Sound-Music-Interactive-Games: October 2007

Layered music in Splinter Cell double agent

Michael McCann discusses the layering approach to interactive music he used for Splinter Cell Double agent.

http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/741/741211p1.html

These stress cues are extremely static. Aside from random effects throughout (percussion, small string builds, vocals, etc.) the primary layers are totally steady and non-dynamic. The reasoning for this is that they can be made dynamic in the game. If there are 15 instruments in the stress cue, they can all be treated independently and rise / fall as Sam approaches and engages danger. So if it's a steady orchestra line or percussion element, it can rise as Sam comes up behind an enemy and continue to build right up to the point of engagement. When I saw this work in the game for the first time I was blown away, especially by the interaction between 'stress' builds and the calmer infiltration underneath.

The last main challenge was the cinematics. As I was saying before, many of the Xbox 360 cinematics are interactive. Basically you come into the scene with a synced cue - scored direct to picture - then you move to a loop-able part, then back to image sync, then to loop, then to ending. All the endings and loops have to be dynamic, meaning the player chooses when he moves to the next step, so the music has to be written to allow changes at any time. This was probably the hardest thing I've ever done musically - in comparison it makes scoring a film a walk in the park!

Other interviews on the same subject 1 2

Interactive music videos

Arcade fire 'interactive video'

I'm guessing this might be done with quartz composer ?

Game Sound Design Links

Our blog posts relating to Game Sound Design

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Various
Battlefield 4 blog
Nick Arundel : Sound Design Mini Masterclass
Everything you ever wanted to know about footsteps !
Mixing for games - AMPS Panel Discussion MP3
A beginners guide to adaptive audio for games
The Sounds of Skyrim
Next-Gen Audio Square-Off: PlayStation 3 vs. Xbox 360
Microsoft games studios audio director Guy Whitmore on DSP plugins for the 360

Creating an interactive audio environment

Producing audio for Halo

Challenges in sound design for interactive media

Audio design documents

Singstar

James Hannigan's writings

Harnessing the power of music and sound design in interactive media

Sound Design resource

Oblivion game audio diary

Weapon recording for games audio

Extract from ‘Audio Programming for interactive games’

Rail Simulator and EAX

Call of duty

Sound design for Call of Duty PSP

Audio at electronic arts

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Sound for the Playstation 2

Sound design for Heavenly Sword

Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix

Gears of war 2

Little big planet
Game audio article in 'Electronic Musician' By Nick Peck

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Sound for flatout 2

Capturing engine sounds for games
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Rev - Procedural modelling for engines

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Audio concepts in plain English

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Sound Synthesis and Propagation

Mixing

http://gameaudiomix.com/

Panel discussion GDC Canada

Old Skool / Solutions for small / Mobile

Brian Schmidt on an ingeneous old skool solutions for the XBox start up sound.

FMod for Android

Procedural Audio
Procedural-Audio.com
Audio-Media Article Sept 2009
Andy Farnell
Interview with Nicholas Fournel
Summary of issues by Stephan Rutherford
Interview with AudioGaming

Sound artist talk at Common Place Leeds Sun 28th Oct

"Hello all, on Sunday October 28th Janek Schaefer will be giving a talk and performance at The Common Place, Leeds

This is a rare opportunity to spend the evening with one of the UK's finest sound artists, follow this link for details

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5626710582

Janek Schaefer;
While studying architecture at the Royal College of Art RCA annual prize, he recorded the fragmented noises of a sound activated dictaphone travelling overnight through the Post Office. That work, titled 'Recorded Delivery' [1995] was made for the 'Self Storage' exhibition Time Out critics choice with one time postman Brian Eno and Artangel.

Since then the multiple aspects of sound became his focus, resulting in many releases, installations, soundtracks for exhibitions, and concerts using his self built/invented record players with electroacoutisc collage. The 'Tri-phonic Turntable' 1997 is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the 'World's Most Versatile Record Player'. He has performed, lectured and exhibited widely throughout Europe [Sonar, Tate Modern, ICA], USA/Canada, [The Walker, XI, Mutek, Princeton], Japan, and Australia Sydney Opera House.

The context of each idea is central to its development and resolution. His concerts and installations explore the spatial and architectural aspect that sound can evoke and the twisting of technology. Hybrid analogue and digital techniques are used to manipulate field recordings with live modified vinyl and found sound to create evocative and involving environments. His CD 'Above Buildings' 2000 was released on Fat Cat to considerable praise The Guardian CD of the week.

Janek was selected as the 'Sound Designer of the Year' by Creative Review in 1999, and was awarded the 'McKnight Composer in Residence' for the American Composers Forum, USA 2002/3. He won an 'Honorary Mention' [Above Buildings, 2001] and an 'Award of Distinction' [Skate, 2004] at the Prix Ars Electronica competition.

This truly is a rare opportunity, not to be missed.

