Plan for Kurtis Seebaldt
by Kurtis Seebaldt · 04/22/2002 (2:13 pm) · 3 comments
Well, I posted my Ogg Vorbis code a few days ago and got a lot of nice feedback. Thanks guys! I'm glad people are making use of it.
Since I'm starting to get to know the audio code fairly well, I was thinking of adding some more to it. First off, I want to add the ability to load basic sound effects stored in Ogg Vorbis format. It won't be streaming audio, it would just decode the whole sample into and AudioBuffer.
Another thought I had was to try to come up with some kind of dynamic music engine. Hopefully something a little better than just switching tracks. I was thinking about some way to use a basic rythym/melody track and bring in additional melodies or themes based on events. When the action gets hairy, bring in a new layer that steps up the intensity.
I was also thinking of reading up on EAX and seeing how that would fit into the engine. I noticed there is already a little work towards that already in there, but its not complete.
Since I'm starting to get to know the audio code fairly well, I was thinking of adding some more to it. First off, I want to add the ability to load basic sound effects stored in Ogg Vorbis format. It won't be streaming audio, it would just decode the whole sample into and AudioBuffer.
Another thought I had was to try to come up with some kind of dynamic music engine. Hopefully something a little better than just switching tracks. I was thinking about some way to use a basic rythym/melody track and bring in additional melodies or themes based on events. When the action gets hairy, bring in a new layer that steps up the intensity.
I was also thinking of reading up on EAX and seeing how that would fit into the engine. I noticed there is already a little work towards that already in there, but its not complete.
About the author
#2
I haven't played System Shock 2, but Anarchy Online (not a good game, but it used the music clips fairly well) would play music depending on the situation. If you were losing hard the music would pretty much sound like a death march, and a major victory will have trumpets blazing.
04/22/2002 (5:17 pm)
It's something that has kicked in since I believe System Shock 2. Dynamic music can really drive a game. If you're losing, the music reflects panic and failure, if you're winning the music is happy.I haven't played System Shock 2, but Anarchy Online (not a good game, but it used the music clips fairly well) would play music depending on the situation. If you were losing hard the music would pretty much sound like a death march, and a major victory will have trumpets blazing.
#3
04/22/2002 (8:43 pm)
The key to dynamic music is using it in the right way, and kicking it in at the right time. A lot of single player games (for example, either RTCW or MoH, can't remember which) trigger the music once you enter a room or something to that effect. You then know that something bad is going to happen (like enemies jumping through the windows) by the music...this ruins the feel of the game. If the music had cued in exactly when the enemies jump through the window, it adds a lot to the theatrics of the game. 
Torque Owner Gordon Cranford