Hopwood Hall College BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production (Games Development) Arts & Performing Arts ASSIGNMENT NO 3 Weeks 26 - 27
Understanding the use of Sound Tutor: Amy Miedzwiecki Learner Name
Issue Date: Week Commencing: 14/03/16 Thursday group full assignment due: 15/04/16 Friday session full assignment due: 14/04/16 This assignment covers Grading Criteria from the following unit: Unit 73 Sound for Computer Games Learning Outcome 1 Understand the use of sound and music in games Learning Outcome 2 Understand methods and principles of sound design and production AIM/PURPOSE The games industry can be a very exciting and dynamic place for musicians and sound designers. Video games have become a new way of telling stories and game audio is fundamental to this. Game audio is there to drive the action. Through sound and music, a game can completely immerse a player in another universe or reality. As technology improves, every game title attempts to implement new ways of making games faster, bigger and louder than before; this means constantly adapting to new techniques of producing sound and music for games. Sound tracks for games is becoming like that of feature film music in that developers are using techniques where characters have personal themes and signature instruments. Game world locations and destinations with highly recognisable ambient and musical settings will begin to develop and expand, including the implementation and development of interactive (true adaptive) music to next generation games. THE ASSIGNMENT In this assignment you will take on the role of an researcher who is writing an article for the digital magazine Sound on Sound. They need somebody to explain to their readers about the use of sound in computer games and the methods and principles of sound design production. You will need to provide an overview of sound in games and how it all started from the beginning to now. You will need to research sound in games and one selected game to find out further information about the sound design process and technical information. This will include a variety of sound examples highlighting and evidencing sound design, production techniques, technical elements and the impact on the gamer. This could be through your own recorded game play, audio commentary, You Tube links etc which you can then use to link in to your article.
Hopwood Hall College BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production (Games Development) Arts & Performing Arts TASKS Introduction (P1, M1, D1) • General introduction to the purpose of the assignment and an overview of the games • Introduction to the importance of sound in games. How has sound technology and the way that sound is designed changed since arcade games to modern titles? What is sound? •Theory of Sound (P1,M1,D1) e.g Waveform (amplitude, frequency etc), Pitch, Decibels,Hertz, Intensity etc What are they and why are they important for a sound designer to understand? • Sound Sources and Methodology (P1,M1,D1) • What are the different ways of producing sound? e.g Sound Libraries, Location Recording, Original Sound Production, Foley Artistry, ADR. • Refer to examples of these techniques being applied to the production of sound for games. Game Analysis (P1,M1,D1) You will want to address these tasks by referring to your game with examples. There may be some cross over between them. • Psychology of sound (P1,M1,D1) (Refer to your chosen game) • Explain the sounds that you hear. Think of the sound as information via the types of sound you hear, such as sound effects, atmos, dialogue and music, diegetic/non-diegetic sounds, on and off screen sounds, environmental sounds etc. How are the sounds presented are they loud, quiet, how they work together to create the soundscape? You will want to consider how the sound is informing or helping the player and how it will make them feel e.g what emotion, mood and tone it sets and how successful it is in doing this. How does the sound influence them? How is it presented in your game? (Refer to your chosen game) • Game music (P1,M1,D1) • What can be the different purposes of music in games, eg mood, action, suspense, plot advancement, atmosphere, communicating knowledge or experience to the player, background for introduction sequences/closing sequence/credit sequences. How does the psychology of the music influence the player? How is it heard by the player? (Refer to your chosen game) • Audio Environments (P1,M1,D1) • What are the different audio environments e.g Mono, Stereo, Surround, 3D Audio, Interactive Adaptive Audio. Refer to your game and/ore other games with examples and how these can impact game play, or the game experience as a whole.
Hopwood Hall College BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production (Games Development) Arts & Performing Arts File formats, Analogue, Digitalization and Game Platforms? How do these factors change the quality of game sound? (P2,M2,D2) This is only needs to be a summary to show you have an awareness of these factors and how they influence the quality of the sound files, recording and editing process. Why is important for a sound designer to know about these technical aspects of sound and to think about them during production? • Sound file formats & Audio sampling (P2,M2,D2) e.g uncompressed, file type eg wav, MP3, lossy, lossless, compression, file constraints via bit-depth and sample rate. •Audio limitations of game platforms and gamer technology (P2,M2,D2) eg headphones vs speakers, audio hardware and software options, console vs PC, sound processor unit (SPU), digital sound processor (DSP), random access memory (RAM), in-game settings. How is sound in games protected? (P1,M1,D1) • Legal issues You will want to think about the sound sources and production methods as well as protecting the sounds when they are in the game after they have been purchased e.g Copyright, licences, Ancillary rights, Royalties, Meta Data, Disc and downloaded game protection etc. • Conclusion to the article EVIDENCE REQUIRED FOR ASSESSMENT • Electronic Word Document, Powerpoint, Prezi, Blog, video recordings, presentation etc for Its Learning submission INDICATIVE READING • • • • • • • • • •
http://www.filmsound.org/game-audio/ http://www.amps.net/ http://www.gamesounddesign.com/ http://designingsound.org/ http://filmsound.org/ http://gamesound.org/about/ http://www.gamesoundcon.com/#! http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-history-of-video-game-music/1100-6092391/ http://getinmedia.com/careers/sound-designer-games http://vgmusic.com/vgpaper.shtml
Hopwood Hall College BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production (Games Development) Arts & Performing Arts GRADING CRITERIA Unit 73 Sound for Computer Games Learning Outcome 1 - Understand the use of sound and music in games To achieve a pass grade the evidence must show the learner is able to: Describe uses of sound and music in games using some subject terminology appropriately To achieve a merit grade the evidence must show the learner is able to: Explain use of sound and music in games with reference to detailed illustrative examples and with generally correct use of subject terminology To achieve a distinction grade the evidence must show that, in addition to the pass and merit criteria, the learner is able to: Comprehensively explain use of sound and music in games with elucidated examples and consistently using subject terminology correctly Learning Outcome 2 - Understand methods and principles of sound design and production To achieve a pass grade the evidence must show the learner is able to: Describe methods and principles of sound design and production using some subject terminology appropriately To achieve a merit grade the evidence must show the learner is able to: Explain methods and principles of sound design and production with reference to detailed illustrative examples and with generally correct use of subject terminology To achieve a distinction grade the evidence must show that, in addition to the pass and merit criteria, the learner is able to: Comprehensively explain methods and principles of sound design and production with elucidated examples and consistently using subject terminology correctly
Hopwood Hall College 90 Credit Diploma in Creative Media Production (Games) Arts and Performing Arts This brief has been verified as being fit for purpose Assessor Date Signature Internal Verifier Date Signature Action Plan to be completed by
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