Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
candidates to only load once into memory and remain there permanently, although
this depends on their file size. You may wish to automate this analysis with a tool
that parses the file log to generate a report with recommendations.
11.3 Conclusion
The tools discussed are useful for debugging common problems within a game's
audio playback. However, each of your audio systems, such as a speech manager or
music controller, can always benefit from having a tool dedicated to tracking that
system's state.
With any audio system, it is always worth considering the following:
How can you clearly the sound designer show how that system is operating?
How can a tool help track or reproduce a bug within the system? Can you
support logging state changes in that system?
What kind of interface do you present to the sound designer? The easier your
tool is to use, the less time will be spent trying to use the tool and the more
time spent using it.
It is always best to invest time early in a project to provide sound designers
with a set of easy-to-use tools so that they can find and fix problems, as well as
demonstrate any problems to you, the programmer.
