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The State of Game Audio
The extent to which a game's sounds and music can affect a player's enjoyment is often overshadowed by other characteristics, such as graphics or gameplay. That said, I'm sure most players have had an experience where the audio really contributed to making the game great, whether it was an epic soundtrack, excellent narration, or just intuitive sound effects. Rock, Paper, Shotgun is running a feature discussing the state of game audio in today's market, discussing how far it has come, and where it's going.
"Games present some unusual problems, like the mix having to adjust itself to suit a situation created by the player, rather than the static vision of a single director. Game designers have to have a flexible attitude towards factors such as the amount of time spent listening to the same piece of music and the potential for sonic overload if too many game sounds are played simultaneously. ... CryTek's Florian Füsslin explained that Crysis' lavish soundscape was defined primarily by what information the player needs to hear. 'We often went for the concept "less is more" or let's better say "important things first." We used a pretty solid priority system which cuts quiet or unimportant sounds in an audio busy situation like combat. Together with the right mix we were able to provide a dense soundscape in all situations players might run into.'"
Portal still holds my vote for best videogame audio. It really helped build the game's atmosphere.
Some games on the the other hand, just slap a stupid rock-techo-pop beat on it, just for having something. (I'm looking at you C&C3)
As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.
Where the battle music would follow you into towns and other safe areas for sometimes several minutes before abating. Or if you were still being chased after using fast travel, it would continue until you had saved and exited or cued a cinematic with its own music or entered a dungeon that would cause certain music to play.
That was probably one of the big turn-offs, I enjoyed the world, but even if it was just a crab that attacked me I felt like I should be participating in an epic battle. It was like the game was mocking itself.
Has an excellent sounds track, plus that put it online so you can download it for free. I highly recommend it.
Must music gets turned off after a while. It tends to get repetitive.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Hey, great sound makes a great game - like almost anything nobuo uematsu has added music to..
For me the best mix of sound and music was definitely the 7th Guest, the Fat Man's music especially. Ultima Online had some very annoying music, especially the town themes.
Jonah HEX
Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
It always boggles me why designers often neglect sound. Can you think of a really AAA title that has poor quality sound and music? Sound is often the singular difference in between a good game and #$%#$% awesome game.
If you want an example of how great sound design can take a game to the next level look at Castlevatia: SOTN. There are lots of platform games that have a similar style and execution but a big reason that its the finest platform game of all time is that the music is BRILLIANT.
has one of the best original soundtracks for any game I've ever heard. It's a fighting game, yes, but it also is only rock music, without vocals. The sound effects are also really good too. Funny thing, if you play (as) Sol and have the .1 sub woofer speakers too, they will be blasting a lot.
As the article points out, Crysis had some really great sound. However, badly deployed sound can be an absolute killer.
Embarrassing confession time: I just replayed Doom 3, the other week. Don't ask me why, I just had these strange urges to.
On replaying it, it struck me that while the graphics are still excellent and the atmosphere is good in many ways, the sound actually acts as a negative. Why? Because sound is too definitive a cue that there are enemies nearby. If you hear a demonic snuffling, it means you are about to be ambushed. By listening to the kind of snuffling, you can tell what's about to jump out. This defuses a lot of the tension. I remember that the excellent Aliens-TC WAD for the original Doom had a fantastic alternative for this. The designers locked enemies inside small, self-contained boxes "within" the walls of the levels. The player could never encounter these, without the use of IDSPISPOPD, but he could sure as hell hear them. Removing the absolute link between monster sounds and monsters actually appearing added a huge amount of tension to the game.
NPR did a nice story on video game music earlier this year.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89565567
My fave part was when one commentator stated that if Beethoven was alive today, he'll be videogame music composer.
Terry Taylor. One of the best soundtracks ever. The title track was reused by Megat Diam in a video called Death kitty and the fat man, and gives you only the tiniest taste of how crazy, kooky, and downright catchy the music in that game was. The Neverhood is probably a good contender for the most underrated game of all time.
I would rave further about this game/soundtrack, but I had better stop before I get mace Q@*#**#@*($#*JS#*NO CARRIER
Those who advocate genocide deserve every protection afforded by law, and none afforded by common human decency.
The lack of soundtrack and sparse sound effects along with that static, which you would normally turn off or tune out in real life day to day activities really messed with me. It was the first and one of a very short list of games that gave me anxiety and/or creeped me out.
