Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
some way, and that event creates a particular sound—it might be a sword swish, or a footstep—it doesn't
really matter. If the player presses the button again, the sound will re-occur. The sound involved is an
example of a simple interactive sound ef ect.
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Adaptive audio
occurs in the game environment in reaction to gameplay rather than to the user
directly. Adaptive audio changes as the game changes.
Sound Ef ects Layers
You can further categorize sounds. Remember the big three
categories we mentioned in Level 1: music, sound ef ects,
and voice-over. You can break those down further. Since this
level is about sound, let's look at the various subcategories here.
Background ambience
is environmental audio. It
creates the setting and mood in which the action
will take place. These sounds usually last at least
several seconds and may last a couple of minutes to
avoid sounding repetitive. An example of diegetic
background ambience might be the sound of water
if the character were near water. A non-diegetic
background ambience might be spooky noises in a
haunted house.
Foreground sounds
are the individual sounds that
occur when a character moves around or encounters
objects within the game space. Diegetic foreground
sounds might include laser blasts or impact
sounds when a character encounters an object.
A non-diegetic foreground sound might be an
announcement over a public address system to
warn of an intruder, or a power-up associated with
an object but not otherwise related to on-screen
action.
Interface sounds
are sounds that are directly
attributable to the game interface and which the
player uses to view status or change settings.
Some interface sounds may be directly related to
the player clicking or rolling over an icon or a button.
Others might be notii cations or changes in status;
for example, there may be an interface sound
associated with a player's health as a result of running
out of energy.
