Monday, November 12, 2007

Audio Arts – Major Project Semester 2, 2007 – Game Audio

**Audio Arts – Major Project Semester 2, 2007 – Game Audio**

Ive got something for you...cm'on, don't be afraid...

Here is my final submission at the satisfying end of a painful and intimidating process. The main issue I have had with this project all along is the fact that I haven’t really understood the process until the last minute, making for some very frantic audio creation and intake of information regarding OSX file handling. All said and done though, I feel somewhat empowered by overcoming the adversity of the unknown world of game audio.

Meh, I've seen bigger..guns.

Video games and the programs that drive them are horrendously complicated, so in the end I think we all have done well to focus on the area of audio and bypass the nasty C-code of the various Game Audio Engines. I have created much more than my quota for the open arena level in question, and certain sounds are not being used in the ‘Kaos’ level at all. All the same, the quantity of sound I have provided enables one to play all four of the immediately accessible levels of OA with mostly ‘David J Dowling’ signature sound on display.

Trying to be too crafty with level (amplitude) setting was my only real mistake in asset creation. This was an area where knowing a little about the GAE would have come in handy, for some initial guidelines. In hindsight, I would have been better off just making all the sounds as loud as possible and reducing the amplitudes of the scant few that needed it in post-production. All these niggling frustrations are in the past now, and all can bask in the sonic gore fest of my Open Arena foley.

To anyone who is wondering about how to access the music track of the game, you must be in the menu window, press the tilda (~) key, and type “music sonic1” without the quotation marks. Sonic1 is the name of the music track that I have created for the game and embedded with the others in the package.

Remember the level ‘Kaos’ is the one I specifically created assets for, so the background ambience is tailored to this level and will not be played in others. Some of the other sounds can be heard in other levels such as water diving and splashing footsteps for instance (there is no water on the Kaos level).

Click here
to link to online folder containing Process and Asset documentation and Potentially the game file, or instructions as to how to acquire it (it will be too big for the hosting company to accept so we will need to talk to Christian about organising a server spot).


Reference:

Haines, Christian. “Audio Arts – Semester 2, 2007 – Game Audio.” Series of Lectures and major project tuition presented at the University of Adelaide, August to November, 2007.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Creative Computing Major Project - Semester 2, 2007

Creative Computing Major Project - Semester 2, 2007

The main interface..

Well folks, here it is - The "Aqua Tower". Welcome to yet another revolution in sight and sound from DJD enterprises. I have included my analysis in the body of this blog, so there is no need to download it. The other documentation and audio of my performance with the Tower, can be accessed via the link at the bottom of this entry.

The mixing window..

Composition Analysis
Name David J Dowling

Course Creative Computing IIB


Initially this was to be a combination of five samplers, all in sync and cross-accessible on the fly. Due to programming difficulties and time constraints, I have had to settle for one but shall expand the MSP patch at a later date. That being said, I believe the restriction has proven itself worthwhile, as there was only one enormous set of parameters for me to control during a performance.

The Granulator control station..

The objective behind my program is to enable quick access to samples for manipulation via granular synthesis and standard effects such as delay/flanging. The interface is detailed, but straightforward and easy to use. I have used a theme of deep sea diving for the motivation behind my piece, as it seems to fit with the visual presentation of my program.


The Delay Controller..

The performance itself is of electro acoustic quality, with an emphasis on tension and release from intensity of sound, rather than utilising conventional tonal methods. The source of audio for the sampler is a batch of guitar tones that were recorded in Studio one and EMU space during the semester. I have chosen to use distorted or ‘dirty’ sounding tones and chords, as I have heard a lot of electro acoustic music that utilises clean guitar signals for audio (even made some myself last year), and I wanted to try something a little different.


The Autopan Controller..

Although there were a couple of ‘licks’ thrown into the recording batch, there is little in the way of conventional sounding guitar music of any kind in the final product. This was my intention all along, and even if it was not, the MSP patch I have created demands a lot of attention for controlling its numerous parameters, leaving little time for non-electronic experimentation.


The Speed Ramp Controller..

While Max/MSP is a wonderfully diverse and intuitive tool for software design, it can easily become too complicated for the user to control or understand. A problem one faces when building a program for creative purposes, is to continually invent and add new features that were never intended initially, simply because you can. At its stage of completion, my interface, when unlocked, reveals a bit of a rats nest of cables, which I ran out of time for organising. The bulk of the mess is from little things too, like loadbangs, keyboard shortcuts, and menu item access. I did my best to make the audio signal easy to follow.


The Flanger Controller..

Despite these confusing issues the program works, and the real task ahead is to become fluent in using the interface. Even though I have written all the shortcuts and tricks of the program, I have yet to produce a satisfying five-minute performance from the unit. As we all discovered during the hardware instrument building and improvising phase of this year’s forum, it is one thing to make the instrument, another thing entirely to play it.

Click here to link to online folder containing other documentation in PDF format and an MP3 of my performance.


Reference:

Haines, Christian. "Creative Computing 2 – Music and Sound Processing – Electroacoustic Performance." Lectures and tuition undertaken at Level 4 and Level 5, Schultz building, University of Adelaide, October/November 2007.