Introduction

If a picture can tell a thousand words, a note can tell at least nine hundred and forty five - the soundscape of a game can be just as instrumental in building atmosphere and a professional impression as the graphical style and overall art direction, if only you'll let it.

Take the games of Nicklas 'Nifflas' Nygren, creator of (amongst others) Within a Deep Forest and the Knytt series, whose releases are arguably as well-known for their ambient soundtrack and evocative atmosphere as they are for their straightfoward, minimalist gameplay and presentation.

Having a strong, dynamic soundscape for your game will lend your work a professionalism that conveys care, craft and charm. This article will introduce to you a few concepts and tips to get you on your way to achieving this, and a number of links will be provided at the end of the article for further reading should you wish to learn more.



Music - Keep it Original

For every lover of looping Bee Gees MIDI files, there are three other saner folk who will send your game hurtling toward their Recycle Bin in disgust. An original soundtrack is both more fitting and immersive; what gamer doesn't enjoy playing something fresh and original? Music that is crafted around or inspired by your game's imagery and setting will compliment and add to the impression your software gives.

If you feel that a strong soundtrack would enhance the experience of your game (clue: it will), and you have the skill to make your own, it's worthwhile dedicating a fair chunk of time to the musical side of your game. If, however, like me, you don't have the time or the musical ability to create something that'd do your game justice, you may wish to find someone who does. Finding a willing musician may be much easier than you expect. As Josh Whelchel emphasises toward the end of Klikcast Episode #9, (around 12:36) there are many aspiring musicians out there who'd embrace the opportunity to work on a game, and there's no reason why yours shouldn't be it.



Working With Your Musician

Assuming you are not your own musician, (if you are, you can safely skip this bit and manage yourself!) and you're working with a dedicated musician on your project, there are a number of ways to make your working relationship a successful one. Provide material from which your musician can work. Much as the famous composer John Williams scores films to a large projection of the film, (usually a workprint, a beta in game development terms) your musician will likely benefit from having a visual representation of what the game will look like, be it actual graphics and assets from the game, an early version to play/watch, sprite mockups, or even concept art. If you have the ability to articulate what you want from the music, and how you envision your game playing/feeling, then do so - communicate to them anything and everything you feel may be helpful to them; the fuller the picture and the more you provide the better.

If the idea of scoring a videogame has attracted your musician, it is likely that they themselves have an active interest in and knowledge of videogames, so descriptions on how the game plays -e.g. is it frantic, laidback, lavalevel, snowy mountains, stealthy, guns blazing, fast racing, fishing, etc etc is also likely to assist.



A Quick Note On Looping and Fading

If possible, make your background music loopable - there's nothing more immersion-breaking than a track ending and repeating abruptly mid-level. If you're ending a track or piece of music (perhaps for the reasons detailed in the next paragraph), fade out.


To Play Or Not to Play?

So you have your music for your game composed and ready to roll. What now? Your next task will be deciding where and when to play it in your game - never underestimate the power of silence and selective scoring. Take Nintendo's The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; as the sun sets, the Hyrule Field theme fades out and is replaces by an oppressive soundlessness, with only the stirring of trees as company. This simple audio trick arguably creates more atmosphere than even the eeriest of pieces ever could. Use your music wisely, and don't be afraid to experiment and introduce it at different moments.



Sound effects and Sound Priority

Original sound effects are as a rule much trickier to source than musical pieces, and it is evident that there are less people out there eager to create them than there are musicians - certainly in the professional games industry. Freesound (link provided at end of article) is an excellent resource for sound effects, and your friendly neighbourhood search engine of choice will point toward a plethora of sites that sell for a small fee pretty much every sound imaginable. Yes, even that one.

If you'd like to create your own retro soundchip sound effects, I can strongly recommend using a brilliant little program called SFXR (link also provided). It's simple to use and will provide many original results.

Whether you record them yourself, generate them in SFXR or source them from an online audio library, your sound effects must always be audible and clear over any music that's playing, unless it is the specific intention to create the opposite effect, for example a cutscene mounting in tension. Be it the hollow footsteps of Tim in indie gem Braid, or the sound of a cigarette being lit in Metal Gear Solid, the sounds of the onscreen actions must always be the top priority. The musical score should compliment and accompany the game's more dynamic, reactive sound effects, never drown them out. It's called background music for a reason.



Ducking

So your music plays at the most dramatic moments, your sound effects are crisper than a packet of Wotsits and you have an allround impressive soundscape. Well done! There's one last technique I'd like to share with you, and that is the technique of ducking.

Ducking is the technique of quietening all audio channels but the one you want the viewer or player to concentrate on/notice above all others - traditionally in films it's applied to moments of important dialogue or scenes of tension. In games the scope is a little larger. It can certainly be applied to your game's moments of dialogue or instruction - written or spoken, as its main purpose is to focus the player on the onscreen proceedings - but also moments of collision, important audio cues, powerup music, flashbangs, screams, faraway noises, reloading, etc etc. The list is endless. Applying the simple technique of ducking can be hugely fun work with great results, so be sure to experiment.



One Last 'Note'
And finally: use .ogg. It's the png of the music file world, with little to no loss in sound quality over mp3 and a reduction in file size. Klikers also have the added benefit of the format being fully compatible with Multimedia Fusion 2, whilst mp3 requires an extension to play*. For a good, free .ogg converter, use Audacity (link provided).


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Links & Resources:

Klikcast Episode #9
http://www.create-games.com/klikcast.asp?id=23

Freesound
www.freesound.org

Audacity Free Audio Editor
www.audacity.sourceforge.net

Sfxr
http://digitaltools.node3000.com/blog/123-sfxr-make-your-soundeffects-with-pleasure

Gamasutra's article on 'Ducking'
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3917/game_audio_theory_ducking.php

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* At time of writing, the simplest way to play mp3 files in your MMF2 application is with the Direct Show Object, although the upcoming MMF Flash build type is confirmed as including mp3 support.