Audio Limitations of Game Platforms

   Game soundtracks have advanced a lot over the years; during the early days most games had very monotone sounds that had been created within some sort of synthesizer software on a PC; now however most games have full orchestral soundtracks or popular songs implemented into them.

   Pong is the first video game to ever reach mainstream popularity in 1972 when it was released; the game itself was very basic and didn’t have a soundtrack; instead it just had 3 key sounds that indicated the key moment of the game. These key moments were when the ball hit the paddle, when the ball hit the side of the screen and one when a player missed the ball. These sounds were purely just for informative reasons. Soundtracks weren’t particularly important at the time because games weren’t advanced at this stage; people of that time couldn’t even imagine what games would be like now.

      The first ever game to have a continuous background soundtrack was the arcade game Space Invaders which was released in 1978. The background soundtrack was the sound of the space invaders moving faster and nearer to you, the player. The importance of backing soundtrack stuck out after this was released because it adds a lot to the gaming experience. The soundtrack creates a sense of urgency which encourages the player to reach their goal by killing all of the space invaders before they get to you.

   As most people know the late 1970’s and the early 1980’s were known as the ‘Golden Age of Arcade Video Games’. This is when games were getting extremely popular, and arcade games in particular. One of the most popular games of that time was Super Mario Bros. which was released in 1985; this game had one of the most advanced soundtracks of its time because of its use of different notes. It was obviously created within a synthesizer but it is much different to the early soundtracks of the 70’s because the sounds are much more high-pitched and imitate the sound of a steel drum giving the soundtrack its famous ‘calypso’ sound. The soundtrack was very important for this game because without it it may not be as recognisable as it is. In this game you can notice how the soundtrack changes as Mario enters different worlds; this gives the areas their own identity. The sound developers for Super Mario Bros. definitely did well in making their sound recognisable as the theme tune is known worldwide even now!

   The 1990’s is the era when the ‘Golden Age of Arcade Video Games’ began to fade due to the growing popularity of home consoles. With this change a new method of recording sounds for video games began to arise. In 1998 the first ever orchestral recording for a video game soundtrack was produced for the game Heart of Darkness; however it wasn’t the first game to be released with an orchestral soundtrack due to delays. It was a massive breakthrough for video game soundtracks because before this game all game soundtracks were produced with a synthesizer. The addition of orchestral soundtracks made games feel all the more real and allowed gamers to immerse themselves into the game. Even greater things were yet to come.

   In 2000 games were starting to use licensed songs as their soundtracks; Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was one of the first games to use popular licensed songs for the entire soundtrack. The producers knew that their target audience were very interested in music, and ‘skater’ music in particular that’s why they made the soundtrack this way. It also keeps the player interested since the game can become rather repetitive.

   Since then game audio has developed even more and games rarely use synthesizers to create their soundtracks. Instead they create their own original sounds or take licensed songs. Game soundtracks are now more effective than ever before. Games like Skyrim have created epic soundtracks that last hours on end that play constantly throughout the long game play.  

Sound File Formats

   A sound file format is the format in which a digital sound is stored within a computer. There are two ways to store the sound; one is where the sound is compressed and the other isn’t. A compressed sound is much smaller than an uncompressed one.

   A WAV is a file format used to store audio on computers; it is the most commonly used format to store uncompressed sounds within Windows. This format can hold both compressed and uncompressed files but obviously it is most commonly used to hold uncompressed files. Uncompressed files are ones which include all the original information; this format is usually used for small files or files that can’t afford to be shrunk.

   A lossy compressed file format is the opposite of a WAV because it uses a method which discards some of the data in order to decrease the size. Lossy files aren’t the best format to store a file because it reduces the quality of a sound. The benefit of a lossy file is that it doesn’t take up a lot of space on a hard drive but if you are a sound designer it is best you don’t use this because it will reduce the dynamic range of the sound.

 

Sound Design Methodology

   Sound designers work within the entertainment industry and usually jump from different areas depending on where they are needed. They work on projects for films, TV, radio and games. When hired by a company sound designers are given a number of tasks that they must complete by creating sounds that correspond with the purpose. The first thing they would do once given a new project is plan; planning is very important to determine the level of importance of each task. It also helps them to determine the time and budget they have been given before they start production so they can contemplate how to tackle the task in order to get a better result. Once all aspects have been taken into account the sound designer will judge the best way to obtain the sounds then begin creating them.

   There are many methods that a sound designer could use to obtain sounds. One of which is Foley; Foley is one of the earliest methods used to obtain sounds; the concept is very simple. To obtain sounds using Foley you must take advantage of any and every object. When objects are manipulated they tend to make a unique sound; this is great for Foley artists because they would take advantage of this and obtain sounds by manipulating objects in front of a microphone and recording it. The technique is similar to location recording except Foley is done within a studio and use objects different to what the sound represents.

   Foley is a favoured method because of its time saving and control qualities. Some sounds are just impossible to record so Foley is a great way to make something that sounds like it. For example if you wanted to record the sound of a horse walking along a concrete road it would take a lot of effort but with Foley you record coconut shells being hit against a slab of concrete to create the sound.

   Foley Studios are usually full of lots of different objects that the Foley artists use to create different sounds. A Foley Pit is part of the studio that contains different terrain types (e.g. dirt, sand, leaves, etc.) Before the process of creating sounds it is important that the sound designer does a few test runs to ensure the sounds work for its purpose.

      An easier method of obtaining sounds is by accessing sound libraries; sound libraries are obviously libraries used to host a number of sounds that people can use. Most of the sounds have already been used so most sound designers try to avoid using them because nobody wants a recognisable sound within their original project. However sometimes it is impossible to avoid a situation in which you will need to take a sound from a sound library; sometimes there are times when it is impractical or impossible to create it yourself. In these situations most sound designers chose to change the base sound into something new through editing. Sounds from these libraries aren’t usually free but they don’t cost a lot so it is worth paying the amount because in some scenarios it would cost more to purchase the objects in order to make the sound yourself.

   There are a few methods which allow original sounds to be produced; the most commonly used way is through editing. During this process sound designers usually find themselves editing lots of individual sound clips then blending them together. All sounds are different so the creation of one may be as easy as tweaking a sound or as complex as mixing numerous sounds together. Editing sounds can be done in any of the many sound editing software applications.

   Another way to create an original sound is by synthesising a sound in a synthesizer. The software is made up of electronical tones that can be manipulated. A lot of the generated tones sound like instruments and can give the sound a realistic vibe.

   Outsourcing sounds is also a very commonly used sound creation technique. It is the process in which you use the help of others to create your sounds. This process is used a lot when the sound designer has a lot of work to complete in a short space of time. However this method can be a bad idea if the other people haven’t been told exactly what to do; any mishaps can be prevented by planning.