Alex’s Audio Adventures 01
Using Audio Benchmarks
Game development is a multi-stage process. In the early stages, conceptualisation is only half the battle; the real challenge lies in turning those ideas into reality. This is especially true in the realm of game audio development, where the communication of ideas relies heavily on sound representations.
In a game development team, the role of a sound designer isn't to dissect every sound detail. Instead, it’s about using audio as a holistic experience to connect with our shared vision for the game.
When I talk about "colour," "tone," or "saturation," most people think of graphic design or video editing. Yet, these terms are equally relevant in audio production. The difference lies in their interpretation - describing a sound using these terms can be quite subjective, especially for those who aren’t audio enthusiasts.
This is where "Audio Benchmarks" come in handy.
Audio Benchmarks: The Game Changer
In Alex Riviere’s book, Game Audio Mixing, a benchmark is described as a snapshot of how the team wants the audio to sound at a specific moment in the game. It's a mini mix made outside of the game engine, allowing us to build a sonic palette for different game stages. This helps set the audio quality expectations and establish guidelines for later implementation in the game engine.
The number of benchmarks a game needs depends on its scale and scope. For instance, our game, Pick-a-Pocket, had a shorter development cycle, so I had less time for creating mixes and guides. Yet, the experience taught me the importance of building a clear audio vision early on.
For our new game, Project JEL, I aim to create at least one benchmark for each environment or game state, ensuring the detailed lore and story elements are the primary focus during the conceptualization stages.
Guiding Future Development
Working on benchmarks brings the audio vision to life and tests the set guides. The more we work in this phase, the clearer our vision becomes. These benchmarks can then serve as mix and implementation guidelines.
3D Player Footsteps: Our prototype allowed us to jump into a multiplayer game, leading me to think about how players should perceive each other. Footsteps, while often overlooked, play a significant role in enhancing immersion and positional awareness. Listen to how the footsteps sound and notice the materials and mechanical elements.
Spaceship Landing Sequence: This audio clip demonstrates how sound can narrate a story. Listening closely, you can identify the spaceship's engines engaging, the thrusters touching down, and the engines' spool-down. Adding dialogue makes the sequence more immersive.
The Hub World: The environmental sounds in the hub’s promotional ads and loudspeaker announcements offer context and add to the player's immersion
For a more detailed exploration of these sounds, check out my blog.
Benchmarks in the Development Stage
Designing audio benchmarks has been a game-changer for our team. It provides a clear form of communication and helps us understand the game's design requirements. Once each benchmark is satisfactory, we can start integrating them into the game, a process that probably involves a ridiculous amount of iteration and refinement.
Oh well, that's a future problem!
Thank you so much for reading through this Dev Log. If you are interested in knowing more about what I have been working on then please feel free to check out my YouTube channel where I do all sorts of things like breaking down popular game sound effects, creating alien sounds, sharing tutorials on how to use Unreal Engine 5 Metasounds, and more!
If you would like to stay in the loop on how we are progressing with Project JEL and Pick-a-Pocket, you can join our public discord channel here: https://discord.gg/aHpVMZ6d
We would love to hear from you if you have any ideas or feedback.
Cheers,
Alex
