One of the main factors that personally drew me to 'The Last of Us' was the dynamic use of audio to focus player attention on aspects of gameplay.
Listening focus
For much of the game the player must sneak around undetected if they wish to live. In order to be effective at moving around undetected the player can use a focus function where they are essentially listening for threats. When entered, the focus mode sends the bulk of in game audio through a low pass filter, with threat sounds such as enemy noises left largely unaffected. This works in combination with a visual effect of everything being slightly blurred and out of focus. This feature works to great effect especially as the main threat throughout the game comes from zombie like creatures that make a distinctive clicking sound. The 'clickers' have no vision and use this sound as an echo location mechanism, this also means that the player can also be detected if they make any sudden movements near a clicker. The focus feature at its core is a device which draws on more of the players attention, as well as make the player empathise with the characters situation. The fact that the player must actively listen (or pay the price) throughout much of the game is arguably a strong contributor to the games immersive nature.The use of space is also a strong point in the game. Room spaces and tonal changes from one room to the next are highly audible. This is especially evident when in focus mode where the player can hear enemy sound from behind a wall. The spatialised presence of enemies along with realistic room acoustics solidifies the players 'presence' within the game. This is arguably one of the key immersive gameplay factor in the game as the player is essentially forced to tune into the character hearing system.
From an audio perspective a lot can be gained from the core mechanics of 'The Last Of Us ', the main point being to incorporate the players ears as much, if not more at times than the visual or mental elements of gameplay. It is the developers utilisation and effective balance of all the players senses that personally make this game so immersive.
In this case as in most AAA rated games the storyline is also a major hook to get the players attention. Here there has been an apocalyptic event where there is an outbreak of a fungal virus which takes over the human body, leading to a zombie like state. As impressive as the opening of the game was in 'The Last Of Us' it would have stood for nothing if the gameplay experience did not match expectations.
A story element for this project would be a consideration although not fitting with the objective of identifying the connection between audio and immersion.
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