Music and audio design in video games had an unglamorous start. Arcade machines, computers, and even some of the early consoles were far more known for their flashing lights and images on screen rather than their attention seeking and arguably irritating beep, pop, and ringing noises. Fortunately, for all gamers, these days have long since past. Modern games now use sophisticated sound hardware, software, and logic, allowing the imagination of the audio engineers and composers to run free.
As the technical capabilities of sound hardware increase, so does the professionalism and technical expertise of the people creating music and sound effects for games. Once, making sounds for a game might have been the domain of bedroom coders, however, most music and sound for modern games are produced in expensive studios using the same kind of equipment as a blockbuster film might use.
In this chapter, we shall:
Get a sound into engine as an ambient sound
Use some...