how to make soundeffects
md
we are making a puzzle game. It is tile-based (isometric view), we render all our graphics with
truespace (which we consider a really excellent tool!), and we think the game is starting to
look very good. Coding the engine is progressing fine as well. So development is moving on
quite nicely .... .except for the sounds ! We do not have a good tool for creating soundeffects
for this game. We would like to have sounds for explosions, mechanical sounds etc. Any tips on
how to make these? software that may help? In our previous games, we did not spend a lot of
time/effort on sounds, but this game is bigger and, for us, more important. Any help
appreciated.
thanks.
--
PFF Software: Software that makes you think
www.pff-software.nl
Games for Windows, PocketPC and Web
cr88192
"md" <not given to avoid spam> wrote in message
news:40393111$0$557$e4fe...@news.xs4all.nl...
> Hi,
>
> we are making a puzzle game. It is tile-based (isometric view), we render
all our graphics with
> truespace (which we consider a really excellent tool!), and we think the
game is starting to
> look very good. Coding the engine is progressing fine as well. So
development is moving on
> quite nicely .... .except for the sounds ! We do not have a good tool for
creating soundeffects
> for this game. We would like to have sounds for explosions, mechanical
sounds etc. Any tips on
> how to make these? software that may help? In our previous games, we did
not spend a lot of
> time/effort on sounds, but this game is bigger and, for us, more
important. Any help
> appreciated.
>
don't recommend this approach, as someone might actually notice/care). I
think it is "acceptable" for free games, but most likely not if the game
might actually be sold.
personally I use an older version of cooledit. I had considered writing my
own, but really, it works and I am not really into sound stuff anyways.
I don't have any specific tips either, usually my approaches consisted of
playing with things until I got something ok,
eg: noise+envelope+amplify (a whole lot)+some echo ... could be used to pull
off explosions.
headphones are cool, as then I can make all the noise I want and no one can
really hear it besides me...
generating tones at various frequencies, overlaying with noise, maybe
modulating it or adding some echo could get ok mechanical noises, ...
others may have ideas for more effective approaches though.
mcheu
wrote::
>Hi,
>
>we are making a puzzle game. It is tile-based (isometric view), we render all our graphics with
>truespace (which we consider a really excellent tool!), and we think the game is starting to
>look very good. Coding the engine is progressing fine as well. So development is moving on
>quite nicely .... .except for the sounds ! We do not have a good tool for creating soundeffects
>for this game. We would like to have sounds for explosions, mechanical sounds etc. Any tips on
>how to make these? software that may help? In our previous games, we did not spend a lot of
>time/effort on sounds, but this game is bigger and, for us, more important. Any help
>appreciated.
>
>thanks.
Microphone, recording device, and a sound editing software like Cool
Edit, or SoundForge to remove any unwanted background noise or to
tweak the sound to get a desired effect. The drawback is that the
sound might not sound quite as clean as a professionally recorded
archive sound, but the +ive is that this way won't cost as much, and
you own the sound, so there are fewer legal IP issues.
You could hunt on the net for royalty free sound collections, if you
don't want to do it yourself, but they will cost you some money, and
your audio will end up sounding like everyone else (you'll notice that
the same sound fx get recycled over and over on TV shows?, that's
because of these sound collections). You may still want to invest in
a sound editing program, just so you can tweak the sound a bit -- so
it doesn't sound the same as someone else using the same sound
collection.
----------------------------------------
Thanks,
MCheu
cr88192
"mcheu" <mpc...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:n4si30t1jo6459p7d...@4ax.com...
editing software...
eg:
with a few minutes work I can achieve a decent sounding explosion.
a little tweaking and it sounds like a gunshot.
...
for basic game sound effects this should work pretty good, and it would be
probably difficult to find a lot of game sound effects in reality.
or am I just approaching this somewhat from the wrong direction?...
md
> wrote::
>
> >Hi,
> >
> >we are making a puzzle game. It is tile-based (isometric view), we render all our graphics
with
> >truespace (which we consider a really excellent tool!), and we think the game is starting to
> >look very good. Coding the engine is progressing fine as well. So development is moving on
> >quite nicely .... .except for the sounds ! We do not have a good tool for creating
soundeffects
> >for this game. We would like to have sounds for explosions, mechanical sounds etc. Any tips
on
> >how to make these? software that may help? In our previous games, we did not spend a lot of
> >time/effort on sounds, but this game is bigger and, for us, more important. Any help
> >appreciated.
> >
> >thanks.
>
> Microphone, recording device, and a sound editing software like Cool
> Edit, or SoundForge to remove any unwanted background noise or to
well, that's what we are using, compared to all the sophisticated graphics programs, this seems
a bit primitive though.
md
"cr88192" <cr8...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:103iht7...@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "md" <not given to avoid spam> wrote in message
> news:40393111$0$557$e4fe...@news.xs4all.nl...
