Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Background Ambient Sounds and Music
Most games have a music track and an ambient noise track along with the incident
sounds you hear throughout the game. These additional tracks are usually long
because they
'
ll most likely loop back to their beginning until there
'
s some environ-
mental reason to change them.
An example of an ambient noise track could be the sounds of a factory, crowd noises,
traffic, or some other noise. Sounds like these have the effect of placing the players
in the environment and give the impression that there
s a lot more going on than
what they see. This technique was used brilliantly in Thief: Deadly Shadows in the
city sections. You could clearly hear city dwellers, small animals, carts, and other
such noise, and it made you feel as if you were in the middle of a medieval city.
But be warned
'
if the background ambient has recognizable elements, such as some-
one saying,
players will recognize the loop quickly and get
annoyed. Keep any ambient background close to
Good morning,
noise
instead of easily discernible
sounds.
Music adds to this environment by communicating gut-level intensity. It helps
inform the player and add a final polish to the entire experience. Perhaps my favorite
example of music used in a game is the original Halo. Instead of only reacting to the
current events in the game, the music segues just before a huge battle, telling the
player he
'
d better reload his shotgun and wipe the sweat off his controller.
Live Music Rocks
from Professional Musicians
On the Microsoft Casino project, I thought it would be a great idea to
record live music. It would be classy and add a unique feel to the game.
I
d never produced live music for a game, so I was a little nervous about
it. The music was composed by an Austin composer, Paul Baker, who also
conducted the band. I got to play the part of the big-time producer guy
behind the glass in the recording studio. I thought it was really cool until I
heard the band run through the music the first time.
'
It was horrible! I
thought
I
'
d be fired and wondered quickly how I could salvage this
disaster.
My problem was that I
d never seen how professional musicians work. They
arrived that day having never seen the music before, and the first time they
played it they were all sight-reading. After a break, they played it one more time, and it was nearly
flawless. I thought I
'
s just my own naiveté. There was one errant horn
note, blurted a little off time, and they cleared everyone out of the room except for the one horn player.
He said,
'
d just heard a miracle, but that
'
and they ran the tape back. At exactly the right moment, he played the
single note he screwed up, and it was mixed flawlessly into the recording. I was so impressed by the live
performance that I
gimme two measures,
'
ll never be afraid of doing it in other games.
 
 
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