So you’re making a 2D game, and wonder how to pan the sound effects to enhance the experience as much as possible?

Well. Here’s my thoughts on that. Keep in mind this is only my own opinion.

If you’re gonna do it, do it right!

First of all. Panning isn’t all that usual in 2D games. All objects that are visible on the screen should be heard equally as loud, and should be panned very carefully, or not at all.

In a sidescroller like Super Mario Bros or a top-down like Legend of Zelda, you are the listener (the player), not Mario or Link (the avatars), and because of this, you shouldn’t hear the sound effects from their perspective. If you ask me, due to the camera not following the player in Zelda, I would pan those sounds, and by the same logic not pan the sounds in Super Mario.

A sidescroller or top-down is viewed from a third person perspective, and therefore, you shouldn’t hear from a first person perspective.

But if I want to mix the third person view with a first person audio experience?

OK, then do that. But keep in mind. In the Mario example, Mario is always facing left or right, placing his ears behind each other (in the Z-axis), and not left to right (X-axis), which renders panning useless once more. And in the example with Zelda, Links ears are constantly changing direction, making panning really confusing for the player. For more explanation, see the picture below.

So, is there any situation where I would want to pan the sound in a 2D game?

Yes, there is! In any game where it’s important for the player to know (by sound) where his enemies are (like a multiplayer game or such), you might want to pan the audio. Keep in mind to do it from the players perspective and not the avatars perspective.

Conclusion

It’s OK to pan the sound in any game, as long as you do it from the right perspective. Don’t mix third person with first person. It makes no sense, and will probably confuse more than it adds to the gaming experience.