Welcome to the fourth volume of Game Audio Programming: Principles and Practices – the first series of its kind dedicated to the art, science, and craft of game audio programming. This volume contains 17 chapters from some of the top game audio programmers in the industry and dives into subjects that apply to diverse game genres and from low-level topics such as thread-safe command buffers and pitch detection to high-level topics such as object management, music systems, and audio tools.
With such a wide variety of topics, game audio programmers of all levels will find something for them in this book. The techniques presented in this book have all been used to ship games, including some large AAA titles, so they are all practical and many will find their way into your audio engines. There are chapters about timed ADSRs, data-driven music systems, background sounds, and more.
This book collects a wealth of advanced knowledge and wisdom about game audio programming. If you are new to game audio programming or a seasoned veteran, or even if you’ve just been assigned the task and are trying to figure out what it’s all about, this book is for you!
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Contributors
Section I: Game Integration
Chapter 1 Audio Object Management Techniques
CHRISTIAN TRONHJEM
Chapter 2 State-Based Dynamic Mixing
COLIN WALDER
Chapter 3 Timed ADSRs for One-Shot Sounds
GUY SOMBERG
Chapter 4 Systemic Approaches to Random Sound Effects
MICHAEL FILION
Chapter 5 The Jostle System: A Baked Solution to Environmental Interaction Sounds
ALEX PAPPAS
Chapter 6 Background Sounds
GUY SOMBERG
Chapter 7 Data-Driven Music Systems for Open Worlds
MICHELLE AUYOUNG
Section II : Low-Level Topics
Chapter 8 Finding the Intersection of a Box and a Circle
GUY SOMBERG
Chapter 9 Building a Pitch Tracker: Fundamentals
DAVID SU
Chapter 10 Building a Pitch Tracker: Practical Techniques
DAVID SU
Chapter 11 Flexible Delay Lines: Practical Methods for Varying Sample-Rate Delays During Playback
ROBERT BANTIN
Chapter 12 Thread-Safe Command Buffer
GUY SOMBERG
Section III : Tools
Chapter 13 Optimizing Audio Designer Workflows
MATIAS LIZANA GARCíA
Chapter 14 An Introduction to "An Introduction to Audio Tools Development"
SIMON N. GOODWIN
Chapter 15 An Introduction to Audio Tools Development
JORGE GARCIA
Chapter 16 Audio Debugging Tools and Techniques
STÉPHANE BEAUCHEMIN
Chapter 17 Automatic Manual Foley and Footsteps
PABLO SCHWILDEN DIAZ
INDEX
Biography
Guy Somberg has been programming audio engines for his entire career. From humble beginnings writing a low-level audio mixer for slot machines, he quickly transitioned to writing game audio engines for all manner of games. He has written audio engines that shipped AAA games like Hellgate: London, Bioshock 2, The Sims 4, and Torchlight 3, as well as smaller titles like Minion Master, Tales from the Borderlands, and Game of Thrones. Guy has also given several talks at the Game Developer Conference, the Audio Developer Conference, and CppCon. When he’s not programming or writing game audio programming books, he can be found at home reading, playing video games, and playing the flute
