Not all games are basic puzzles, platformers, or button-mashing adventures. Video games have become an art form in some cases, delivering a full experiences that envelopes the senses and brings players to a new world as best as the developers can manage. Sound design has been a part of games for at least two decades, and if you're still using the television's speakers or a basic pair of computer speakers, you're missing a lot of major engineering work. Here's what matters when it comes to game immersion, and how you can get closer to a deeper experience.

What Could Be Missing With Basic Speakers?

When speaking about sound quality, the average person may not know much beyond a scratchy or low volume sound and a more full audio quality. This isn't an argument about audio quality exactly, but a discussion about how some sounds are drastically changed or completely missing without the right equipment.

Many games employ directional audio to make the gaming experience more immersive. To get you into the game and feeling like you're exploring the area in person, you should be able to hear different sounds in different directions from specific distances.

A rushing river should be heard when you turn your character, and the sound system should increase and decrease audio from different speakers to give a sound and feeling beyond just left and right. Modern televisions and speakers do an okay job with that performance, but a home theater system can add more points of audio.

With multiple speakers in the proper arrangement, you'll have a more accurate mental sound map. Further beyond "left" and "right" becomes a 360 degree sound range, then above and below, and all points around you in a sphere of sorts. Sound design for video games is constantly pushing to make you feel like you're in a real world of sound, possibly to the point that the sensations are more intense than real life to make sure that the experience isn't missed.

Competitive Advantage With Tactical Sound

Even the most basic games use audio cues to help the player through the game, although many other cues are often available for advanced games to help people with different ability levels. Some of the more competitive combat or exploration games will use sight and sound to help players add even more layers to their competition.

A good sound system will allow you to hear grass when an enemy is nearby, and hopefully you know where the grass is. A great sound system will make the sound come from the grass and deliver a sound that points you exactly to your enemy.

You won't have to guess or know the terrain as well; if a sound is behind you to the left and above, you can simply look. This isn't always possible with a single television speaker system or a pair of computer speakers.

Realistic or slow-paced shooter games use this technique in innovative ways. World War II-based shooters will have the distant boom of real players in tanks or distant firefights from players with rifles, and you'll know exactly where the sound is coming from instead of getting a central, non-specific set of sounds.

Contact a home theater system professional, such as http://www.atechels.com, to discuss gameplay directional audio to figure out the right systems and configuration needed for your next session.