Wednesday 11th February

Introduction / Tutorial Day

T-1: Introduction to Sound Design for Games

Dan Bardino, SCEE

For audio designers and engineers of traditional media, sound for games can often seem like a strange and impenetrable world. This introductory talk will attempt to clarify and demystify the basics of making interactive sound by looking at the basic principles of designing interactive sound for games; both the technical challenges involved and the conceptual creative challenges they bring. From alleviating repetition to creating interactive car engines to understanding the fundamental differences between linear and interactive media and the role sound plays in both.

T-2: Introduction to Music for Games

Adam Levenson, Activision

During the past two decades, original music for videogames has evolved into an art form rivaling or surpassing scoring quality in film and TV. This tutorial provides an overview of the history of game scores, evaluates where we are today, and describes exciting future possibilities for music in interactive media. The discussion will include relevant aspects of original music composition, production, asset management, implementation, the business of game music, and the technology behind the scenes.

T-3: Taking Up Space: Understanding and Implementing 3D Audio

Scott Selfon, Microsoft

High fidelity, non-repetitive sound effects and ambience are only the beginning of a compelling in-game sound experience. Titles are increasingly exploring sophisticated real-time sound manipulation to enhance both realism and immersion. This talk will explore these aspects as they relate to the "virtual world" of the game's universe - dynamic simulation of position, distance, interaction with game geometry, and environmental reverberation techniques will be discussed. This talk will additionally cover simulation challenges and aesthetic considerations particular to interactive gameplay.

T-4: Introduction to synthesis for interactive applications

Leonard Paul, Lotus Audio, Vancouver, BC, Canada

There are many promising synthesis methods that have become practical for use on modern consoles due to the advanced processing power of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Methods such as physical modeling, modal synthesis, granulation and others are surveyed with examples to give an insight into the leading methods for the generation of sound for today's games.

T-5: Audio for Games: An Interactive Tutorial

Richard Stevens, Dave Raybould, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, UK

This interactive tutorial builds on the introductory lectures earlier in the day and demonstrates the principles of audio for games and illustrates their technical implementation within the Unreal 3 engine. The general principles explored will cover the basics and discuss the implications and challenges of interactivity including repetition, variation and memory usage. The tutorial also methods for approaching musical interactivity Demonstrations include reactive and adaptive audio; dynamic switching of sound; algorithmic and generative sound; processing, mixing and controlling sound for aesthetic effect. A demonstration of a project built using these techniques is available for attendees to explore.

T-6: Dummies Guide to DSP for Games

Jason Page, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

Moving from hardware to software-based audio in game development has presented a new working paradigm for game developers. This is a shift that Sony Computer Entertainment had to respond to very quickly when creating PlayStation 3 MultiStream Audio Engine. This talk reviews the techniques and optimizations used to implement DSP algorithms for real-time in-game use. The audio team spent a lot of the development time planning ahead for the future needs of game developers. This talk also takes a retrospective look at how game developers are making use of the new tools they have, and examines what lessons can be learned as software audio engines evolve.