Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
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Sound has become an integral part of game design, enhancing gameplay without over-
powering the experience. The techniques for developing sound for games has paralleled
that of films by using multiple techniques and taking advantage of full orchestral sound
to record expansive and sweeping scores.
The remarkable difference between the two media is that many games, unlike film, aren't
linear, so designers need to work in unique ways to keep the experience fresh and exciting
without producing endless mind-numbing loops.
The future for audio development continues to grow as technology embraces more and more
of what artificial intelligence (AI) will bring to the table. Improvements with AI can mean
the audio will be even more reactive to what is happening during gameplay. For example, if
a character picks up a heavy object, then the sound from their footsteps will alter. The field
of sound for games will improve and grow as the worlds for the games become larger and
technology allows for greater diversity in how sound can be delivered during gameplay.
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d d I t I o n a l
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x e r C I s e s
1.
Sit in your own home, or travel to a mall or restaurant, and close your eyes.Try to
identify as many different sounds as you can. Doing this exercise should show
you how many sounds are around you on a daily basis that you usually take for
granted.
2.
Prepare a list of ambient sounds that could be included in your own game design.
Select certain sounds that would be heard more than others to create variations.
3.
Adapt the list of sounds you created in exercise 2, based on time of day. For exam-
ple, what sounds are different from day to night: more crickets or owls, or
stronger winds? What changes would you need to account for to match weather
changes? For example, if there is rain in your game, what materials would that
rain strike in your environment: tin roofs, broad leaves on trees, or a wind-
shield? How would rain sound different in those various environments?
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1.
Audio segments created for games are referred to as ___________________.
a.
Stems
C.
Layers
B.
Chunks
D.
Bytes
2.
True or false. A remote recording session is held in a controlled environment.
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