> > Hi,
> >
> > we are making a puzzle game. It is tile-based (isometric view), we render
> all our graphics with
> > truespace (which we consider a really excellent tool!), and we think the
> game is starting to
> > look very good. Coding the engine is progressing fine as well. So
> development is moving on
> > quite nicely .... .except for the sounds ! We do not have a good tool for
> creating soundeffects
> > for this game. We would like to have sounds for explosions, mechanical
> sounds etc. Any tips on
> > how to make these? software that may help? In our previous games, we did
> not spend a lot of
> > time/effort on sounds, but this game is bigger and, for us, more
> important. Any help
> > appreciated.
> >
> some people seem just to rip off sound effects from other games (though I
> don't recommend this approach, as someone might actually notice/care). I
> think it is "acceptable" for free games, but most likely not if the game
> might actually be sold.
we do not want to use sounds from other games, as this is illegal, even if no one notices! and
even if our game was free (which it is not).
cr88192
"md" <not given to avoid spam> wrote in message
I was not really recommending this in any case, only noting that I have seen
people do this...
with my ability to hear, I could notice: sound effect A in some game is
*exactly the same* as some sound effect B in some other game, and are pretty
much identical in terms of a sound editor...
this could be due to "sound effect cd's" for all I know, but I am unsure
about that...
md
"cr88192" <cr8...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:103jf5v...@corp.supernews.com...
you are right, many games "sound" the same. Although it is a pity, it suggests to me that
soundeffects are hard to make.
Gerry Quinn
>You could purchase a royalty-free sound effects library, or find
>royalty-free sound effects on the web, and post process them through an
>audio editor of your choice to get the feel that you want...a quick
>search turned up the following;
>
>GameDev listing
>http://www.gamedev.net/reference/list.asp?categoryid=82
>
>SFX CD (400 SFX + button clicks & music loops, $50)
>http://forwardproductions.com/soundf.html
>
>SFX CD[s?] (890 SFX, personal $10, commercial $30)
>http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com/
>
>Web downloads (unvalidated collection, may be copyright issues)
>http://simplythebest.net/sounds/index.html
Places like clipart.com have sounds too, and you're less likely to be
hit by 'unknown copyright' issues.
Of course, if you start with any sound and tweak it until it's
unrecognisable, that is probably fair use.
As for editors, I use GoldWave (don't know how it compares, just
mentioning it because nobody else did.)
Don't forget that the size of your sound files counts if you're
distributing on the net.
Gerry Quinn
--
http://bindweed.com
Screensavers, Games, Kaleidoscopes
Download free trial versions
MCheu
> I don't see why one can't just totally make the sound effect with the
> editing software...
>
> eg:
> with a few minutes work I can achieve a decent sounding explosion.
> a little tweaking and it sounds like a gunshot.
> ...
I didn't say it wasn't possible to do this. However, "decent
sounding" is relative. A totally artificial sound effect may _sound_
fake. Sort of like a bad CGI shot in a movie. Somehow, you can tell
it's fake, but can't quite put your finger on why, and it totally
takes you out of the moment. If the purpose for the effect doesn't
require realism, then sure, you can get away with something totally
artificial. The other thing is that if you're not all that skilled
with your editing software, a recorded sound provides you with a
starting point that's pretty decent to begin with, as well as the
subharmonics which make the sound more realistic.
> for basic game sound effects this should work pretty good, and it would be
> probably difficult to find a lot of game sound effects in reality.
> or am I just approaching this somewhat from the wrong direction?...
You don't have to use the sound effects for any specific purpose. For
example, in the Empire Strikes back George Lucas' fx people used the
recorded sounds of an industrial stamping machine as the AT-AT stomp.
Another is that ID used the sound of a cannon for their shotgun effect
in DOOM -- apparently they felt that a real shotgun sounded too wimpy.
I agree that you can start out with a blank slate, and create a fake
sound from scratch on an editor. However, not all of us have the
skills necessary to create an 80% convincing simulation of a
particular sound. Starting out with a real sound as a template, even
if it's not an authentic source allows a nice starting point from
which to tweak and it will have sub harmonics which will make the
sound more realistic.
As for going all out with authenticity, that depends on your audience
and your objectives. If you're doing a simple game that's not based
on reality, then you're creating the game world, your rules, your
sounds. Do whatever. If it's based in reality though, and you're
going for immersion, having the authentic sounds will add to that.
