Games are sound!
Suzanne Ciani, Frontier, and why we need to start putting respect on our sound designers' names.
Hey Nudgers,
I was so happy to get this piece from Charlotte Fillmore-Handlon. She’s a heckuva writer — and this is a fun lil’ exploration and survey of sound design. Suzanne Ciani is a frickin’ legend and if nothing else, you absolutely need to watch the 7 minute youtube doc that accompanies the article. But, I mean, also read the article. Why not? What else are you doing? Are you in the bathroom right now? Wait, don’t answer that. Woof.
The print issue continues to come along. We’ve got some dope ass illustrators doing their thing right now. I just ordered Nudge coin bags for our top secret official club (MORE DEETS SOON). Y’all are gonna love it, I think .
OK, less of me — more Suzanne Ciani. Enjoy! Oh and as always check us out on the site. We’ve got plenty more where this came from.
Games are sounds!
By Charlotte Fillmore-Handlon
Flow, cab art, even rule sets: they’re all important to a great pinball game. But why the fuck does no one talk about pinball sound design? Arguably one of the most important elements of a game, sound design can take a total shooting dud and make it a masterpiece. Nothing gets my heart thumping harder than that opening bass line on Monday Night Football. (Thank you David Thiel.) Or what about the sonic sensations of starting the multiball on Robocop? (What’s up Scott Stevenson and Mark Cross.) Hit a spinner on Radical lately? (I bow down to you Paul Heitsch.)
There are a few times when people talk about sound design — like when it’s an undeniably huge part of a game and the way it plays, but that conversation feels like it happens in a vacuum. Yes, WE GET IT. Total Nuclear Annihilation is the best thing to happen to modern pinball sound design, and Scott Danesi has undeniably done incredible things for pinball. Nobody denies that this game ABSOLUTELY slaps. And while the gameplay is frenetic and amazing, it’s really the sound design that puts it over the top. From Danesi’s banger of a soundtrack to its ancillary sounds and callouts, it’s usually the first thing that people talk about when they talk TNA
But let’s not forget where it all comes from. Before TNA there was Xenon and Suzanne Ciani.
Suzanne Ciani is an OG of electronic music. Starting in the 1960s, she was already experimenting with different ways to push music forward. That included experimenting with synths, vocoders, and keyboard sounds. Consequently, her’s is the first voice ever recorded for a pinball machine. It seems obvious now, but pairing these sounds with pinball was a momentous moment — and one that Ciani obviously didn’t take lightly. Watching the video above she really understands game flow and how to music can ratchet up tension as the game’s stakes increase.
Sound design, synths, and pinball sound boards in the late 1970s are things I can’t even begin to pretend I can totally fathom. But what I do know is that they sound fucking amazing and kick-ass, in spite of and perhaps due to the myriad constraints and limitations of pinball sound design at the time. Xenon was Bally’s first talking pinball and has insane sound design. “Try tube shot.” Damn yes I am trying!
Now let’s be real: the sound designer and voice of Xenon, Suzanne Ciani is a freaking legend and is known as the diva of the diode. She also designed the sound for Coca Cola’s “pop and pour” and Atari’s corporate tag — But how many of us ACTUALLY knew that? (Editor’s note: definitely not me!) This is what I mean when I say we need to put some more respect on our sound designer’s names. Let’s cherish them for what they are: badasses.
INCOMING LIFE HIGHLIGHT: There was one golden moment when I actually played Xenon with Suzanne Ciani. (Editor’s note: IS THIS THE GREATEST FLEX OF ALL TIME? ) The longer I played, the more she heard the sounds she designed, and the more excited she got. Isn’t that a kinda beautiful moment? Actually viscerally experiencing the sounds that she had designed in the way it was intended. Talk about freakin pressure while playing pinball. I really wanted to get that multiball. And somehow I did. (editor’s note: niiiiiiiice)
Now, I do have one problem with Xenon, and I hate to admit it has a downfall. Rumour has it that Xenon was such a success at Bally that they stopped production of their previous game, Frontier. Folks, I am here today to tell you that Frontier has the most underrated sound design in all of pinball. When I go to the IPDB page for Frontier, there is no one even credited for its sound design! The only thing I discovered was that “'Frontier' was loosely based on the lifestyle and appearance of the husband of a Bally executive. Most people just thought we were riffing on the Grizzly Adams TV series.” Well, that and it also took Susan B. Anthony dollars.
Editor’s note: Wild choice. Susan B Anthony dollars? They were just hoping for some millionaires who looked like the Monopoly Guy to come strolling into a pinball parlor with a coin purse full of silver dollars? The cocaine in the 70s must have been ridiculous.
That said, Frontier has found a place in tons of pinball player’s hearts. Like who? Uh, I don’t know, have you heard of KEITH ELWIN? Before I knew his name, I used to refer to Keith Elwin as that guy who always wears the Frontier t-shirt. Just the other day I turned on Twitch and there was Keith, competing in his, yeah, you guessed it: Frontier t-shirt.
In a recent interview on Free Play Pinball Podcast, Keith talked about falling in love with Frontier at the Sears arcade when it first came out. Nostalgia is rooted in one thing: sense memory. What you see, what you feel, and yes: what you hear. That’s what makes sound design so incredible. It’ll instantly transport you somewhere else. You want a world under glass? Well a living breathing world has sounds. No where is that more exemplified than in the beautifully insane chirps, howls, and gun fire that come from a good ball on Frontier.
So what’s great about it? Maybe the better question to ask is what isn’t? I mean, have you ever listened to Frontier? Like really listened? Yes, the crickets. We all know the crickets. But have you heard the freakin chorus of 60 crickets after you have built up one of your bonuses? And yes, those howling wolf sounds when you go through the top lanes.
But what really kills me is the fucking horse noises. I am talking about the clip-clopping and that head-shaking, lip-smacking, horse snort noises right at the end of your bonus count. (Sorry I tried to google the correct names for horse sounds but my ADHD kicked in after 1 search result read.) The more I play the game, the more I hear these subtle animal noises. It’s understated. It’s impressionistic. It’s pure genius.
But who is that genius? Did they do the sound design on other pinball games? Who knows? No, really … who knows? I want to know. I am sure Roger Sharpe knows. Maybe Keith Elwin? Point being: let’s give it up for the sound designers of pinball. The hidden geniuses who take our games to the next level. From Suzanne Ciani to Scott Danesi, there’s beautiful, important moments happening. It’s time to take a step back and listen.
Next week… Ask Iggy?
Supposedly our man Igs is gonna get us an advice column. He keeps saying it, but I guess at this point I don’t believe it. Maybe if we all believe in our hearts and start snapping then he’ll appear in our hour of greatest need. Then again, maybe not? Don’t let that indecision stop you from living your one wild and precious life, you lil’ hooligans.
SEE YA THEN! KEEP NUDGIN!
Doc Monday
Editor in Chief, Nudge Magazine