Between Spaceships and Flying Kicks: A Study on Auditory Perception, Music, and Nostalgia in Arcade Soundscapes
Arcades, known as “Game Centers” in Japan, were one of the primary venues for playing videogames during the 1980s and 1990s. In these spaces, players developed implicit rules, widely accepted and internalized within their communities, regarding gameplay and immersion in soundscapes filled with cacophonous sounds, in clear contrast to the domestic environment. Ongoing research showed that, in many cases, these soundscapes significantly impact how players receive and interpret the auditory stimuli necessary for progressing in the game. In that sense, an intriguing question emerges: to what extent did the acoustic characteristics of these spaces influence the design and mixing of game audio? Several years ago, renowned composer Yoko Shimomura expressed her frustration at the difficulties of the Street Fighter II (Capcom, 1991) soundboard to produce sounds at a volume audible for players in environments where auditory perception was constantly interfered. Similarly, composer Hisayoshi Ogura noted that early Darius arcade cabinets tended to amplify bass sounds to enhance perception of specific audio cues, a practice that may have influenced machine design. With this in mind, it is striking to observe a new trend among players who attempt to recreate these arcade environments in their homes or rented spaces —known as mancaves—, replicating similar conditions to bring back those «acoustic communities» that embraced the blending of game audio elements into a noisy background of button smashing, shouts of frustration, clinking coins, and the cacophony generated by the simultaneous operation of multiple machines. Is this nostalgia for the soundscape? This paper seeks to explore these questions, expanding on research initially presented at the Ludo2024 conference; a phenomenological study carried out at a private arcade in Valladolid, Spain, called “Akiba”. Audio intensity measurements and recordings were taken from the player’s perspective while playing on Japanese “candy” cabinets of original Street Fighter boards to analyze how this interplay of factors may affect the user’s musical experience.
Keywords: soundscapes, arcades, nostalgia
Biography
Iván García graduated in Musicology from the University of Valladolid in 2020. He later pursued a Master’s degree in the music industry at the Complutense University of Madrid. In 2022, he graduated from the Master’s in Hispanic music at the University of Valladolid, and a year later, he began his PhD research focused on studying sound conventions in Spanish video games throughout more than forty years of history. Currently, Iván García is part of the teaching and research staff at the University of Valladolid with a University Teaching Training contract.
University of Valladolid, Spain – franciscoivan.garcia@uva.es