Sound Design 101
by Jon Jorajuria · 09/08/2006 (10:47 am) · 10 comments
Now that the FPS Environment Pack has been released, I will go into a bit more detail about sound design using specific examples from the pack. For those of you who have been living under a rock, here is a bit of info on the FPS Environment Pack:
Here is the link to the Snapshot of the Day.
www.garagegames.com/mg/snapshot/view.php?qid=1276
Here is a link to the product page for the pack.
www.garagegames.com/products/104
And here is one direct to the screen shots.
www.garagegames.com/products/104/images/
Sound Desiger:
The job of a sound designer is very much appreciated by producers and people involved in a particular project, but tend to go unnoticed by the end user. If the sounds were done well and they fit the environment, most end users will never mention how great a particular game sounded. As a sound designer this the biggest compliment we can get.
Obtaining and Creating Sounds:
I see a lot of game developers in the community obtaining their sound effects from free sources online. Most of these sounds are low quality and have not been optimized to work with torque. This is fine for prototyping, however I can not stress enough how important good quality sounds are to a game. There is a huge difference between what you can get on a free site and sounds the have been produced specifically for Torque and/or your project. Remember at least 50% of your game's atmospheric feel will be created through sound effects and quality sound design.
Sound can be obtained through a variety of sources. Foley work, real life recordings, sound fonts, and synthesized sources all work very well. Do not be afraid to experiment with different sound combinations, in fact most sound effects are created using a combination of sounds.
As I stated in the previous paragraph most sound effects are created using a combination of sounds. A perfect example of this is the windmill in the second map of the FPS environment pack. The following is a list of sounds and final mixes used for that windmill:
Main Sound:
Rolling Pin on Cement (Pitch Shifted)
Squeaky Hinge (Pitch Shifted 2 Layers)
Stone Scraped by a Screwdriver (Pitch Shifted)
Windmill Sound Effect
Blade Whoosh:
Stick Swing (Pitch Shifted)
Wind Noise (Pitch Shifted)
Blade Sound Effect
My advice is build a catalog of sounds and experiment mixing them together with and without effects applied. There is a ton of different ways to mix the audio recordings together. Solutions range from software to hardware within a variety of price ranges.
Getting Your Sound in Game:
I am not going to get into the scripting aspects of the sound design process for torque. There are some things you should know when exporting your sound effects. The following are the default settings used by Torque for all audio:
Sample Rate: 44100
Bit Depth: 16
Channel Format: Mono or Stereo
There are a couple general rules for setting up channel format. There are some exceptions but here they are:
If the sound is a 3D sound in should have the channel format set to Mono. For all other sounds the channel format should be set to Stereo.
Once the final sounds have been mixed, you will need to decide which audio format to use. Currently Torque supports wav and ogg audio formats. Wav tends to take up a lot of space with excellent sound quality. Ogg is compressed audio and there is a slight degradation to the sound quality.
Conclusion
Audio is just as important to a user's gaming experience as artwork. Game developers have a plethora of free sounds available to them, however nothing can compare to quality sounds that have been created specifically for Torque or your project.
Here is the link to the Snapshot of the Day.
www.garagegames.com/mg/snapshot/view.php?qid=1276
Here is a link to the product page for the pack.
www.garagegames.com/products/104
And here is one direct to the screen shots.
www.garagegames.com/products/104/images/
Sound Desiger:
The job of a sound designer is very much appreciated by producers and people involved in a particular project, but tend to go unnoticed by the end user. If the sounds were done well and they fit the environment, most end users will never mention how great a particular game sounded. As a sound designer this the biggest compliment we can get.
Obtaining and Creating Sounds:
I see a lot of game developers in the community obtaining their sound effects from free sources online. Most of these sounds are low quality and have not been optimized to work with torque. This is fine for prototyping, however I can not stress enough how important good quality sounds are to a game. There is a huge difference between what you can get on a free site and sounds the have been produced specifically for Torque and/or your project. Remember at least 50% of your game's atmospheric feel will be created through sound effects and quality sound design.
