Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
What Is the Hardware Space Budget
of this Game?
Even if you have the i nancial budget to make all those cool sounds, you
may not have the allotted physical memory space to put them in. This is
especially true for portable and mobile games.
In many cases, the game designer or producer will have the answer
to these questions. In other cases, you may need to speak with the
programmer or integrator to get the information you need. Don't be
afraid to ask questions—in game development, knowledge is king!
After you have gotten the information you need about the game type,
environment, platform and budgets, it is time to start making some
creative decisions. What will and won't be sonii ed in the game? What
overall creative direction do you plan to take?
The Asset List
As you make these choices, you'll also need to create a list of every sound
that will occur in the game. The document that contains this information
is called the
audio assets list
.
This list is incredibly important because it is your master list of all the
sounds that will be used in the game, and is also your road map to
keep you on track during the development process. Sometimes the
producers or developer will already have this information. Sometimes
they will have it included in a game design document. Or they may
have nothing at all. It's up to you to ask about this list and if they don't
have one yet, go about creating it. Additionally, some companies may
already use elaborate asset management systems to track each sound
in the game.
Each item in an audio assets list should contain at least the following
information:
• the name of the sound broken out by type (music, sound ef ect, or
voice-over);
• a i le name that follows a standardized i le naming convention;
• a description of the function of the sound (e.g., car sounds or
dialogue);
• an indication of whether the sound is looping or a one-shot (play
once) trigger.
