LCL

//Audio Implementation Greats 1

Crackdown - Realtime Worlds
- Realtime Convolution Reverb through Ray Tracing

When Realtime Worlds, with the help of Microsoft Game Studio, began the overarching scope of sound design for their Xbox 360 release title Crackdown in 2007 they set out to bring the idea of realtime convolution Reverb to the front line.


//Audio Implementation Greats 2

Mushroom Men - Red Fly Studios
- Made for the Metronome

If you talk to anyone in game audio today about successful tempo synced synergy between music and sound effects it wont take long for your discussion to end up at REZ. But imagine for a moment stripping away the throbbing pulse and replacing it with an organic soundtrack created by one of the foremost prodigy of curiously inspired noise making bass thumpers with sound effects locked to the groove oriented metronome, and you've got Mushroom Men.


//Audio Implementation Greats 3

Crysis - Crytek
- The Sound of Nature Reacts

As we continue to move closer towards realistically representing a model of reality in games, so should our worlds react and be influenced by sound and it's effect on these worlds. In Crysis, developer Crytek has made tremendous leaps at providing the player with a realistic sandbox with which to interact with the simulated world around them.

//Audio Implementation Greats 4

Oblivion & Fable 2
- Enabling Variable Ambiance

Ahh, the great outdoors. We've all spent time basking in the endless variation and myriad ways in which nature conspires to astound and delight us with the magic of it's soundscapes. Some of the lessons we have learned along the way are being applied in ways that empower the Sound Designer to make artistic choices in how these sounds are translated into the technical world of game design.

//Audio Implementation Greats 5

Ghostbusters - Terminal Reality/ RedFly
- Randomized Foley and Parametrized Spectors

One of the techniques that is becoming commonplace in the current generation of consoles, is the separation of footsteps from Foley and/ or equipment sounds that are then layered and recombined at runtime to allow for different combinations and variations. This allows for an attention to detail on the part of character movement sounds, especially when the payer is in control (to a certain extent) of their costume, equipment, or shoe type.

//Audio Implementation Greats 6

Fable 2 - Conan
- The Way of Layered Weapon Sound

The action genre and it's focus on weapons heavy gameplay requires that we do some critical thinking about how to best represent the bone crushing sound and impact of violence. For a game centered around the bashing of skulls, demanding hours of hacking and slashing, the repetitveness of sound can be an immersion killer. Equipped with creative solutions and armed with tools and resources we are in a good place during this generation to make every swing and hit count.

//Audio Implementation Greats 7

Audio Toolsets
- Industry Snapshot

If there is one thing that currently separates us from our spotted history in game audio, it is the publicly available middleware toolsets that allow us to sound design "in the box" interactivity in a close approximation of how it will sound once it finds it's way into the game. In an attempt to expose the history of game audio toolsets I've rounded up a selection of interfaces I was able to find at large either on the web or embedded in various presentations over the years and link to said documents where applicable.

//Audio Implementation Greats 8

Interactive Audio Mixers
- Industry Snapshot

The great mixer debate is raging across the industry as of late, with articles coming out exposing what has previously been an afterthought and attempting to establish a set of best practices to bring this essential step into sharp focus. With so many great articles written on the subject I don't have much to contribute to the work being done, but what is interesting to me is the development of the user interfaces and debug tools being used to get a grip on the final phase of sound processing.

//Audio Implementation Greats 9

Spiderman Web of Shadows - Shaba Games
- The Sound of Good vs. Evil

In the recent Spidey iteration, Shaba Games able to use the player character good/evil affinity, in addition to the dynamic "mood" of each level to determine the sound palette used as well as the sound OF the effects using the Wwise toolset. Their ability to mock-up features is a key component in the current generation, where iteration and polish allow for the development of robust audio systems and highly specialized sound design.

//Audio Implementation Greats 10

Prototype - Radical Entertainment
- Scalable Crowdsourcing

"There are a thousand tales in the naked city" and if you listen closely enough you might be able to hear most of them during the gameplay of Prototype. While you won't hear all of the stories that the city has to tell, you will be able to hear the changing voice of the city during your progression from introspective lost soul to amped up superman thanks to the attention to detail by Radical's Sound Department.

//Audio Implementation Greats 11

Geometry Wars - Bizarre Creations
- LPF Soundbomb

This one is a cute little addition that has been around for awhile as an example of a simple idea executed simply. Elegant in it's simplicity, and beautiful in it's effectivness.

//Audio Implementation Greats 12

Cook or Be Cooked - RedFly Studio
- Sizzle steps

If we really are stretching to replicate reality with video games and attempt to infuse interactive sound, then we must give consideration to every aspect of an activity and attempt to model it realistically to convey information about what the gameplay is telling us. What we are starting to see pop up more frequently in audio implementation is the ability to take sounds to a level of subtlety and fidelity that was previously either very difficulty or impossible to achieve due to memory budget or CPU constraints.

//Audio Implementation Greats 13

Runtime DSP

//Audio Implementation Greats 14

Procedural Sound

More articles coming soon!

Let me know if you are pulling off some cool Technical Sound Design or Audio Implementation in current generation games. I'm always on the lookout for interesting ways that people are bending these virtual worlds to their audio whim. Drop me a line! email damian at lostchocolatelab dot com