Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 11.5
Screen grab showing the creation of the basic sound emitters for the game. The Beacons are turned
on indicating the center of these touch-activated scripted sound prims, and while the sound script is running, the prim
turns red.
11.8.4 l
aying
o
uT
The
a
udio
l
andsCape
of
The
g
ame
Now that you have made all of your sound emitters, it is time to spread them out across the game environment
to make the game soundscape for your players. Figure 11.6 provides an illustrated overview of this section.
Here are ive basic factors to remember while you do this:
1.
Anchoring:
By using the game board graphic as a guide, locate your audio “anchors” irst. Place the
looping sounds of the marketplace, the goat barn, trolls, and orchard far enough apart and spaced
over the landscape so that the players will have a sense of direction and can be relatively secure in
their location on the game board. It is perfectly legal to put your emitters outside the box, above or
below it, so that the sound is heard less by the players inside. Aim for being able to hear them all
from a distance of 20 meters on a 50% volume setting in your headphones.
2.
Emergence:
Support the emergent nature of game play by putting sound in surprising locations and
varying the height of the emitter off the plane of the game board so it sometimes coincides with the
location of the default camera position.
3.
Layer:
You may also decide to layer/trigger a sound in a couple of ways. For instance, having a troll
saying “MMMMM-goat stew” on a loop in the distance creates an atmospheric sound layer with an
underlying threat factor. Placing a loud emitter with a proximity trigger running the same sound can
make your players jump at the unexpected change of position and loudness of the troll's sound.
