Abstract
Of all the disciplines, game audio is probably the most neglected. (Except maybe testing!) Every time you hear of a game developer who added the audio at the end of the project, you know they’re a game developer who’s neglecting the audio experience. There are probably many reasons as to why it’s left until last, but the importance of good quality audio cannot be understated. The classic example of watching a horror film without the sound demonstrates how necessary audio is to establishing mood and building an environment.
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- 1.
It’s always better to have a different tester to the implementer. However, when testing the audio the composer and sound designer should be there (at least once after beta) to ensure that every sound that they’ve made has been correctly incorporated. Only they are able to hear a sound that’s missing!
- 2.
Note that this only applies to the composition, not the performance. So you will still need to hire someone to play or program the music.
- 3.
If you’re reading this in 2016.
- 4.
Only the briefest examples are available on the usual resources such as Wikipedia and http://imslp.org/wiki/Public_domain . Always consult with a lawyer for anything created within the last 150 years, just to be safe.
- 5.
As the name suggests, exclusively licensed works won’t be made available to anyone else after you have secured rights on them.
- 6.
As noted at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ .
- 7.
The most famous reused sound effect is probably the Wilhelm scream, which has appeared in over 300 different films, but almost no one outside of the media industry knows or cares!
- 8.
Pronunciation changes according to location too. The word bath, for example, has an “ar” sound in some parts of the United Kingdom, and an “ah” sound in other parts.
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© 2016 Steven Goodwin
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Goodwin, S. (2016). Audio. In: Polished Game Development. Apress, Berkeley, CA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-2122-8_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-2122-8_7
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Publisher Name: Apress, Berkeley, CA
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Online ISBN: 978-1-4842-2122-8
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