The triple lock of synchronization
The triple lock of synchronization
Contemporary audiovisual objects unify sound and moving image in our heads via the screen and speakers/headphones. The synchronization of these two channels remains one of the defining aspects of contemporary culture. Video games follow their own particular form of synchronization, where not only sound and image, but also player input form a close unity.1 This synchronization unifies the illusion of movement in time and space, and cements it to the crucial interactive dimension of gaming. In most cases, the game software’s ‘music engine’ assembles the whole, fastening sound to the rest of the game, allowing skilled players to synchronize themselves and become ‘in tune’ with the game’s merged audio and video. This constitutes the critical ‘triple lock’ of player input with audio and video that defines much gameplay in digital games.
94-109
Cambridge University Press
Donnelly, K.J.
b31cebde-a9cf-48c9-a573-97782cd2a5c0
1 April 2021
Donnelly, K.J.
b31cebde-a9cf-48c9-a573-97782cd2a5c0
Donnelly, K.J.
(2021)
The triple lock of synchronization.
In,
Fritsch, Melanie and Summers, Tim
(eds.)
The Cambridge Companion to Video Game Music.
New York.
Cambridge University Press, .
(doi:10.1017/9781108670289.008).
Record type:
Book Section
Abstract
Contemporary audiovisual objects unify sound and moving image in our heads via the screen and speakers/headphones. The synchronization of these two channels remains one of the defining aspects of contemporary culture. Video games follow their own particular form of synchronization, where not only sound and image, but also player input form a close unity.1 This synchronization unifies the illusion of movement in time and space, and cements it to the crucial interactive dimension of gaming. In most cases, the game software’s ‘music engine’ assembles the whole, fastening sound to the rest of the game, allowing skilled players to synchronize themselves and become ‘in tune’ with the game’s merged audio and video. This constitutes the critical ‘triple lock’ of player input with audio and video that defines much gameplay in digital games.
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Published date: 1 April 2021
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Local EPrints ID: 457016
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/457016
PURE UUID: ec21ddb2-4278-44d5-be49-1c5ab23246de
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Date deposited: 19 May 2022 16:45
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 17:11
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Contributors
Editor:
Melanie Fritsch
Editor:
Tim Summers
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