Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
ahead of time by the sound designer, or balanced out by the programmer or designer within the game
environment.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LOOPING IN GAMES
As you're painfully aware by this point, looping is a HUGE part of creating sound ef ects or music,
primarily because of the open nature of time in gameplay. It is impossible to write a perfectly timed
music cue when you have no idea how long a player will stay in a specii c area within the game
environment. Looping also saves space in the game—for example, having a 1 minute loop play eight
times is vastly more ei cient than having an 8 minute loop playing once. Do the math—the former only
takes up 1 minute of audio data at a given bit and sample rate, with a command to repeat eight times,
and the latter lasts for 8 minutes at the same bit and sample rate. In other words, it is eight times larger.
The other factor to consider is that even at eight times the size, it may still not i ll all the time necessary
to fuli ll the gameplay requirements. Looping audio in games is a global phenomenon that pertains to
sound ef ects, music, and ambient backgrounds.
Uses for Looping Techniques
Sound Ef ects : A good example of a looping sound ef ect is a weapon ef ect in an FPS game, such as a
machine gun. Holding down the appropriate button or i ring key triggers the loop to play indei nitely
(or perhaps until you run out of bullets), and when you release the button it can either stop, or more
interestingly, trigger an ending sound (like a single shot or with shell casings clattering on the ground).
Ambient Backgrounds : Location loops are extremely common in games of all shapes and sizes. Outdoor
locations or tailored indoor acoustic environments in general use longer audio clips in order to avoid a
sense of repetition. One technique for developing a well-crafted loop might be to have the same audio
material at the beginning and end, making it harder if not impossible for the ear to detect the loop point.
Another technique is to use a few ambient loops of slightly dif ering length playing together, so that
they overlap each other at dif erent points. In this case, the goal is to try to make the game sound more
organic and non-repetitive, while at the same time using smaller and more size-ei cient i les.
Music Soundtracks : In many games, producers want a lot of music, but just don't have the audio budget
available for one reason or other. In such cases, looping is a necessary evil. We have all at one time or
another become aware of a repetitive music score in a game—in fact, parents seem especially sensitive
to such things! Repetition is necessary and sometimes it's even expected— Space Invaders or Asteroids ,
anyone? Even with today's sophisticated console games there are a ton of very clever techniques that are
used to give the player a feeling that there is more music around then there really is. By cleverly changing
or layering the orchestration in musical passages, composers are able to turn 30 minutes of music into
stems that can run for over an hour without wearing out their welcome.
In certain styles of games, composers develop quick stinger ef ects to cover up transitions between
gameplay or just to inject an unexpected quality into the game. In all cases, it is important to i nd out
the time durations of the gameplay sections you will be composing for, and seek to provide music loops
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search