Sound can be obtained through a variety of sources. Foley work, real life recordings, sound fonts, and synthesized sources all work very well. Do not be afraid to experiment with different sound combinations, in fact most sound effects are created using a combination of sounds.
As I stated in the previous paragraph most sound effects are created using a combination of sounds. A perfect example of this is the windmill in the second map of the FPS environment pack. The following is a list of sounds and final mixes used for that windmill:
Main Sound:
Rolling Pin on Cement (Pitch Shifted)
Squeaky Hinge (Pitch Shifted 2 Layers)
Stone Scraped by a Screwdriver (Pitch Shifted)
Windmill Sound Effect
Blade Whoosh:
Stick Swing (Pitch Shifted)
Wind Noise (Pitch Shifted)
Blade Sound Effect
My advice is build a catalog of sounds and experiment mixing them together with and without effects applied. There is a ton of different ways to mix the audio recordings together. Solutions range from software to hardware within a variety of price ranges.
Getting Your Sound in Game:
I am not going to get into the scripting aspects of the sound design process for torque. There are some things you should know when exporting your sound effects. The following are the default settings used by Torque for all audio:
Sample Rate: 44100
Bit Depth: 16
Channel Format: Mono or Stereo
There are a couple general rules for setting up channel format. There are some exceptions but here they are:
If the sound is a 3D sound in should have the channel format set to Mono. For all other sounds the channel format should be set to Stereo.
Once the final sounds have been mixed, you will need to decide which audio format to use. Currently Torque supports wav and ogg audio formats. Wav tends to take up a lot of space with excellent sound quality. Ogg is compressed audio and there is a slight degradation to the sound quality.
Conclusion
Audio is just as important to a user's gaming experience as artwork. Game developers have a plethora of free sounds available to them, however nothing can compare to quality sounds that have been created specifically for Torque or your project.
About the author
#2
09/08/2006 (12:33 pm)
I second that...it's not unlike programmer art, really. It's all about how polished and professional you want your game to look and sound. Thanks for the read! 
#3
09/08/2006 (2:02 pm)
Very interesting blog and I agree, sound is one of the most important factors in games though it is rarely realized. 
#4
If any ones doubts the value of good sound work, try playing a new game with the sound turned off, the turn the sound on and play it again.
Good sound work will not only work hand in had with all other aspects of a games design to help immerse the player, but will also provide layered information. For example, a (pick your favorite game) power up will probably 1- visually suggest its use, say a big red cross for health, 2- rotate and blink to make it easy to pick out from the surrounding at a distance, the provide a clear BING! sound or some such when you pick it up, then another and different sound when you use it, if not used immediately on pick up.
That sort of double and triple redundant feedback for the player is easily overlooked in design, but with the exception of ultra realistic games, you will see that sort of thing in almost any professional game you play.
Jons sound work really brought the FPS Environment pack to life. I can't imagine the demo level without it
09/08/2006 (2:52 pm)
Good stuff Jon,If any ones doubts the value of good sound work, try playing a new game with the sound turned off, the turn the sound on and play it again.
Good sound work will not only work hand in had with all other aspects of a games design to help immerse the player, but will also provide layered information. For example, a (pick your favorite game) power up will probably 1- visually suggest its use, say a big red cross for health, 2- rotate and blink to make it easy to pick out from the surrounding at a distance, the provide a clear BING! sound or some such when you pick it up, then another and different sound when you use it, if not used immediately on pick up.
That sort of double and triple redundant feedback for the player is easily overlooked in design, but with the exception of ultra realistic games, you will see that sort of thing in almost any professional game you play.
Jons sound work really brought the FPS Environment pack to life. I can't imagine the demo level without it
#5
Below are some technique that can be used to make sound fx for catapults, guns, gore, plasma cannon and enhancing explosions.
Guns
I've been listening to gun shots in movies to figure out how else I can make the sounds and I've come up with this.
The initial "pap" sound is the same as slapping plastic dropsheets with a hammer.
The main blast sound (amplified for movies) is the same as hitting a sheet of tin with a hammer.
The bullet flying through the air (heard initially during the blast) is the same a running your finger nail across a painted concrete wall. The doppler effect works if you mic the wall and run your fingernail up to and away from the mic.
