Hi good people,

Hope you are all well and ready for the first installment of this musing/rambling on audio.

A big part of game audio is the use of SFX samples, from the iconic mario coins to the Final Fantasy 7 cursor. 

A few free SFX websites for you

1-New free samples at SoundCloud Good source but might take you a while to find what you're after.

2-The freesound Project. A huge collection of free samples(not compositions) does require you to log in.

These can be used for commercial purposes but please read the rights of usage carefully.

Im personally a fan of collecting random sounds so give me a shout if you're in need of anything.

Now it's time for the Top 3 Games of the Week...audio review (very catchy I know) 

Rather than pick the games my self, I have gone with the number 1 spot on the Xbox marketplace.

So first in

1....Avatar Ninja- IGN.pick

Developer-Milkstone

Straight in to the title music, has an ethnic, far east sound that encompasses some of the native instruments to accompany the theme of the game. This track is around 2.30, a reasonable length to maintain the gamers interest, if a little simplistic. The SFX are quite nice but too few, throwing Shuriken sound and some nice body impact samples, but the best aspect has to the voice overs (provided by Rodrigo Garcia I believe) which adds an authentic touch to the game.

2....I MEAD A GAM3 W1TH ZOMBIES 1N IT!!!1-Top Rated

Developer-Jamezila- Ska studios

One track...and what a track that is....that's all it needs. This games shows how a song can elevate a game to cult heights having reached over 300K sales and then getting on to theRock Band Market place. Let this be a lesson, if you manage to write an AWESOME track you could be on to a winner....COULD. 

3....Military Snipe Sim 3.18-Most Downloaded

Developer-Reedake2

Now this was the most minimal game in terms of audio out of the 3, and to be fair it doesn't really need any. That being said I was loving the old school Cursor noise, reminds me of the Atari and simpler times.

So to summarise, think about the length of your title tracks and in game back ground music. Try to make the loops are a reasonable length so the gamer doesn't recognise the loop point or become bored with the track. Trust me, if you get stuck on a difficult level and the music is on a short loop.....that may be the end of that gaming session, Harsh I know but defiantly a possibility. Take time to think about your sound FX, and main themes. Try to get the different timbres of sounds to fit with your games theme. Like a chainsaw cursor noise for zombies or a bird tweet for a tranquil setting. Simple enough.

I also stumbled across this lovely feature on my twitter feed. Games Radar are running a "Games Music of the day" feature. Some nostalgic loveliness.

Don't forget to get in touch with any audio related questions and I shall do by best to help

Sound Scope Lee.

As always...."Whats that about a turtle?