Deltron 3030 - Virus (music video)
Lucas Arts had a music system for the X-Wing and Tie Fighter games that reacted to events happening around you. The music change seamlessly from flying around with no enemies, to flying around with enemies nearby, to being in the thick of battle. The arrival of new ships was accompanied by a little fanfare, with the exact phrase depending on whether the new units were Imperial or Rebel. Besides being bloody cool, it was useful for knowing when you had new enemies to deal with, without needing to constantly watch for notification text.
It was also used for a number of other Lucas Arts games in the '90s, but it was an integral part of what made X-Wing and TIE Fighter great games.
there are a few of these out there for the visually impared, including FPS type games (for surround systems).
got really interested and started working on an audio game engine - I wanted to create a game system so compelling that even sighted people (like me) would want to play it with the lights off.
Gave up in the end, due to a lack of decent 5.1/7.1 reverb enabled mixing engines (havent coded c/c++ for years). thing is what you need is multiple room reverb for that level of immersion. think of yourself being in a small room with a doorway to a hangar. the long reverb from the hangar needs to pan to a 3d point where the door is, then have some local room reflection added.
the only thing i found that could support that was EAX 3 or 4 or something, only supported by creative labs cards. thats too high a barrier,so I gave up.
I'm convinced a good audio only game would be a win for everybody, it could be so creepy.
It's the only game whose soundtrack I listen to on my mp3 player (especially VCPR with Maurice Chavez). I even remember back when the first top-down GTA was out, I'd listen to the music tracks as a plain ol' music CD.
Also, Nintendo made plenty of catchy tunes that you'd catch yourself singing years after playing the actual game for the last time.
...it's not just musical scores and sound effects that make the game.
You also have sound quality and the type of encoding that is used.
Specifically, multi-channel sound. While most people are content with stereo, some of the new games shine with a 5.1 or greater sound system. To illustrate my point, Tetris sounds the same in mono as it does in surround sound. Music, while it is a major thing everybody remembers, is not vital to that game. The reason being is that the music quality was awful due to the limited space on the game cartridge. Game play was more important and too much audio would mean less room for game play. Hence the less than MIDI quality of the sine wave based beeps.
However, play Halo 3 on a regular old TV and use the TV speakers, whether they be mono or stereo. Then go find yourself a good stereo receiver or separates and play Halo 3. Night and day difference. Then play Halo 3 on a surround sound system and good Lord! The difference that makes! All of a sudden sniper fire from behind you sounds like it is coming from behind you. The wind on most of the boards moves across the screen. There are all kinds of visual and game play aspect fully enhanced by immersive sound.
I first noticed this difference in LucasArts games. Specifically Full Throttle and Dark Forces. Dark Forces and the moving blaster fire made it easier to pinpoint who was firing at you and from where when blaster fire was flying everywhere. It actually improved game play. Full Throttle became a game I wanted to play because the music was good, the dialogue sounded good, not washed out and things like tumbleweeds bouncing across the screen actually sounded like they were doing that. Otherwise, Full Throttle was a silly puzzle game like Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego coupled with a few bits of Road Rash.
The thing about those two LucasArts games is that they were not multi-channel audio. They were stereo but LucasArts made full use of that stereo stage to help enhance the immersion in the gaming environment by enhancing movement with sound. They also had high quality (for the time) sounds and effects. It made otherwise dull games exciting and fun. They still do it now with all the new Force games and even the Battlefront games where you can actually hear Luke Skywalker's light saber chopping off your head from behind.
Yeah, it's not just the emotional reaction a musical score evokes or the shock and awe of realistic sounding effects but how those two things are presented and how they enhance your interaction with the virtual environment that is the game.
I absolutely love the sound effects in Company of Heroes. You can hear fighting in the background, tell what kind of weapons are being used, what kind of artillery is being fired, etc. If you zoom in on the fog of war, you can hear vehicle engines even if the vehicle is not revealed, and, if you're experienced, can tell what kind of vehicle it is. Also, the assorted solider chit chat is excellent.
Nuclear engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets.
I'm a huge sound freak, invested in a two hundred dollar sound card and a three hundred dollar speaker set for my PC alone. I do hook up my systems to this, so I hear everything running through the same speakers, and one thing that always drives me nuts is repetition. It's not bad hearing a sound track every once in a while or even a few times in a row, but when that game has maybe three-four sound tracks that play during game play even if it's just a semi-short 12-15 hour game, it gets old, really, really, fast. Good music is one of the things that invigorate game play, invigorating game play, good design, and good narration/story telling go together as things that make all excellent games such as they are.
there is devoted to graphics acceleration, matters might improve.
It's possible to synthesize sound by creating a virtual model of an object. This has advantages like not needing to create hundreds of samples to avoid repetition, and being able to excite the model depending on how it is struck.
