Thanks to the perfection that is HumbleBundle, I recently fell back in love with the Sid Meier’s Civilization franchise. After a torrid love affair in high school that resulted in many incomplete homework assignments, I chose not to install the game on the laptop I took with me to college. I’m glad that this class gave me an excuse to adventure into Civ V (I only had Civ IV in HS).
This week is all about sound, so while the Civilization’s franchise does a lot of things very well, I’m going to focus on the particularly pleasant the sound design. To get in the mood for this post, why not listen to the full soundtrack here?
The component of sound to the Civilization’s game is crucial. The stylistic voiceover introduces the player to the game as well as each new development as your civilizations progress. In Civ IV, Spock (or Leonard Nimoy for the average earthling), provides the soothing introductions to new technologies and game eras. In Civ V, the voice acting has expanded from a single narrator (voiced beautifully by William Morgan Sheppard) to your country’s advisors and the country leaders.
In addition to the trademark voice-over, Civ V also offers extensive an extensive soundtrack. Every country has its own theme — giving the player a new experience depending on what ruler they choose to be. The themes are fully orchestrated classical pieces, at times soothing and pleasant or inspirational and driving. In game sound effects, warriors battling, ships sailing around or workers building, also layer into the immersive experience.
When asked about his opinion on the game’s sound design, my suite-mate said eloquently stated”Its good,” fortunately for us all, when pressed he continued, “[The sound design is] very effective, the sound is designed such that if you play with it off you are missing part of the game. it immerses you more and you are a more effective player” (My suite-mate acts a character witness so you’ll trust I’m not crazy about my opinions – is it working?). to your country’s advisors as well as
The sound design is not perfect, in some instances the sound can be over the top and annoying — the cows are constantly mooing and the elephants, trumpeting. These can be toggled on and off though.
Unlike most games I play on my computer — I choose to leave the sound on (often max volume) while playing Civ V. I can feel immersed in the gameplay without bothering those around me too much.