Unit 73: Sound for Computer Games
A)
1) Mario Kart- They use a up beat jazzy type music. They do this because it is fast paced so it fits with the game (a racing game). This gets the player excited and give them an adrenaline rush which fits perfectly with the game.
2) Modern Warfare 2- The music they use is serious, dark and dismal. This music gets the player in the zone for what's to come in the single player and multiplayer. It gets the player serious minded for the game which is perfect as the game consists of death and killing so it is dark like the music.
3) Assassins Creed- They use fast beat music in this as it is a fast paced game. They use music with a fast tempo and beat as in the game you are moving around quickly and jumping from building to building which is appropriate. Like I said previously this fast paced music gets your adrenaline pumping which is why this is the perfect fit for this game because it makes the game play better because it adds excitement to the game because when your in a situation where you are jumping building to building trying to escape the guards it amplifies your emotions.
B)
Why is music and sound FX important within games?
Music is very important within games as it amplifies and can create emotions and feelings within games so without them games would seem boring and bland. Imagine for example a horror game without music, in most cases the game wouldn't seem scary at all, without the slow eerie build up of an out of tune piano, it wouldn't give you that tension when walking around a random corner.
C)
What is waveform, (wavelength, amplitude, frequency); pitch; Hertz (Hz); decibel level (dB); sound generator (loudspeaker)?
A waveform is a curve showing the shape of a wave at a given time. This consists of wavelength, amplitude and frequency.
Pitch is how high or low the sound is of something.
Hertz is the SI unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per second.
What is Foley?
Foley is the addition of recorded sound effects after the shooting or creating of a game.
What is Timbre?
Timbre is the quality of a musical sound as distinct of its pitch and intensity.
P2 Understand the methods and principles of sound design and production
Sound file formats:
Uncompressed: eg, wav, aiff, au , smp, voc.
If you convert something from one uncompressed format to another, it's a completely perfect copy. So, for instance, if you rip audio off a CD into WAV format on your computer, then burn another CD using the WAV you created, those two CD's will be virtually identical, despite the fact that you copied it multiple times.
However a problem with uncompressed files is that they're massive if it was to be compared to a 5g iPod you'd only be able to download 5 albums.
Compressed: MP3, ra and vox.
Compressed formats are those that cut corners in order to keep the file size relatively small. The most famous type of compressed format is MP3, but there are a ton of others, including WMA and AAC . The advantage to these types of files is that they don't take up nearly as much space as an uncompressed file.
Audio Sampling
What do the following words mean:
Sample rate means Sample rate is the number of samples of audio carried per second, measured in Hz or kHz.
Mono, in term of audio, is an accessibility feature that makes sure, even if you're hard of hearing or deaf in one ear, you never miss a word, note, or sound.
Stereo is sound that is directed through two or more speakers so that it seems to surround the listener.
Surround sound is a system of stereophonic involving three or more speakers surrounding the listener so as to give a more realistic effect.
Sample rate means Sample rate is the number of samples of audio carried per second, measured in Hz or kHz.
Mono, in term of audio, is an accessibility feature that makes sure, even if you're hard of hearing or deaf in one ear, you never miss a word, note, or sound.
Stereo is sound that is directed through two or more speakers so that it seems to surround the listener.
Surround sound is a system of stereophonic involving three or more speakers surrounding the listener so as to give a more realistic effect.
