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Creating Audio Content for Mobile Games

Creating Audio Content for Mobile Games. Presented by: Ben Long. Personal History:. Memphis, TN “Birthplace of Rock and Roll” . Personal History:. Personal History:. Personal History:. Personal History:. Personal History:. Personal History:. Personal History:. Personal History:.

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Creating Audio Content for Mobile Games

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  1. Creating Audio Content for Mobile Games Presented by: Ben Long

  2. Personal History: Memphis, TN “Birthplace of Rock and Roll”

  3. Personal History:

  4. Personal History:

  5. Personal History:

  6. Personal History:

  7. Personal History:

  8. Personal History:

  9. Personal History:

  10. Personal History: Monster Panic (my first mobile game)

  11. Audio meets computers =

  12. A Brief History of Audio in Mobile Games First mobile game in history: Nokia ‘ Snake’ released in 1997

  13. A Brief History of Audio in Mobile Games Color graphics and sound were slowly introduced as the power of mobile devices increased

  14. A Brief History of Audio in Mobile Games Graphics advanced quickly but audio limitations remained

  15. A Brief History of Audio in Mobile Games Graphics advanced quickly but audio limitations remained

  16. A Brief History of Audio in Mobile Games • Limitations: • Small speaker size continues to be a challenge • Limited to frequencies between 100hz and 4khz • Size constraints leave very little room for audio • Early phones only supported basic MIDI technology • Audio quality sounds similar to a ringtone (harsh) • Phone brands have different audio specifications

  17. A Brief History of Audio in Mobile Games Graphics advanced quickly but audio limitations remained

  18. Fragmentation Each computer has a different way of singing the same song!

  19. Symbian Game project example: A Brief History of Audio in Mobile Games This is a sample of the music style the developer wanted

  20. Back to Reality! • Project Requirements • Size limit for entire game – 60K • Size limit for music – 4K • Developer required .MID format • Developer based in Turkey, where bandwidth is limited • General MIDI sound quality is nothing like a live orchestra! • Playback had to be tested on 40 different phones • Each one sounds different when playing the same MIDI song

  21. mobile games composer: I thought I would be making music!

  22. Mobile Today’s mobile landscape iPhone Android Blackberry Palm OS Windows Phone 7 Symbian OS Java ME (Sun) BREW (Qualcomm)

  23. Mobile The iPhone Revolution Audio quality is greatly increased • Total app size limit is 2GB overall • Total app size is 20MB (over cellular network) • Almost every audio file format is supported • MP3s are finally supported (bringing rich sound) • Uncompressed WAV and AIFF files also supported

  24. Mobile The iPhone Revolution Challenges with developing audio • Speaker size remains a limitation • Looping MP3 files can be problematic • Audio must be appealing when heard repetitively • Headphone use must also be considered • Audio can occupy 50% or more of entire game

  25. Mobile The iPhone Revolution General tips for developing audio • Background music/ambience are typically MP3 • Mono MP3 files (96kbps) save a lot of space • Use WAV files for User Interface and short sounds • Check volume levels for consistency on iPod • Create a test build to check for audio bugs

  26. Mobile The iPhone Revolution Payload: Truck Game for iPhone • Object sounds • Background music • Soundscape and ambience • Quality of overlapping audio

  27. Mobile The iPhone Revolution 8 Planets: Educational game for iPhone • Object sounds • Background music • Soundscape and ambience • Human voice adds realism to games

  28. Mobile Android Considerations General tips for developing audio • OGG format natively supported on Android OS • OGG superior to MP3 in quality, size and looping • WAV & MP3 are problematic in Android game dev • Test content on growing number of new handsets • Galaxy Tablet should be included in QA process

  29. Mobile Quality Headphones are important Sony – MDR 7506 • The headphone of choice in studios worldwide • Flat frequency response and very accurate • High quality sound and inexpensive

  30. Mobile The secret of mixing audio for mobile? • Open headphones and lay them on the desk!

  31. Mobile Lode Runner for iPhone 1983 2011 My Tasks: • Preserve and restore original sound effects • Create new music for the menu and credits screen • Modify audio content for 20MB app limit

  32. Mobile Lode Runner for iPhone Main menu • A games main menu is like a lounge or lobby area • Player should be able to relax and prepare • Music needs to fit the era (1983) and sound cool

  33. Mobile Lode Runner for iPhone • Repair pops and clicks in broken sounds

  34. Mobile Lode Runner for iPhone • Original game sounds needed volume and EQ changes • Original game had no background music either! • Always use the same sample rate for files (44.1khz/16bit)

  35. Mobile Lode Runner for iPhone credits screen • It sounds too good, can you make it sound worse?

  36. Mobile Thank You! contact me: info@noisebuffet.com

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