The Audio of Bad Fur Day

The subject of today's blog is audio.  Audio is a key feature in all video games.  It can drive the plot narration as well as give the character guidance throughout the story.  In short, the better the audio, the more immersive the game is.  In the case of Bad Fur Day, the audio is spectacular in many ways.  For those who are hearing impaired however, the cut scenes will be explained through subtitles. 

Game Audio Formats

The Nintendo 64 used the USF (Nintendo Ultra 64 Sound Format) for their video games.  

USF.  The vast quantity of audio that is in Bad Fur Day is impressive for the technology available during the 64 days.

Sound Effects

To get some inspiration to write this blog, I attempted to advance in my game a bit farther.  One of the things that stuck out in terms of the audio was the sounds made when I failed to give Conker a breath of air when he was under water.  His chocolate life bars made crunching sounds as they were taken away because of the lack of oxygen.  Conker makes disturbing noises as his body goes limp as well.

Some other sound effects I experienced while playing were the sound of Conkers hands splashing as he was swimming.  Also the sound of a waterfall became the only sound being played as i went underneath it.  All other sounds, including the background music faded away.  These are only a couple of examples that show how immersive the audio makes this game.  I can't stand drowning, mainly because of the sound it makes.  I actually dread hearing the sound.

Most of the sounds in the game are very realistic.  The developers did not try to make the sounds themselves comical throughout the game.  If they were comical it was because the visual that accompanied them was comical as well. 

Music

One of the most impressive aspects of Bad Fur Day is its sound design.  It is so cool because depending on what kind of atmosphere you are in the audio adapts.  For example in one scene the theme song will be played by strings, but when you go into a more country atmosphere, the theme song is played by banjos.  In 2001, Bad Fur Day actually won the best sound award at the BAFTA awards.  

Voiceover

Bad Fur Day contains a lot of characters.  Each character has its own distinct voice that adds to who they are as a character.  A few examples of this are the grim reaper, who starts off with a deep booming voice, but then you find out he is really short and has a scratchy small voice.  The catfish that appear in the game, who are snobby rich fish have voices that reflect this.  The Panther king has a deep voice that is smooth and similar to the low purr sound a cat makes. 

Looping

Just like many similar games for the Nintendo 64, Bad Fur Day uses a lot of looping.  This may get repetitive after playing for a long time.  It is especially frustrating when I get stuck at a certain portion of a level but for the most part Bad Fur Day keeps the sound fresh.  As i mentioned before the loop will change to fit the atmosphere.  When the situation is suspenseful the loop and/or song will change to accent it.