Auditory Perception

It is not what I say, it is what they say...about audio

Lee Brown — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:18:00 GMT

Good afternoon, I trust you all coped with the heat?

Well, It's been a while again and I bring news on other peoples news today.

I have stumbled across a few articles that are quite insightful, giving you a glimpse into the psyche of game audio.

This article looks at the roll of audio in your game from project to project, first considerations when deciding on what kind of emotion you want your music to provoke whether that be suspense or magical whimsy .....or anger and depression if you prefer. As well discussing roles within a games company and their interaction. It also touches upon GANG (Game Audio Network Guild) which could be of great use to all of you looking for audio to accompany your games although membership is needed but its still an interesting place to start. I might do a more in depth look at this Guild.

Audio article 2-By Robin Arnott - How Sense-Deprivation can promote immersion.

Another good source for any of you interested in this area. Getting the most out of your gaming experience by taking out extraneous variables of gaming distraction. A great article that will get you thinking I promise.

Sound byte is a branch off from Gamespot and gives you updates on up and coming projects with the main focus being the audio element. They recently did an article on the new kinect game Child of EDEN. So worth following if you listen to me.

A bit different this time. I hope it has helped in some way and you have all learned something you did not know before.

I am also interested to find out what software or source material you guys use for your audio.

Until next time.....

It's as simple as bleep bleep bloop...

Lee Brown — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 19:57:00 GMT

Evening one...and possibly all. It's good to get back into things and bring you some news on the audio front Quick run down of top games;

Top Downloaded - Toy Stunt Bike - Dev & Pub Raoghard

Trials HD style game, with some good audio features. We have the bike revs which have been done nicely and work really well.

Extra effort seems to have gone into the BGM. Complete songs have been created for your pleasure with a wide range of genres.

Kotaku's Favourite - Aban Hawkins & the 1000 Spikes.

This started out so promising, some great 8bit style tunes going on bringing back some great memories of those simpler days,

great cursor noise with the standard slight variation of moving left and right (take note :) Then came the level BGM...after dying for

the 9th time....the music gets repeatitive....to say the least. Althogh a redeeming feature is an ingame audio volume adjuster

using the bumper buttons.

I have found a nice little website that allows you to create some little 8bit sounding effects. http://www.bfxr.net/

Really quite simple to use. Some pre-made sounds that you can alter as you wish. You can also use the mixer to layer sounds. So have a play around and when you have created a sound you like just hit the Export Wav and it'll save as an audio file for you to use as you wish. Get making them chip tunes!!!

HALL OF FAME

I have been racking my brain as to what criteria needs to be met for a game to be classed in this new (and possibly amazing) category....

Well I have decided for now to keep it in the Xbox family and also the live marketplace.....I have played this game just to listen to the music and its majestic soundtrack, to play a game just to listen to the music (obviously the game play and visuals are in a class of their own)....and the game is ............I know the suspence is killing me to.....

BRAID....(cheers and applause ripple from the centre of our hearts)

(Text coming tomorrow :)

Giving another shout out to the Radio 4 podcast "Bleep Bleep Bloop" Where Paul Bennun explores the world of music composed for video games. Check it out if you haven't already done so. Worth your time. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00yj887/Bleep_Bleep_Bloop_Music_and_Video_Games

On a final note don't forget to let people test your game. Always a great way to quickly identify if your game is any good.

Back soon with more audio delights. Get in touch with any questions or advice on all things audio related, will do my best as always to help.

What's that about a turtle?

...So where was I?

Lee Brown — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:08:00 GMT

Hey hey people,

I'm getting my self back into gear and will be bringing you news on all things audio again....YAY

I will be doing a round-up of the current top games on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
Starting a "Hall of Fame" classic sound tracks.
Checking out any new software available for you to use.
And other random bits and bobs

So....apologises again for the absence....I'm back on it.

Sound Scope Lee

Audio Musings

Lee Brown — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 10:13:00 GMT

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?

And he said "Let there be Audio"...The Audio Musings of Sound Scope Lee.

Lee Brown — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:45:00 GMT

Good day everyone. It's great to be part of XNA-UKUG

I have been given the privilege to Blog my thoughts, opinions and hopefully some useful advice here and there with all things audio with regards to XNA and all you Indie gamers out there.

First of all a bit about my background, I have been a gamer from birth as I suspect everyone on here to be and I am now excited to be a part of this community. I will be focusing on the audio side of games as I've just completed a degree in Popular Music with Music Technology and will be putting my skills to some use....hopefully :) I have also just finished completing the audio (as part of Sound Scope Audio) for an Indie game that will hopefully be hitting the market place in a few weeks.

The future holds....?

So, the plans for this blog are as follows;

I will be running through the software that people use to create their audio and compose tracks as well as going over some free online resources that are available on the net as well as offer my services to any who need it. If you're a developer but have no clue about audio, please get in touch and i'll do my best to help :)

I'm also going to do a run down of some Indie games that are on the Xbox Market place and give my verdict on the audio. Will also be looking at some classic game sound tracks that have helped to elevate games to greatness and how you can make your audio help you...

I will also keep you up to date with Sound Scope Audio activities within the XNA community.

Great to be part of the community....you'll hear from me soon.

Sound Scope Lee...

What's that about a turtle?