Interestingly with a bit of fx this can also be used to make a jet sound.
Sliding a metal door shut and recording the clank of the latch against the door frame provides the sound of the bolt sliding.
I'm not sure about the bullet casing hitting the ground but I bet something like metal thimble or something of similar weight and shape (hollow casing) dropped on the floor would suffice.
Really it's a process of recreating all the mechanisms involved in the weapon being used and comp'ing them together.
Head shot
Squelch sound below mixed with hammering an orange
Body shot
Hammer an orange and mix it with sound of a mallet on a pillow.
Catapult
So for the catapult it would be the wood sliding or rolling after the initial fling (use a kids trolley and slow it down) - either a ground mounted cat or one on wheels, the sound of the main catapult arm vibrating/wobbling can be done with a wood ruler, flicking it over the edge of a table, then slow it down, bit of rope stretch can be done by gripping and twisting hard foam packaging (I did this for a maritime play) and the whoosh sound of the payload can be done by swishing a stick in front of a mic (flexible stick of wood) with a bit of tweaking and staging the sound should be pretty good.
Explosion
Oh yeah and a tip for explosions - if you are blowing up a car or house or some object with windows or glass, get a plastic bag, put in old light bulbs, and a beer bottle, tie it closed, mic up the floor in the kitchen, stand out the kitchen and lob the plastic bag into the air to land near the mic on the kitchen floor and hope it smashes. Add this to an existing explosion sound to create a really cool effect. Dislaimer - I take no responsibility for people injuring themselves doing this - if you prepare (wear glasses etc) properly you won't hurt yourself and the glass will remain inside the plastic bag TIP - once it's broken pour some on the ground and step on it with shoes on to get your "soldier walking over broken glass sound".
Gore
Everyone knows the neck break sound - bite into an apple, but for squelching guts, cook up some pasta and squelch it around in your hands.
Particle Cannon
Heat up a pan and drop an egg into the pan to get the hiss and fizzle. Turn on a hot tap slightly to get the chamber build-up (you gotta make sure you hear the water 'coarsing' through the pipes (mic up under the sink). Use the jet sound/bullet sound above for the initial blast mixed with sound of putting your fingers together on a table so all the tips touch (kinda like a spider balancing with all it's legs pointed together) then slide your fingers away from mic opening your fingers while still scraping your nails across the table and then slide your fingers closed again while still moving away from the mic. You should do this finger scrape counting "one" "two" "three" - the faster you count (hence opening and closing fingers) the quicker the "vwap" sound will be. Add distortion and a quick flange to this to get the final sound (only the finger scrapes).
09/08/2006 (11:51 pm)
Hopefully this is not hijacking your thread Jon (let me know if it is and I'll delete it), but here's a reprint of some sound design ideas I had which might help other people, along the same lines as what you are blogging about above...Below are some technique that can be used to make sound fx for catapults, guns, gore, plasma cannon and enhancing explosions.
Guns
I've been listening to gun shots in movies to figure out how else I can make the sounds and I've come up with this.
The initial "pap" sound is the same as slapping plastic dropsheets with a hammer.
The main blast sound (amplified for movies) is the same as hitting a sheet of tin with a hammer.
The bullet flying through the air (heard initially during the blast) is the same a running your finger nail across a painted concrete wall. The doppler effect works if you mic the wall and run your fingernail up to and away from the mic.
Interestingly with a bit of fx this can also be used to make a jet sound.
Sliding a metal door shut and recording the clank of the latch against the door frame provides the sound of the bolt sliding.
I'm not sure about the bullet casing hitting the ground but I bet something like metal thimble or something of similar weight and shape (hollow casing) dropped on the floor would suffice.
Really it's a process of recreating all the mechanisms involved in the weapon being used and comp'ing them together.
Head shot
Squelch sound below mixed with hammering an orange
Body shot
Hammer an orange and mix it with sound of a mallet on a pillow.