Date:
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Time:
7:30pm - 10:30pm
Location:
The Common Place
Street:
23-25 Wharf Street
City/Town:
Leeds"

Game audio development tools and middleware

fmod

Wwise
Article in mix magazine

XACT

Directmusic Producer

Articles in mix magazine by Alex Brandon looking at all of these and more !
1 2 3

Evoke - sound to light

Installation by Usman Haque in York, UK - audiovisual.

http://www.haque.co.uk/evoke.php

DVD's with sound / music commentaries of documentaries

DVD’s with sound design commentaries and documentaries

Seven – Sound design commentary

A Bugs Life (2CD edition): Isolated 5.1. Sfx track. + Documentary

Monsters Inc special edition : Isolated SFX track

LOTR – Extended editions. Sound design Documentaries

THX1138 – Commentary by Walter Murch

Underworld – Technical commentary incl. Sound design

Alien – Alternate score and production sound track – compare production sound with post production

The Conversation – Commentary by Walter Murch

Terminator 2 Ultimate edition – No commentary but good documentaries

Das Boot – Directors commentary has lots of discussion of sound

Bourne identity – Short doc and interactive sound mix

DVD's with music commentaries and documentaries

Final fantasy : Composer commentary / Isolated Score

Hollow Man : Composer commentary

The 6^th Day : Composer commentary

Edward Scissor hands : 10^th anniversary edition – Composer commentary

Seven : Composer commentary

Planet of the apes : Composer commentary

A bugs life : Isolated score

War of the worlds (Speilberg) Special edition : 'Scoring war of the worlds' Short doc featuring John Williams.

P.Williams Amazon list of DVD's with sound design features

Comprehensive list (in German)

Books, Journals, and Conferences

Various
Oxford Handbooks +Music +Sound

Game Audio
Conferences, Journals, papers
Audio Engineering Society
Audio Mostly
Develop Conference
Game Developers Conference
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Other Relevant
ACM Digital Library
Digra
GameStudies
Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology
Entertainment Computing
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International Journal of Computer Games Technology
Magazines
Edge
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Audio-Media Magazine
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Books
See also : http://www.thegameaudiotutorial.com/biblinks.html

Boulanger, R., Lazzarini, V. & Mathews, M. (2010) The Audio Programming Book. Har/DVD. MIT Press.

Brandon, A. (2004) Audio for Games: Planning, Process, and Production. New Riders Games.
Bridgett, R. (2010) From the Shadows of Film Sound : Cinematic Production & Creative Process in Video Game Audio. Blurb. http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1658613
Bridgett, R. (2013) Game Audio Culture. http://www.blurb.co.uk/b/4608653-game-audio-culture

Cheng, W. (2014) Sound Play: Video Games and the Musical Imagination. OUP USA, Oxford ; New York.
Collins, K. (2008) Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design. MIT Press.
Collins, K. (2008) From Pac-Man to Pop Music: Interactive Audio in Games and New Media. 5th ed. Ashgate.
Collins, K. (2013) Playing with Sound: A Theory of Interacting with Sound and Music in Video Games. MIT Press.
Collins, K., Kapralos, B., Tessler, H. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Interactive Audio. OUP USA, Oxford.
Donnelly, K.J., Gibbons, W., Lerner, N. (2014). Music In Video Games: Studying Play. Routledge, New York, NY ; Abingdon, Oxon.
Grimshaw, M. (2010) Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments. Information Science Reference. (Available Online)
Jorgensen, K. (2009) A Comprehensive Study of Sound in Computer Games: How Audio Affects Player Action. Edwin Mellen Press Ltd.
Marks, A. (2008) Game Development Essentials: Game Audio Development. 1st ed. Delmar Publishing.
Marks, A. (2008) The Complete Guide to Game Audio: For Composers, Musicians, Sound Designers, Game Developers. 2nd ed. Focal Press.
Miller, K. (2012). Playing Along: Music, Video Games, and Networked Amateurs. Oxford University Press, Oxford ; New York.

Moormann, Peter, ed. (2012) Music and Game: Perspectives on a Popular Alliance. Springer VS.Phillips, W. (2014) A Composer’s Guide to Game Music. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The MIT Press.

Richardson, J., Gorbman, C. & Vernallis, C. (2013) The Oxford handbook of new audiovisual aesthetics.

