scenes, and – the more 'extensive' component – sound occurring during Gameplay.
Sound in menus augments players' Awareness for their actions. Frequently it is possible to feel at least three kinds of semantics in menus sounds: navigation ('neutral' sounds), acceptance ('positive' sounds), and refusal ('negative' sounds).
In same games, sound in Menus is also playful. Sometimes it is a matter of Aesthetics, as in Uncharted and Bioshock; other times it relates to the game design that extends the Gameplay into the menu, as in Katamari. In particular cases, as Half-Life 2, there is even a feeling that when accessing the menus the user does not leave the Acoustic Ecology of the game world.
Considering that moving through items in menus is an abstract action, Sound Effects are the common solution. Yet, and still in the vein, of the amalgamation of Menu sounds and Gameplay sounds, some menus integrate elements of Foley from the gameplay. For instance in Metal Gear Solid 4 and Red Dead Redemption, sounds of gun handling and firing are adopted.
Music is common presence in menus. Usually this 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. In Flower, it is actually a Contextual Music: it starts in a sad tone accompanying a dark Ambiance, and as the player completes the levels they (both) become lively and rewarding. This evolution is perfectly in consonance with purposes and Emotional Script of the Gameplay.
Examples
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