Cultural Perspectives in Video Game Audio

Cultural Perspectives in Video Game Audio explores the fundamental role of sound - specifically sound effects, music, and voice acting - in video games. This book provides readers with a deeper understanding of the impact of sound on gameplay and storytelling and examines sound’s potential to either preserve or diminish cultural diversity.

Organised into six chapters, this book examines various aspects of audio and its cultural implications, offering readers insights into the vital role sound plays in video game design and player experience from a new perspective. It delves into a wide range of topics, including natural soundscapes; the interplay between human activities and their environments; linguistic elements which express cultural identity; the role of non-verbal audio in video games; musical preferences and structures; and the use of sound symbols as expressions of cultural identity.

Cultural Perspectives in Video Game Audio is a valuable resource for researchers and students in fields such as sound design, game studies, and media studies, as well as sound anthropologists and ethnomusicologists. It will also be of interest to game sound designers and developers seeking to create more culturally authentic soundscapes for their audiences.

Mohammad Reza Azadehfar is a professor in Ethnomusicology at Tehran Art University. He has received five grants for music multidisciplinary studies from University of London, University of Arts, and INS. Azadehfar won the biannual book prize for Melodic Structure in Iranian Music from INMH in 2019.