Last time, you decided that The geometry can’t be better than the game playing the music CD left in your drive. As someone who certainly wasn’t trying to regulate the vote, I respect people on both sides but am very pleased with the outcome. This week, sure, why isn’t there another crack in piecing together two similar things. It feels contrary to the spirit of the competition but I’m curious. Try two sounds. What could be better: ding! or Howie’s scream?
Nail!
What’s an upgrade if no one applauds your efforts with fanfare? Some bigger numbers? More tools to better handle future difficulties? Ugh, no thanks. Give me that ding!
Of course, it’s not a jingle bell. A small orchestra thrives. A dramatic drumming hit a cymbal. Some great surge of energy. A great electronic noise, sounding like a hacker hacking into an anti-piracy public service announcement. Some types of Kitar & omacr; synth. An abstract noise somehow captures the essence of the visual effects better with my leveling up. I will take all your requests, thank you. I also like “ding!” in MMORPG slang is a small announcement that you have leveled up, a reminder for praise and accolades from your friends: a monster ding moment.
A humble performance that’s especially welcome in an era when exciting special effects and celebratory sounds are weaponized against us with loot box opening animations. Sure, levels can also be equipped against us, especially in free-to-play MMOs, but at least they won’t charge me £5 to get an ugly t-shirt for my guide. And I can cheer you up by saying: ding! Feeling good, right?
Howie’s Scream
Like its sonic brother Wilhelm’s scream, Howie’s scream is a stock sound effect that you will hear many times in many places. The two have become laughs through their repeated reuse, nods to creativity and shared cinematic history, easter eggs for the ears of enthusiasts. But while Wilhelm’s scream usually comes out unedited, typically as the sound of someone falling or being knocked flying, Howie’s scream intrigues me because of the frequency with which it’s been reworked and built like that. a sound effect used seriously.
Unintelligible screams hidden behind the army’s display when you click an Academy in StarCraft? It was Howie’s scream. Half-Life 2’s Fast Zombies sometimes scream a howl Howie speeds up while leapfrogging, and the black skulls are said to use an even faster version. Call Of Duty has hide it in guitar riffs and drum beats. TVTropes lists more uses in the game, and once you recognize it as a distinctly named scream, you start hearing it.
Sure, I like a Wilhelm scream, but Howie’s scream is the one for me. It straddles a fine line between content in jokes and reality, wielding magic without falling into tired irony or staring at the screen while calling attention to itself. Plus its first use of material, in the movie Ninth Configuration, is very humorous:
But which is better?
I adore a Howie that is well disguised but can’t resist the victory noise and special effects of a good ding! Look, I know I’m a pitiful creature, easily distracted and amused by my loud noises and bright colors, and I’m fine with that. But what about you, dear reader?
Choose your winner, vote in the poll below and make your case in the comments to convince others. We’ll convene again next week to see which can win — and keep up the great competition.