Catapult
So for the catapult it would be the wood sliding or rolling after the initial fling (use a kids trolley and slow it down) - either a ground mounted cat or one on wheels, the sound of the main catapult arm vibrating/wobbling can be done with a wood ruler, flicking it over the edge of a table, then slow it down, bit of rope stretch can be done by gripping and twisting hard foam packaging (I did this for a maritime play) and the whoosh sound of the payload can be done by swishing a stick in front of a mic (flexible stick of wood) with a bit of tweaking and staging the sound should be pretty good.
Explosion
Oh yeah and a tip for explosions - if you are blowing up a car or house or some object with windows or glass, get a plastic bag, put in old light bulbs, and a beer bottle, tie it closed, mic up the floor in the kitchen, stand out the kitchen and lob the plastic bag into the air to land near the mic on the kitchen floor and hope it smashes. Add this to an existing explosion sound to create a really cool effect. Dislaimer - I take no responsibility for people injuring themselves doing this - if you prepare (wear glasses etc) properly you won't hurt yourself and the glass will remain inside the plastic bag TIP - once it's broken pour some on the ground and step on it with shoes on to get your "soldier walking over broken glass sound".
Gore
Everyone knows the neck break sound - bite into an apple, but for squelching guts, cook up some pasta and squelch it around in your hands.
Particle Cannon
Heat up a pan and drop an egg into the pan to get the hiss and fizzle. Turn on a hot tap slightly to get the chamber build-up (you gotta make sure you hear the water 'coarsing' through the pipes (mic up under the sink). Use the jet sound/bullet sound above for the initial blast mixed with sound of putting your fingers together on a table so all the tips touch (kinda like a spider balancing with all it's legs pointed together) then slide your fingers away from mic opening your fingers while still scraping your nails across the table and then slide your fingers closed again while still moving away from the mic. You should do this finger scrape counting "one" "two" "three" - the faster you count (hence opening and closing fingers) the quicker the "vwap" sound will be. Add distortion and a quick flange to this to get the final sound (only the finger scrapes).
#6
@ Andy-This is good stuff and hopefully will help inspire people to try somethings out. I know I am going to be adding to my library with some of your suggestions.
09/09/2006 (12:07 am)
Thanks for the support, I really want to help get the community interested in sound development. There are a lot of games people are working on that can be rounded out with some quality sound work.@ Andy-This is good stuff and hopefully will help inspire people to try somethings out. I know I am going to be adding to my library with some of your suggestions.
#7
09/09/2006 (4:02 am)
Quote:Me too. Thank you for your insights Andy.
I know I am going to be adding to my library with some of your suggestions.
#8
09/09/2006 (4:41 am)
Glad I could help. I think I spend too much time making sound effects - actually if someone saw me doing it, they would think I was a little weird. Stuff like half cranking the water tap to listen to the initial sound - which is a cool engine-y / sci fi sound. So that's not the weird part. It's when I repeat it over and over again, and get under the sink to find the best spot to mic it up ;-)
#9
09/09/2006 (4:50 am)
lol-I know what you mean. Good thing I have a home studio to work in...I can hide in there so nobody will call the cops on me.
#10
09/09/2006 (11:16 pm)
Great blog man. It's so true. I can't imagine a game genre like Final Fantasy without the music, or even Madden with the background noise (players screaming "watch the screen", etc). It's just little nuances that can either make you feel like you're in the game, or just playing a game. 
Torque Owner Tim Heldna
Not enough people realize this, very good blog. Perhaps they do realize and just don't care; maybe they think it's too hard. Or maybe no-one puts as much effort into sound because you can't hear sound in a screen shot. Who knows?
Related bit of trivia:
The base sound used for the catapults in Microsoft's Age of Empires was created by snapping a flexible plastic ruler into a wooden desk.
As Jon Jorajuria so eloquently suggests in his blog, you don't necessarily need to record the actual sound of the effect you're after. Be creative, buy yourself a cheap laptop and relatively decent microphone and start recording. Record everything you hear, take a walk down the park. Buy Sound Forge, start playing around and see what you come up with. You might think you can't afford Sound Forge. Well it will end up being cheaper than having to purchase inferior quality sound effects.
Tim.