End of the day, it's your game, and your choices. Go with whatever
you think best fits your game.
chris
"md" <not given to avoid spam> wrote in message
news:4039b830$0$572$e4fe...@news.xs4all.nl...
I can assure you that with a more expensive microphone, that's exactly what
proffesional radio people and film makers do :) Except they sometimes do
alot of twiddling
Chri>
cr88192
"md" <not given to avoid spam> wrote in message
I am not sure if it is "hard" (I never really had much problem).
maybe I am just "skilled" with randomly throwing together features of the
sound editor, or maybe most people don't really want to.
yet, maybe, most people don't have the needed software.
to me, actually going and recording sound effects is harder.
I can't really answer for others myself though...
cr88192
"MCheu" <mpc...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:72e0dc8b.04022...@posting.google.com...
> "cr88192" <cr8...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:<103j8os...@corp.supernews.com>...
>
> > I don't see why one can't just totally make the sound effect with the
> > editing software...
> >
> > eg:
> > with a few minutes work I can achieve a decent sounding explosion.
> > a little tweaking and it sounds like a gunshot.
> > ...
>
> I didn't say it wasn't possible to do this. However, "decent
> sounding" is relative. A totally artificial sound effect may _sound_
> fake. Sort of like a bad CGI shot in a movie. Somehow, you can tell
> it's fake, but can't quite put your finger on why, and it totally
> takes you out of the moment. If the purpose for the effect doesn't
> require realism, then sure, you can get away with something totally
> artificial. The other thing is that if you're not all that skilled
> with your editing software, a recorded sound provides you with a
> starting point that's pretty decent to begin with, as well as the
> subharmonics which make the sound more realistic.
>
I hadn't really thought of this, but personally I hadn't really thought
sounding "real" was all that important (just like the fact that game
characters typically don't really look real either, but they are close
enough...).
what I have a problem with is a lot of cg voices though. even though now
they are "close", the often slighly odd pronunciation and weird noises can
ruin things a little...
> > for basic game sound effects this should work pretty good, and it would
be
> > probably difficult to find a lot of game sound effects in reality.
> > or am I just approaching this somewhat from the wrong direction?...
>
> You don't have to use the sound effects for any specific purpose. For
> example, in the Empire Strikes back George Lucas' fx people used the
> recorded sounds of an industrial stamping machine as the AT-AT stomp.
> Another is that ID used the sound of a cannon for their shotgun effect
> in DOOM -- apparently they felt that a real shotgun sounded too wimpy.
>
ok.
> I agree that you can start out with a blank slate, and create a fake
> sound from scratch on an editor. However, not all of us have the
> skills necessary to create an 80% convincing simulation of a
> particular sound. Starting out with a real sound as a template, even
> if it's not an authentic source allows a nice starting point from
> which to tweak and it will have sub harmonics which will make the
> sound more realistic.
>
yes.
if I had "realistic" sounds to work with this might be ok.
I just have myself and my computer, and lack of anthing that can do
recording or a source of canned sfx...
> As for going all out with authenticity, that depends on your audience
> and your objectives. If you're doing a simple game that's not based
> on reality, then you're creating the game world, your rules, your
> sounds. Do whatever. If it's based in reality though, and you're
> going for immersion, having the authentic sounds will add to that.
> End of the day, it's your game, and your choices. Go with whatever
> you think best fits your game.
yes.
I am not really a game programmer though (as I typically fall short on any
real imagination, and most of my work seems to focus itself on technical
stuff...). one can fantasize though, but if I wanted to do a real game I
would probably need someone with some imagination...
just for me a bunch of somewhat fake sounding sfx is ok...
if it were just up to me, I would probably end up adding a lot of the sfx
generation stuff (eg: echo filters and whatever) in the engine, eg, so a lot
of sfx could be generated at runtime. this wouldn't be best for "realism",
but might add to "depth"...
I don't know.
R. Alan Monroe
>> >quite nicely .... .except for the sounds ! We do not have a good tool for
> creating
>soundeffects
>> >for this game. We would like to have sounds for explosions, mechanical
> sounds etc. Any tips
>on
>> >how to make these? software that may help? In our previous games, we did not
> spend a lot of
>> >time/effort on sounds, but this game is bigger and, for us, more important.
> Any help
>> >appreciated.
>> >
>> >thanks.
>>
>> Microphone, recording device, and a sound editing software like Cool
>> Edit, or SoundForge to remove any unwanted background noise or to
>> tweak the sound to get a desired effect. \
>
>well, that's what we are using, compared to all the sophisticated graphics
> programs, this seems
>a bit primitive though.
I vaguely remember seeing a making-of video on the first Myst game and
they used some pretty simplistic things to do the sounds, like
clinking wrenches together and slowing it down for clock chimes.
Alan