So... how do you use Audio in your game?

I'm still surprised as to what huge difference sound makes. It feels so much more polished. During development, I always think its not really that much of a deal. Plus, I'm listening to music while programming anyway, so music would probably just get in the way. In reality, though, with each sound added to the game, it feels more complete. And then, there is a lot more to it.

The creepy sounds in horror games really help to build that athmosphere (of course, in all other genres as well!). Not only the loud screams of monsters when they jump at you, but also the slightly unmelodic sounds that play as "background music". It's fantastic to see (by which I mean hear) all that.

Some games apply filters to the sounds at runtime, just as they may apply motion blur, bloom, or other fancy effects to the graphics. It's great. I love it when something explodes next to me in Half-life and I'm deaf for half a second. Or everything just sounds like I'm underwater (even though I'm kind of certain that I am in fact not).


Are you doing that in your game? Have you even added sounds at the current state yet? At least some? Do you think they're needed at all? What do you think about these filter-techniques?

What is with the music? Is it dynamic and reacts to the player's action? Maybe you "build it up" as the player goes, starting out with just the vibraphone and ending with a full orchestral track? Or maybe, the gameplay is dictated by the music, as opposed to the other way around?


Have you thought about adding sound and really making it a core gameplay feature? What if the screen was mostly black and you'd have to play just by judging on the sounds? Where do the footsteps come from, can you follow them? Does it get louder when you get near it? Or maybe, one controls a monster with great hearing abilities (not so much sight, though), that is hunted down and now has to escape? Do you have other ideas in which sound and nothing else could dictate the gameplay?

Let`s hear your thoughts


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Here is a technical question. I need an audio system more powerful as the one Acknex has. FMOD seems like a good choice, but what other are there, and which of those have a GStudio-implementation?
Specifically, I need to play sounds backwards as well, and jump to certain positions in the file (all for C-Script). Ahem.

sounds are important in video games. even more important than the graphics.
a zelda game without sound? all silent? no fun.
if you play a video game, you want more than beatifuk graphics and fun gameplay. you want the whole package. that includes a good soundtrack and fitting soundeffects.
when I think about mario, the first thing in my head is his voice, because I love the work of charles martinet. shortly after that comes the music. just because koji kondo is a master of enjoyable looping-music. than there comes something like graphics, gameplay etc.

I really like it when a videogame series got a maintheme. like battlefield.
the first one got the main theme in the loading screen and the intro.
the second game (battlefield two, I never played vietnam) leaved the main theme out (I think, I only played the demo).
but then, battlefield 2142 got the main theme in the intro. and I just loved it.. I often watch the intro just for the music

I really love it, when a main theme is always somewhere hidden in the soundtrack of the game.
like in zelda twilight princess. you can hear the over world theme in some of the other musics in the game.

then, there are games like kirby. kirby is the only game I know that uses nearly 90% of the same music in every game of the series. and.. well.. you want that! you wanna hear those oldschool music, because they are so damn catchy. you play the game, select a new level and while that, you think about what music that level will have.


I think there are some "music based events" in many videogames.
hm... I remember a scene in super mario DS. the DS emulates surround sound and you have to follow the laugh of a ghost. you can hear where he is. left of you, behind you, in front of you etc. thats really cool!!
also, horror games just love to play with the musiclevel

I'm not added sounds to my game yet.. but I added misty moods, wich got some soundeffects.. and holy crap! its so diffrent now! more action and the feeling to "play a game".
its always good to use dummy sounds while developing.

and the special question: search for tripleX's bigDLL.
that will do it for you

When I was creating a game what I would do is I would download very good sounds from different games such as doom 3. Then I would modify it in some Sound Edit program such as Sound Forge.

After that I feel that the game just got a piace that was missing for a long time.

IMHO graphics are as much important as sound , and 'style' of graphics + sound is what separates games. If you think about it , 2 futuristic games , Quake III & Unreal Tournament. Gameplay is very similar. Guns are like in any other futuristic action game. Whats the diffrence ? Style. From sounds & music , to level design & overall impression from textures & other visuals.

I wouldnt suggest you use dummy sounds in development , because it can give you a wrong impression of the game. When you change them , the game wont look the same... Better method is to choose carefuly the sounds for a game before you start making the levels & the monsters.(Atleast if not final , something very similar to what the game sounds will be) Listen to the music while you're working on the gameplay,storyline & level design , and you'll easely create the atmosphere you want your game to have.

BTW , grenades affect hearing even in a smaller game like Soldat. With realistic mode turned on , you never know if someone is behind you shooting at you , until you eighter hear him 2 sec. later or die so , sounds are important too.

PS.: For music , I sometimes use FruityLoops.

in reply to errors game sugestion of a blind monster:

I have an older blind brother and i was surprized one day when he showed me a game made just for the blind. The game was generally a doom remake but with extreamlly por graphics due to the target audience not being able to see and all there was a circle which represented the player squares repesented enemys and then there was a large black and white maze that was the lvl. now at first glance it looked like crap but when he started the game and i heard the opening cinamatic i was greatly im pressed by the sound quallidy and not to mention that even thought all the enemeys apperaed as squares they had increadible sound effects to disern what kind of enemy they were wether it be the best zombie mouns i have ever heard on a game or loud mechanicl thuds echoing in the distance alerting the player that a corupted cyborg was aproching. And even the sounds to help the player fit in even thought in any other game would seem low tech and thats the sound of the gps(which is given an oldschool robotic voice) tracker that telles how many paces every thing in the game is wether its an enemy object or were the player is at in the lvl.

I found this game style very interesting because of its ability to give in game free rome to the blind and for thous interested in checking it out im not shure were he got it but you could probly find it with google(or other search en) the name is: Shades of Doom

that's really just awesome. i played it and was just freaking out without my sight, though, so i just stopped playing and had to get back to work.

julz