The Game Composer’s Blog

I found a fun little Flash game on the PBS site. See how many sound effects you can correctly identify: http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/arcade/name/index_flash.html

I got 16/18. A couple of the games I had never played before. But for some of them, it was as if I was a kid again walking through the arcades.

There’s something to be said for having a limited palette of sound to work with. Sound designers back then (often just the game’s programmer) were forced to get everything they could out of the sound chip. And back then, just as now, coming up with something original could be a huge benefit to the game. I mean, eating ghosts in Pacman just made such a satisfying sound! That we still remember many of the sounds is a testament to their cleverness.