OTHER TECHNICAL HURDLES

There are a few more wires to connect, in code and in your brain, before you’re ready to install a working sound system in your game. Most sounds are tied directly to game objects or events. Even music is tied to the intensity of the game or, even better, the impending intensity of the game! Tying sounds to game objects and synchronization are critical problems in any game sound system. If you have multiple effects at one time, you’ll also have to worry about mixing issues.

Sounds and Game Objects

Imagine the following game situation: A wacky machine in a lab is active and makes some kind of “wub-wub-wub” sound tied to an animation. Your hero, armed with his favorite plasma grenade, tosses one over to the machine and stands back to watch the fun. The grenade explodes, taking the wacky machine and the “wub-wub-wub” noise with it. What’s really going on in the background?