Unbound Acoustics. Embracing Complexity in Virtual Soundscapes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.2724-2463/21426Keywords:
Soundscapes, Game Studies, Acoustic Ecology, Interaction DesignAbstract
This paper examines how sound structures and transforms the experiential conditions of video game worlds, foregrounding the dynamic relations that arise between auditory phenomena and the environments in which they unfold. Through an analysis of Rain World (Videocult, 2017) and Silent Hill (Konami, 1999), it argues that sound functions as an active agent linking player, avatar, and world. Departing from the objectifying tendencies of traditional sound scape theory, the paper draws on ecological and embodied perspectives to propose an analysis in which perception emerges through continuous interaction among sensory, cognitive, and material dimensions. In this view, sound is not merely representational but constitutive of the player’s experience, shaping the agencies that define virtual worlds. Through concepts such as embodiment, kynesonic syncresis, and transdiegesis, the investigation reveals how game environments decentralize hu man subjectivity, situating the player within complex networks of interdependence. By engaging with the phenomenology of listening and the porous boundaries between diegetic and extradiegetic spaces, the paper argues for an understanding of virtual soundscapes as dynamic ecologies where meaning arises from complexity. Ultimately, it advances a holistic framework that situates sound as a central mode of world-making, one that reconfigures and problematizes the ontology of the game-world and invites a broader reflection on the entangled nature of perception, agency, and environment in digital media.
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