SOUND DESIGN IN GAMES AND UX: A CASE STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOUND EFFECTS AND GAME ACTIONS IN SUPER MARIO BROS

Abstract

Considered as interactive media, electronic games have their sound features as strong support to obtain an expanded UX (user experience): as a feedback of the players’ actions or as a constructive element of the immersive atmosphere. The auditive interfaces are bridges of the designer-user communication which extrapolate the screen’s visual elements. Sound effects and soundtracks have yet an important role to the game identity construction, enabling the player to have full knowledge of the actions. This essay sought to evaluate the user’s ability to identify the game actions only through its respective sound effects, aiming to study the sound design role in the UX. To that, it was opted for the case study of the sound interface of the game Super Mario Bros., released by Nintendo to the NES console, in 1985, which gave birth to one of the most important game franchises of the history. The study is relevant for the development of new sound projects in video games, mainly taking into account the possibility of working inclusive aspects through the sound interface.