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What Happened To PC Gaming Audio?
Thanks to The Adrenaline Vault for its feature discussing why computer audio has become a critically undervalued part of a PC purchase. The author indicates the worry that "computer audio is taken for granted, and that other components make the difference between high- and low-end systems", and voices concern that "most new [PC] computer games - including major releases - don't take advantage in any significant way of the capabilities of the latest generation of audio cards." He ends with the heartfelt wish: "I'm waiting for the day when I hear someone say, 'That game sounds so great, I have to buy it!' I hope people become more educated about audio so they can talk about it with the same enthusiasm that they discuss 3D video hardware acceleration or high definition plasma screens."
I can see where your coming from with this article but really when you think about it, sound is just not that big of an issue, in games or any other application.
:E
Given that most people will listen to games with headphones or a set of desktop speakers, what is the point of improving sound quality. The classic example, I think, is Metal Gear Solid 2. Apparently in parts of the game dolby surround sound was of a major advantage in game. But who even HAS surround sound? No-one I know. And who on EARTH has surround sound on their PC?
Most people also aren't big into sound quality. The tone deaf masses usually encode at 128kbps and like it! (I know I do) Top this off with the fact that even stereo sound is technically quite difficult to implement and that most programmers aren't versed in phonic theory, you can see why most users could buy a ten year old sound card and see no loss of quality.
(N.B. The author still thinks music from old sonic games is groovy. As such its comments should be modded down at the earliest possible moment.)
May the Maths Be with you!
One game whose sound effects grabbed me lately was Call of Duty - there are superb stereo effects when all the bullets and explosions are flying around.
I think one reason that we don't see Games taking advantage of the latest gee-whiz auto card features is that PC audio cards have been able to deliver realism for a long time now. Sounds are sampled, environmental processing effects applied (which are, in the main, not processor intensive enough to require much hardware acceleration) and, with a decent pair of stereo speakers - to say nothing of a 5.1 system, the effect is realistic enough that you feel immersed in the game. The same is only just becoming true of 3D graphics with the current state-of-the-art hardware, and there's still a long way to go.
As many people point out, for the unwashed masses who cannot tell the difference between a 128kbps MP3 and the original audio, pro-level audio soundcards like the Audigy are just overkill and will remain in the domain of the musician and those who care about sound quality. We are a lot more forgiving about audio quality than visual quality; I know I will happily listen to a LW radio broadcast, but I find a low signal TV broadcast unwatchable.
Until games use more audio gimmicks; real-time physically modelled sounds generated on the fly for example, we will have no requirements over those currently implemented on all on-board audio.
You want to hear people rave about sound, then it will have to be sold to them. In movies this already happens in the cinema, which makes people want their own home-entertainment system. Since there's no similar event for gaming (appart from cult-gatherings, etc), how many people will consider it an issue? At the same time, the integration of game-consoles into existing entertainment systems has raised the attention-level a bit.
There's also the matter of soundtracks, which is an underused option in games. A great soundtrack will make me want to see a movie and vice versa.
All that being said, I have not really found sound in games lacking, even though I have $7 pc-speakers. I find wearing earphones actually gives me an advantage in games like counterstrike, in which hearing the enemy approach is of vital importance.
As far as I've seen in my limited life experiences, nobody reallly cares about the audio quality, all they wanna do is turn it up real loud and if it sounds kinda good then, thats all they really need
On a related point... it's way easier to demonstrate good graphics in a magazine than good sound.
(btw... Has anyone tried to market audioporn for girls?)
As much as I like neat sound effects and what not, I don't think it's really necessary for video games to use more sophisticated processing for audio.
I would rather the developers spend more time choosing and mixing sounds more carefully. I've played at least a few wonderful games with sounds and music that don't go well together, drown each other out, or are just plain annoying. And let us not forget games that are any combination of those.
There's nothing like a great game that sounds and looks great, and a good ear and eye can make reasonably low tech game achieve that.
-B
I'm waiting for the day when I hear someone say, 'That game sounds so great, I have to buy it!'
I'm a semi-pro musician, and I was discussing coding Csound instruments with a friend of mine the other day. We were lamenting the lack of a centralized online repository of free instruments, but the problem is the number of instruments to wade through quickly becomes unmanageable (easy to recognize, difficult to solve). Why is this?
Because audio clips can't really be shown as thumbnails. Where you can show one page of sized down images and have the surfer quickly navigate to whatever catches his eye, there is no parallel for audio clips. They essentially must be listened to independently and sequentially. And of course people won't take the time for this.
That's why people don't get as excited about game sound. Marketers can't use it to affect excitement. They can't demo it [intuitively] on web pages, print ads, or even on the game boxes themselves, so graphics are used solo for promotion.
> (btw... Has anyone tried to market audioporn for girls?)
Two words:
Barry White.
On my recently purchases HP desktop I have an integrated Realtek ALS650 chipset with built in 5.1 sound. Its light years above my old computer and if Soundblaster has something better I dont care because its not better enough for me to spend $100 on.
The biggest issue that I have with sounds in games is that many companies seem to have put the bare minimum into their development, especially in comparison to the video. I hate playing a visually stunning game only to get voice sets that sound like Kermit in a tin can or sword fights that sound like dropping silverware in a drawer.
Given the current state of things, I don't even care about 5.1 audio. Reasonably good headphones like the Sennheisers HD280 Pros that I am using now have made a bigger difference to my gaming experience than any external audio system that I have used. Rather than effects, I hope that the developers spend more time making the sounds interesting, informative and appropriate.