Sanger, G. (2003) The Fat Man on Game Audio: Tasty Morsels of Sonic Goodness. Illustrated edition. New Riders.
Sexton, J., Donnelly, K.J. (2007) Music, Sound and Multimedia: From the Live to the Virtual. Edinburgh University Press.
Stevens, R. & Raybould, D. (2011) The Game Audio Tutorial: A Practical Guide to Sound and Music for Interactive Games. 1st ed. Focal Press.
Sweet, M., 2014. Writing Interactive Music for Video Games: A Composer’s Guide, 1 edition. ed. Addison Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Film Sound
Conferences, Journals, papers
The New SoundTrack Journal
OffScreen
Index of academic terms
ScreenSound Journal
Books
Altman, Rick.(1992) Sound theory / Sound Practice, Routledge.
Amyes, Tim. (1990) Audio Post-Production in Video and Film. Focal Press.
Beauchamp, R (2005) Designing sound for animation, Focal Press.
Beck, J. Grajeda, T (Eds) (2008) Lowering the boom : Critical studies in film sound. University of Illinois Press.
Chion, M.. (1990) Audio Vision, Columbia University Press.
Chion, M. (2009) Film; a Sound Art, Columbia University Press.
Emmett, H. (2010). Sounds to Die For: Speaking the Language of Horror Film Sound, Flaithulach.
Holman, Tomlinson. (2010) Sound for Film and Television, Focal Press.
Kenny, Tom. (2000) Sound for Picture, Artistpro.com.
Lobrutto, Vincent. (1998) Sound on Film, Greenwood Press.
Mott, Robert. (2008) Radio Sound Effects: Who Did It, and How, in the Era of Live Broadcasting, McFarland & Co Inc.
Ondantje, Michael. (2004) The Conversations, Alfred A. Knopf.

Pinch, T. & Bijsterveld, K. eds. (2012) The Oxford Handbook of Sound Studies. OUP USA.

Purcell, J. (2008) Dialogue Editing for Motion Pictures, Focal Press.
Rose, Jay. (2008) Audio Post Production for digital video, Focal Press.
Sider, L (ED). (2003) SoundScapes: School of sound seminar articles, The School of Sound.
Sonnenschien, D. (2001) Sound Design, Michael Wiese Productions.
Viers, R. (2008) The Sound Effects Bible, Michael Wiese Productions.
Weiss, E. and Belton, J(Ed) (1985) Film sound, Columbia University Press.
Whittington, W. (2007) Sound Design and Science Fiction. Univeristy of Texas Press.
Yewdall, D. (2007) The Practical Art of Motion picture Sound, Focal Press.

Film Music
Conferences, Journals, papers
Music and the moving image journal
MUSIC and IMAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY Gillian B. Anderson and Ronald H. Sadoff
Books
Adorno. (2007) Composing for the films. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
David Bell. (1994) Getting the best score for your film, Silman-James Press.
Burt, G. (1996) The art of film music. Northeastern University Press.
Carlin, F. Wright, R. (1990) On the track, Schirmer Books.
Cohen, A. (2010) Music as a source of emotion in film in Music and Emotion. Oxford University Press.
Davis, R. (1999) Complete guide to film scoring, Berklee Press.
Dickinson, K. (2002) Movie Music: The Film Reader, Routledge.
Gorbman, C. (1987) Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music, John Wiley & Sons.
Hagen, E. (1995). Advanced Techniques for film scoring, Alfred Publishing Co.
Harper, G et al (2009) Sound and Music in Film and Visual Media, Continuum.
Powrie, P. Stillwell, R. (2005) Changing Tunes: The Use of Pre-Existing Music in Film, Ashgate Publishing Limited.

Reay, P. (2004) Music in Film: Soundtracks and Synergy. Wallflower Press.

Rhona, J. (2000) The reel world, Miller Freeman Books
Scruton (1999) The aesthetics of music, Clarendon Press
Stror, A. (1997) Music and the mind, HarperCollins.
Film Music : Popular Music in Films
Dyer R. In The Space Of A Song : The Uses Of Song In Film / Richard Dyer. London : Routledge, 2012
Inglis I. Popular Music And Film / Edited By Ian Inglis [e-book]. London : Wallflower, 2003
Mundy J. Popular Music On Screen : From The Hollywood Musical To Music Video / John Mundy. Manchester : Manchester University Press, 1999
Powrie, Phil, and Robynn Stillwell. Changing Tunes: The Use of Pre-Existing Music in Film. illustrated edition. Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2005.
Wojcik P, Knight A. Soundtrack Available : Essays On Film And Popular Music / Edited By Pamela Robertson Wojcik And Arthur Knight. Durham, N.C. ; London : Duke University Press, 2002

Games General / Game Design Theory
Conferences, Journals, papers
Games and Culture Journal
Books
Koster, R., (2005). Theory of Fun for Game Design. Paraglyph Press, Phoenix, Arizona.
Poole, S. (2004 ) Trigger Happy, The inner life of video games
http://stevenpoole.net/blog/trigger-happier/
Rigby, S., Ryan, R., 2010. Glued to Games: How Video Games Draw Us in and Hold Us Spellbound. Praeger Publishers Inc, Santa Barbara, California.

Salen, K., Zimmerman, E., (2003). Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, illustrated ed. The MITPress.

Schell, J., (2008). The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses. Morgan Kaufmann.