Meeting Topic: Implementation: The Fourth Dimension of Game Sound
Speaker Name: Iain Hetherington, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited
Meeting Location: SAE Institute, London, UK
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd4fDMrsgdU
Just how important is the implementation of sound within a computer game? Standard approaches to improving the way that audio is played back within games are already established, such as variations in sample playback pitch and selecting random sample variations for a particular event. But, in a medium where technology is constantly evolving, is there such thing as a standard approach?
As we enter the next generation of console hardware and increased possibilities within game audio, there has never been a better time to stand back and contemplate the role of sound within our discipline. How do we continue to maintain its function within gameplay while stepping up the aesthetic quality to meet the expectations of our consumers?
In this lecture, Iain Hetherington will consider Valve's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as an opening case study. It is a first-person shooter that has chosen to provide a 'no-frills' soundtrack. While this is not incredibly cinematic or impressive from an aesthetic point-of-view, it provides the player with highly useable auditory cues that allow them to play the game more successfully. He will demonstrate how other games achieved this same level of feedback while improving the auditory experience, and how can we continue to do this in the future.
