A Combined Model for the Structuring of Computer Game Audio - Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments - page 121

Figure 8. Shoot the Ducks level 1

does not really matter. This is not just a model
but also a kind of paradigm or, in other words, a
way of thinking about these matters. The key is
to be pro-active with regard to sound design and
to plan the distribution of sounds before they are
even created.
In most audio-editing software, the colors of
Murch's original conceptual-model, and our com-
bined model (Figures 2 and 3), may well be used
to designate the status of the sound files as more
or less encoded. The music track (affect) could
be made red, guns and explosions (effect) would
be yellow, the ambient sounds, such as birds and
so on, (zone) should be orange, and the dialogue
(encoded) shall be blue, which is in accordance
with Murch's (1998) conceptual model. This
feature of the color encoding of specific sound
events is found in many commercial products
and may very well be used in this manner while
creating a sonic environment for a game or movie

in order to avoid cognitive overload. In fact, the
combined model might, in itself, be used as an
interface for audio editing software.
What then are the benefits of using our com-
bined model in practice? Let us provide an example
of creating the sound design for a simple game.
We first present the game's design document.
The aim here is not to create a stunning new best
selling game, but rather to exemplify how the
combined model may be used to plan the sound
of the proposed shoot'em up game on the basis
of a design document.

shoot the Ducks Design Document

Game Objects

The game includes twenty objects: 4 ducks, ar-
mor for the ducks for each of the levels from 5
to 8, 2 guns, a pond, and a wall. The wall object