Current games mostly change the pitch if the same three gunfire samples up and down a bit. The audio is filtered and processed for direction and environmental reverb to some degree, but it still sounds mechanical and unconnected with the players actions.
Of course, the models would be drastically simplified to allow even a fast DSP a chance of doing it all in real time.
Modeling the sound of water or gas is out of the question. What might be possible are things like the sound of objects striking metal sheets, shell cases, explosions by walls or in confined spaces, shrapnel, tire noise at changing speed, breaking glass etc.
While I don't play w/ Game Music, I am partial to the in game sounds, and the way that full EAX brings about a feeling of how the rocket just hit a wall behind you and to the right, while footsteps are coming from the left telling me that someone is baiting, and hoping to catch me from behind.
I got accustomed to it (I wrap myself in 5.1)
W/o sound, I felt like my performance wasn't there. In TF2, it's just not the same 8'(
Unfortunately no one plays UT3 anymore
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
I remember being blown away by Marathon's audio. It's crazy to think that it's been well over 10 years, but that game was groundbreaking.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
I want ambiance!
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
It's amazing what putting effort into making a distinguished soundtrack can do. Katamari Damacy was well worth listening to over and over. Long after the thrill of rolling over objects with a giant ball left me, it was still awesome just to hear the unique tracks that ranged from jazz to pop to electronica.
Also, I don't know if this was engineered, but I just really like hearing the chaos in TF2. It feels more lifelike to hear guns shooting and people yelling and gadgets beeping all at once. It certainly feels better than a bunch of lifeless avatars silently shooting at each other (like in most other shooters). I believe Call of Duty attempts this too with random gunshots in the background, but not as successfully.
I thought the music in Ocarina of Time did a great job at enhancing the quality of the game because the music for each area really fit the mood the rest of the game created; e.g. Hyrule Field's theme made it seem like a "wide open" place to explore.
None of the other Zelda games have really managed to do that. TP came sort of close at times.
I'm a musician and composer - (though I don't really have the resources - (software/hardware etc.) - to write the music the way I'd like) - and there's been quite a lot of talk about how to make in-game music work/fit with the action in the game etc..
I had this talk with someone a while ago, about being able to create a modular soundtrack using phrases and/or tunes - (I write tunes, so you'd think it wouldn't be too hard). Basically, you'll want a really long medley of music, say lots of parts of 4 or 8 bars long, in various keys and styles that can segue in and out of each other, related to the in-game activity.
It's definitely something I've thought of doing, but I don't have the instruments to really make it sound that great, and since my computer died I've yet to reinstall all my music software - (new motherboard/chip=no working backups :( ).
(My homepage has some of my music on, but the site's not that great - (really old and a crap picture) - need a better pic and stuff, then I'll see about getting a myspace page up or something).
'Stupidity is an often fatal disease' - R. A. Heinlein
...both had fantastic sound: Grim Fandango and System Shock.
Grim had such a brilliant soundtrack that I tried to buy a copy of it from Lucasarts. They said "the soundtrack promotion is over--that item is no longer available" so I downloaded it. I put it on in the car quite often, and even as standalone music, it's STILL great!
The original System Shock is well known for being a legendarily scary, immersive, atmospheric thriller. One of the things that made it so good was the sound: The sound of monsters around the corners, Shodan insanely taunting you (check out the sound bite on wikipedia), the startlingly friendly 'new email' notice, and then the hilariously banal elevator music as you go between levels.
THAT was sound, my friends.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
As I see it, the only thing missing is a decent 5.1 channel headset to hear it all on. Sure we can all afford 5.1 or 7.1 channel speakers, but most of us can't blast them while playing.
I've listened to more than a few 5.1 channel headphones. None of them meet my expectations. Game audio was meant to take advantage of multi-channel digital sound. Since 90% of the gamers I know use headphones or headsets, isn't this the next logical step? Most of the 5.1 headphones are only 5.1 virtual channels. Those few that are real 5.1, are so disappointing. The Razer barracuda HP1 set was just a complete waste of money. I'm waiting for the first company to come alone and make a true 5.1 channel digital headset with a removable boom mic. Then my games will come alive finally.
necessary features include these:
dolby digital certification.
very low impedance drivers.
comfortable closed circumaural design.
digital coax plug for phones.
discrete voice drivers and standard phone jack for them and mic.
robust and discrete woofer driver. Sony's 50mm HD driver used in its upper end MDR 7xx/9xx series should do the trick.
discrete synchronized positioned drivers for center channel.
positioned drivers for FL/FR.
discrete positioned drivers for RL/RR.
onboard DD decoding and DTS decoding.
high quality amplification components.
one of the real problems that most of the 5.1 phones face is their common ground conductor. This leads to joint stereo and muddies up the positioning.
