[...]... Introduction The Structure of the Book and Tutorial We have called this book The Game Audio Tutorial, as that is what it’s intended to be a practical, hands-on tutorial to introduce the subject of sound and music in games To find out what’s going on at the cutting edge, visit www.thegameaudiotutorial.com for links to some great articles and further research into the subject This book does not stand alone... environment  cool Having to be already working for a games developer to get access to the tools to get them in game  not cool We want to put control into the hands of sound designers and composers and to show what you can do, and how far you can go, with the standard tools that come with a typical game editor As a sound designer, composer, or game designer (we hope there are a few of you reading too!), you have to. .. what they can bring to games to make them thrilling, involving, and moving We want you to be able to try out your sound and your music in a real game For a book whose examples are based exclusively around one piece of software, it may appear contradictory to say that actually the tools are not important Once you’ve had experience with any game editor or audio middleware package, the concepts you learn... on metal roof Rain on hollow metal barrels Rain on plants The Game Audio Tutorial You can see from the diagram that these have had to be carefully arranged to make sure they cover the correct areas Attenuation and Radius Min/Radius Max Attenuation refers to how sound gets quieter, in this case over distance We can’t replicate the range of volume or the physics of the real world in games (for reasons... Development Kit (UDK, available to all readers for free at www.udk.com) We will also begin to look at the importance of ambient sound in adding character and immersion to game environments Opening the Tutorial Level The first step is to download and install UDK While you’re waiting, go to the companion site www.thegameaudiotutorial.com and download the tutorial files Once downloaded, unzip the package by right-clicking... learn are easily transferable to others We chose the Unreal Development Kit (UDK) for this book, as it’s a serious game development tool, it’s used for lots of games, it’s free, and it’s fun In terms of sound and music there are easier tools to use, but unless you’re already working for a games developer, you can’t get them to work in an actual game Putting your sound and music into a real game environment  cool... Lipscomb-Stevens, Tobias Brogaard, Tom White, Tom Bowers, Chris Forde, Chris Latham, Evangelos Chouvardas, Michael Ward and all the team at Focal Press Finally thanks to Andrea Watson, Maria Allen, Polly Stevens, our respective parents, and our wider families for their love and support xv This page intentionally left blank Introduction We wrote this book because we love games We also love sound and music, and we... Actors 4 The Game Audio Tutorial This particular Actor is called a [Trigger] and we will be seeing a lot more of it as we move forward If you look up you’ll also see a Light Actor and the button is a Static Mesh Actor It’s possible that you might not be seeing these at all The interface can get very complicated with many Actors and other objects on the screen, so you have the ability to Show and UnShow... systems to demonstrate your ideas effectively If you want to create great sounds or music and then hand them over for someone else to put into the game, then this book isn’t for you (and P.S., your days are numbered) Game audio is about a system of sound or music elements that interact in real time with game events If you want to be part of the future of game audio you need to learn how to produce interactive. .. of each sound to create an effective mix Use the Volume Scale adjustment to do this, using the value 1.0 as the maximum volume 13 The Game Audio Tutorial Ambient Sounds Case Study To be good at designing sound and music for games, your most important skill is your ability to listen Even a relatively simple game audio (or real) environment is made from layers of sounds Paying close attention to sounds .