The Game Audio Strategy Guide: A Practical Course from Focal Press is a comprehensive text designed to turn both novices and experienced audio designers into technical game audio pros. Providing both a theoretical foundation and practical insights, The Game Audio Strategy Guide offers a thorough look at the tools and methods needed to create industry-quality music and sound design for games.

The text is supported by an extensive companion website, featuring numerous practical tutorials and exercises, which allows the reader to gain hands-on experience creating and implementing audio assets for games. The Game Audio Strategy Guide is the essential manual for anyone interested in creating audio for games, inside or outside the classroom.

By Gina Zdanowicz and Spencer Bambrick    Paperback, 416 pages    32 Black & White Illustrations    Publisher: Focal Press    Published December 17, 2019

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

INTRODUCTION

1. Getting Started

Our Goals for this Textbook

Overview and Learning Outcomes

Who Should Read this Book?

How to Use this Book

Requisite Knowledge

Theoretical Framework

Practical Framework, A.K.A. Companion Website (Sound Lab)?

Visiting Artist's Tips

Key Terms

Further Reading

Game Audio

Game Development Roles Defined

Essential Soft Skills and Tools For Game Audio

Production Cycle and Planning

Research

Making Use of Downtime

PART I

Sound Design

2. The Basics of Nonlinear Sound Design

What is Nonlinear Sound Design?

The Sound Design Process

Challenges in Nonlinear Sound Design

Exploring Immersion and Interactivity

Essential Skills for Sound Designers

3. Designing Sound

Dynamic Audio

Sound Effects

The Function of Sound in Games

Designing the Sonic Palette

Choosing the Right Source for Your Sonic Palette

Sourcing Audio from Libraries

Sourcing Sounds through Synthesis

Sourcing Audio through Studio and Field Recording

Field Recording

Microphone Choice and Placement

Performing Sound with Props

Location Scouting and Preparation

Designing Sound Effects

Sound Design Techniques

Effects Processing as a Sound Design Tool

Putting It All Together

4. Voice Production

Dialogue vs. Voice-Over

PART II

Music

5. The Basics of Nonlinear Music

What is Nonlinear Music?

Challenges of Nonlinear Music Writing

Essential Skills for the Game Composer

Exploring Music as an Immersive Tool

Diegetic vs. Non-Diegetic Music

Production Cycle and Planning

Working with a Team

Platforms and Delivery

6. Composing Music

Generating Musical Ideas and the Creative Cycle

Starting Points for Musical Composition

Composing Game Music

Form and Structure in Game Music

7. Arranging and Orchestration for Games

Genre and Style Considerations

Foundations of Musical Texture in Games

Arranging and Orchestrating Using Samples

Templates

Template Planning

The Orchestral Instruments

Writing for String Samples

Writing for Woodwind and Brass Samples

Writing for Choir Samples

Writing for Percussion Samples

Writing for Full Sampled Orchestra

Advanced Orchestration and Arranging for Live Ensembles

Working with Synthetic Timbres

Other Styles of Arranging in Game Music

PART III

Implementation

8. Audio Implementation

Implementation Basics

Dialogue Systems

Dynamic Mix Systems

Resource Management and Performance Optimization

Testing, Debugging, and QA

9. Music Implementation

Approaching Implementation

Arranging and Orchestration as Implementation

Advanced Vertical Techniques

Advanced Horizontal Techniques

Adding Randomness and Variation

Composing Complex Adaptive Systems Using Middleware

Aesthetic Creativity and Composing Outside the Box

Tools for Experimentation

Pure Data

Simplicity vs. Complexity in Game Music

PART IV

Business and Networking

10. The Business of Games, Part I: What Do We Do Now?

Career Development: Overview and Philosophy

Selecting Tangible Goals

The Pyramid of Sustainability

Career Paths in Game Audio

11. The Business of Games, Part II: Gigs, Gigs, Gigs!

Networking and Creating Value

Demonstrating Value

Finding Work

Business and Price Considerations

The Final Bid

Navigating Contracts

12. Your Game Audio Strategy Guide

Audio Creator as Game Developer

Index

Gina Zdanowicz is an accomplished audio designer for games, film, TV, new realities, and podcasts. A graduate from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music Synthesis, Gina honed her skills in game audio by working in house with game developers and founding her own independent sound studio, Serial Lab Sound. Gina has worked on over 100 video game and interactive titles and her work with Nickelodeon (TV) has been nominated for two Daytime Emmy awards. In addition to her career as an audio designer, Gina is a game audio course author and instructor at Berklee Online, a tutor at Thinkspace Education, and a lecturer at universities such as NYU and conferences around the world like GDC. Follow Gina at: www.seriallab.com

Spencer Bambrick is a composer for games, film, and the concert stage. His recent work includes BestLuck (2018, PC, Mobile), Block Party (Emmy-Nominated Nick Jr. Series of Animated Shorts), and additional music for Paladins (Hi-Rez Studios). Spencer is the Game Audio Network Guild Northeast Regional Director and he has presented at GameSoundCon (2018, 2017), PAX Dev (2016), and MAGFest (2015). He is currently pursuing his doctorate in Music Composition at The University of Hartford (The Hartt School), studying interactive music, game technology, and social activism.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Is the built-in mic recording in 32-bit Float? (Because it does NOT on the 4 track version.)

