COSC 499.101 Game Audio

Foley Research and syllabus

Research on foley by starting with these two sites. Also, there are updates to the syllabus so check regularly.

1. World of Foley
2. Foley Artistry

Reading Assignment and Recording Work

As this is an independent study, I assume that you're all reading through our textbook as our class progresses. I now want you to concentrate on Chapters 8, 9 & 10 as you will need them for this assignment. Also, research the web and use that tutorial I pointed out to you many posts ago.

1. Create a seemless music loop (Use music that contains no percussion such as drums, cymbals, bells or woodblocks)
2. Using Foley and NOT sound libraries, create the sound effect of a character running in a muddy forest that turns into quicksand which pulls him/her under
3. A bustling alien planet
   

I want each of you to correctly upload these three assignments on your server and then post your server links to your work in our blog. Then, I'd like each of you to comment on the work of your classmates.

As for naming converntions, please call them AudEx1, AudEx2 and AudEx3.

If you want my comments early on, try to complete some if not all of this by Friday June 30 at 2 pm. If not, you have until Monday July 10 by 5 pm to complete this.

How to correctly upload your work to the student servers

Having received papers from some of you, I've discovered that none of you uploaded your work correctly. Essentially, I should just be able to access it by clicking on your link and not having to use an FTP client. I do not have FTP access to the student server. Therefore, it is essential for you to send me a hypertext link using HTTP and NOT FTP. Here's the procedure to correctly upload your work. Please make the necessary changes for your current paper and any other future work.

The url to your game folder inside your folder is:

http://student-iat.ubalt.edu/sde/students/yourlastnamegoeshere/GameAudio/

Please follow the naming convention as laid out in the syllabus and send links

that conform EXACTLY to that convention. Do not use dot-syntax or leave spaces in the names. Please use internal capitalization ("camel syntax").

If you still have problems, seek help from the administrator (that would be Stuart Moulthrop).

Hi Folks, a word about your musical selection for your respective games.

1) Popular music: pop songs, rock songs and heavy metal songs are often inappropriate as video game music because they can obscure your other sound effects, from character sounds to enviromental sounds. Such songs can also distract your players.

2) You will find film and classical music far more suitable.

3) Use music from a variety of styles and sounds yet ensure they fit well with the gameplay.

Movie Music links

Hey Folks, start thinking about your movies for your first assignment due sooner than you think (See Syllabus). Here are some excellent sites to help you out.

http://www.musicfromthemovies.com
an invaluable site with movie reviews

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com
a great site for film composers.

http://www.gamestudies.org
one of the few academic sites. Some articles on music

Play around with these two websites and explore them thoroughly, particularly their articles. They will be invaluable for your first assignments.

Audacity Tutorial

Hi Folks, I hope that you've all downloaded audacity by now since you need it for your final projects. Start playing around with the program and get thinking about sounds you could create for your final. Here's a good guide and introduction to the program.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/tutorials

Start thinking about music in games

Hi folks, please go to this website http://www.petermc.com/Demo/index.html
and listen to "The Milkman Conspiracy." Now I'm sure we've all seen The Twilight Zone. This level of Psychonauts for the PS2 recreates some of that mystery and feeling that all is not right with the world. Comment on how McConnell portrays a musical portrait of paranoia and creepy conspiracies. Consider things like:

• Contrasts of high and low sounds
• The sound quality of instruments used. Example: In many survival horror games, very high piercing violins are used to create tension.
• Is the music calm? Does it flow? Are there any interruptions and what kind?
• How does McConnell direct your emotions when you listen to this piece?
  
• What do you feel when you listen to this piece?
  

The First Beat

Welcome to our class blog. Here, we'd share our research and thoughts on game audio. I hope that this forum will allow you to realize how important audio is to games. On to the first item at hand. Please blog about your assigned composer as detailed in the syllabus and let's have a good discussion.