If I had the time and the cash, I'd build a pair for myself, but they'd most likely be analog.
They're using their grammar skills there.
I've been playing WoW for nearly 4 years and I still like the ingame music. Ashenvale is beautiful for example. I personally wouldn't want to play my own MP3s as I'm a musician and they'd distract me (or the game would be an unsuitable setting for the kind of music I like).
Recently a friend lent me the Burning Crusade soundtrack CD and I listened to it all properly. The music stands up very well on its own, and I heard lots of nice details on my iPod that don't come through on my crappy computer speakers or are covered by in-game sounds. Kudos to the composer(s).
I’m old enough to remember 16K of memory being described as “whopping”
Actually, sound processing is moving *away* from specialized DSPs and moving toward software mixing and processing. The difference is that multi-core CPUs are standard, both on PCs and consoles. So, developers are simply allocating a core (or part of a core) to audio processing. I wouldn't look to DSPs. Just wait for general-purpose CPUs to advance in speed enough to be able to do all sorts of interesting things.
I wrote the new sound engine and tools for an upcoming title - we're completely ditching hardware acceleration in favor of the flexibility that software mixing gives us. The Creative X-Fi, while a great card, holds around 1% market penetration, according to our customer hardware survey. For most other cards, and for ALL onboard audio, there's no real advantage to dedicated hardware.
We're still nowhere near doing real-time synthesis for most types of sounds. Physical modeling sounds nice, but it would likely require a complicated and time-consuming process of programming and tuning these models. Even though true physical modeling isn't practical at this time, we're looking at ways of synthesizing combinations of sounds (such as impacts - footsteps is a prime example) as a way of reducing the combinatorial explosion of (terrain_type x avatar_type x movement_type x number_of_variations).
I see a future more of blended synthesis than pure physical modeling - that is, advanced filters applied to pre-recorded samples in order to create more dynamic and believable variations, and more advanced ways of mixing and blending raw samples to create new sound sets. This seems to be a much more straight-forward problem to solve, and would be far easier for sound designers to tune.
Incidentally, why do you say water and gas are out of the question? Oddly enough, while these are horribly complex to model using true fluid dynamics, these are typically the easiest sounds to recreate using fairly simple algorithms. A waterfall is pretty close to being pure noise (just requires a bit of frequency filtering to color it), for example. And things such as water drops, steam hissing - I've heard good modeling of all these things in instruments such as NI's Reaktor, in addition to their excellent SteamPipe physical modeling instrument.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
Remember Earthbound on snes? That was fucked up. I also remember Carmageddon 1-2, so much fun.
Imagine earthbound with generic rpg music. or carmageddon without power/trash metal
IMHO Freespace 2 probably had some of the best engineered sound in how it played out in the missions and reacted to the player.
Any true enthusiast of positional audio MUST research the history of Creative vs. Aureal, particularly regarding EAX vs. A3D and the predatory legal attacks that have allowed Creative to stifle real innovation in this field (and many others) for all these years.
I think the greatest music/game experience I've had in terms of their interactivity has to be Rez on the PS2.
The FX are part of the music and the music reacts to your timing when your fire/move. The more accurate and on-beat your timing (including proper latino kind of push rhythms for more complexity) the more intense the music gets. It's fantastic - the more you get into it, the more you get back out of it... properly buzzin :)
Check out this vid if you never played it
For mood, I still think the music/camera angles of the original Silent Hill had to be some of the spookiest ever. That first intro part before your inevitable attack/passing out is scary as f**k the first time you play it with the music/audio building and building like a horror film. I think that had to be a landmark game.
For general madness, Llamatron was fantastic - just a complete cerebral assault!
And for the ultimate techno-racing soundtrack Wipeout rocked.
I'm not sure about the latest one but all from the first PS incarnation at least have had such incredibly cinematic soundtracks. They really add emotion and depth to the game.
Immediately comes to mind the old western shooter OUTLAWS (even featured on /. once as one of the best, but least appreciated games of all time). LucasArts no doubt has some of the BEST soundtracks out there. Enjoy the Outlaws soundtrack at
http://gamemusichall.net/music/Outlaws/outlaws.php
Eve-Online has my vote. There is nothing better than hearing nothing but the sound of my mining lasers drone on for hours and hours as I jet can mine.
Of course, there is the occasional interruption of a belt rat, which my drones make quick work of. Then it's back to that constant Bzzzzzz Bzzzzzzzzz. I even purchased wireless headphones so I can AFK listen :)