A: Yes, the Zoom H6essential 6-Track 32-Bit Float Portable Audio Recorder records in 32-bit from all inputs.

Q: 2. What's the Equivalent Input Noise (EIN) ? Is it still the same -120 dBu, like on the old Zoom H5/H6 recorders? Thx

A: The EIN for the mic input of the Zoom H6essential 6-Track 32-Bit Float Portable Audio Recorder is -120 dBu or less, while the line input has an EIN of -95 dBu or less.

Q: 3. Has the JVC GY-HM170 got a wireless remote control?

A: No

Q: 4. Is there any reason to buy Zoom F3 over the Zoom H4 Essential?

A: The Zoom F3 is a field recorder that is much more appropriate for ENG and Film audio, whereas the Zoom H6Essential is a handheld recorder. It really comes down to if you want to have on-board microphones or not, though. The units will operate the same way when used regardless.

Q: 5. Would the interchangeable capsules from my previous gen Zoom H6 be compatible with this recorder?

A: The Zoom H6essential 6-Track 32-Bit Float Portable Audio Recorder is not compatible with previous-generation modular components for the Zoom H5, H6, and H8.

Q: 6. Does this camera include a battery charger? Does it charge the battery connected with the battery?

A: Same as the other answers. Charge in the camera with AC Adapter. Battery will last about a few hours (I think), so you may want an extra or two if you are doing long shoots.

Q: 7. Has anyone used the JVC GY-HM170 for performance work? What are your thoughts?

A: I used it for filming part of a movie 8 Ball Clown and am planning to use it as primary camera for 8 Ball Clown II - I like the quality, not a low light camera, the manual operation takes a bit to get used to but then again all of them do. I bought 2 extra batteries and 128G cards, so I should be able to film quite a bit without stopping. The onboard sound is pretty good - I'm probably adding wireless mics, but its good. I use Bose headphones so I can get better sound and adjust volume. note most of the movie was filmed on a canon t2i - because I just wasn't ready to switch because I had not touched the camera - but I'm more comfortable with it and will practice to get used to it. I did some minor filming for commercials in 4k and that went well - but that was outside in bright light. I will always use a dslr in low low light.I edit in Final Cut - so the video output is easy to bring in and edit - one of the reasons I went with this camera.

Q: 8. Has the camera the ability to take stills direct to SD card?

A: I am sorry but this camcorder cannot take stills. One work around is to download the video to your editing software and extract a single frame of video. We can suggest the Canon XC10. It is meant for photojournalism so you can shoot full on stills or if you wish, you can extract a single frame of video but in still photo MP size if not quite quality.

Q: 9. Does the unit have optional manual iris control or is it auto iris only?

A: This camera doesn't have a dedicated button with 'A', 'S', and 'P' settings, but each of those modes can still be set; it's just a bit fiddly.Summary:To put the camera into 'A' (aperture-preferred mode), you will put the camera into all-manual mode, then set the shutter to auto, then set the gain to auto. This will leave you with manual control of the iris.Details:1. Put the camera in full-auto mode by pushing the FULL/AUTO button. Then push the same button again; this will clear everything, puttin all functions into full manual mode (except for focus, which is handled separately).2. Adjust the IRIS to your desired setting. Keep in mind that this may change as you zoom, because the maximum aperture is f1.2 only in the wide-angle range; it decreases to f3.5 pretty quickly as you zoom the lens, dropping to f2.0 about midway through the zoom range.3. Press and hold the SHUTTER button on the side of the camera; this puts the shutter into AUTO mode. The shutter speed indicator will disappear from the LCD screen.4. Set the GAIN to AUTO mode (AGC). This is the fiddly part. You must first set default values for the GAIN switch's L, M, and H positions. The camera default is L=0, M=3, and H=6, but I changed those to L=0, M=6, and H=AGC. So, flipping the external switch to 'H' then sets the gain to AUTO. I also put these settings into my FAVORITES menu for easy access.You can also set the upper limit for the gain. I've set mine to 18db, because anything above that is really noisy. So, in AGC mode, my camera won't go above 18db. If you're desperate to record that evening campfire scene, there's always the LOLUX button, which sets the gain to 30db.5. Exposure compensation. You can tweak the exposure settings by pressing and holding the AE LEVEL button until a white box appears on the LCD screen (AE +/-), then adjusting exposure up or down with the little arrow buttons located on the lower-left side of the camera, nearest the battery. Note that, in low light, this may not have any effect if your camera has already reduced the shutter speed to 1/30 and set the AGC to its maximum.If there's an easier way, I haven't found it. The key points are A) to set the defaults for GAIN, and B) to remember to turn FULL AUTO on and then off at the start. Also note that you can use this same approach to put the camera into 'S' (shutter-preferred) mode.

Q: 10. Can you recommend windshields that fit this recorder?

A: For the Zoom H1essential 2-Track 32-Bit Float Portable Audio Recorder, I would recommend the Rycote Zoom H1n Mini Windjammer.