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Nordic Game Conference 2008

Published on Sunday, May 18, 2008 in Games, Inspirations and Theory. 0 Comments

On the 14th and 15th of May - last week - I attended the Nordic Game Conference in Malmö for the first time. It is always exciting to hear about products in development and future releases. And it is also a lot of fun to meet and talk to other professionals and students - but I must admit, that I am a bit disappointed.

There were no talks on game audio!!!

But there were two talks that I found interesting:

  • EVE Online
  • LEGO Star Wars - LEGO Indiana Jones.

EVE Online
The speakers on the talk about EVE Online were PhD students working at CCP Games. Their research gave a deeper aspect to the whole idea and future development of MMO games.

One of the subjects regarding the MMO EVE Online was emergence and social structures in EVE Online. In the light of MMO development - giving the players the right tools to emerge can open more opportunities for players in EVE.

The speaker’s research was based on how small systems of structures interact with other systems and how their interaction have an impact on the formation of larger structures - like for instance how social networks and interactions can create formations. As an example he talked about how all the players in EVE at one point formed two large Alliences that went to war with each other. Another example was how 4000 players build a Titan together. A consequence, of this collaboration between 4000 players, was the impact on other trade and economic systems within EVE, such as the marketprices for minerals and mining. So in many aspects the MMO is a mirror of our society in real life.

Another subject that was interesting was the social institutions in EVE. The talk was based on how EVE has developed as a society and how players specialize in professions beyond in-game professions and how the populations are distributed in EVE.

The most interesting subject though was CCP Games development of the Council of Stellar Management 2.0 for EVE Online. CSM 2.0 is going to be a council of 9 representatives democratically voted by EVE Online players. This gives possible candidates the opportunity to campaign politically in forums and web sites. The winning candidates are then encouraged to step up as real persons and work together with CCP to handle and solve issues in EVE Online. This is a very interesting development because the empowering of players opens up for a whole bunch of opportunities in the online community!

LEGO Star Wars - LEGO Indiana Jones
The talk on Lego Star Wars was not particularly interesting - apart from the introduction of the conference, where the speakers came up to the stage as hostages of Darth Vader!

Anyway - I am definetely going to pre-order LEGO Indiana Jones! I can tell you that the demo and in-game sequences looked awsome!!!

Festival Dance Tune

Published on Monday, April 14, 2008 in Music, SFX and Sound Tag. 0 Comments

I have just composed a new ringtone for my mobilephone!

The annual Roskilde Festival gave me the inspiration to this dance ringtone. The beat is composed of sounds from cans, zips, jar lids and muddy footsteps. Have a listen to it and enjoy!

Nordic Game Jam 2008

Published on Sunday, March 9, 2008 in Game Audio, Games, Inspirations, Music, SFX and Theory. 0 Comments

I attended the Nordic Game Jam for the first time this year and it was a great experience!!! It was fun and hard work at the same time and I am now thinking: Where was I the previous years?!

There are so many talents and the Nordic Game Jam is a perfect opportunity for people to meet across universities and industries - professionals, students and hobbiests. The best part of NGJ 08 was to see how many different design ideas, graphics and game play concepts people could contribute with - all based on the subject of ‘taboo’. I did not sleep much during the game jam, but it was all worth it!

I was responsible for sound design on the following 3 games:

Yum Me

Taboo Tiles

Torturama

All the game concepts that were developed during the event can be viewed at Nordic Game Jam 08

Enjoy!

Game Audio: Interviews with programmers, voice actor & audio director

Published on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 in Audio Implementation, Audio Software & Hardware, Game Audio, Games, Inspirations, Music and SFX. 0 Comments

This is an interesting broadcast on game audio and why it is so important in games. The broadcast contains interviews with programmers, a really good voice actor and audio director. The interesting stuff starts from around 02:46 - Enjoy!

Game Audio: The Blindfold Test

Published on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 in Audio Implementation, Game Audio, Games, Inspirations, Music, SFX and Theory. 0 Comments

In my previous post I discussed the importance of setting up thorough test procedures for audio testing. BUT the challenge of interactive audio design is how well the music design enhances the drama perceived by game player.

Although computer games is a visual media - it might be necessary to perform an audio test without visuals when considering the actual music design. Some of the most important aspects of music design are:

  • How well the music themes enhance the drama perceived by player
  • Whether more variations - or even silence - would be needed
  • How the dynamic levels are compared to sound design and dialog

My idea for audio testing the relationship between music, sound design and dialogue is the blindfold test.

The blindfold test would require two games testers - QA1 and QA2:

Part 1:

  • QA1 is blindfolded and wearing headphones connected to the console, where game play is going to be performed
  • QA2 plays through a level - music and sound effects are turned on
  • QA1 listens to the game play QA2 is performing.

This procedure can be used to find out how well the musical context and sound effects correspond to the gaming experience - meaning the players experience of drama, emotion and ‘inner visual’ experience.

Part 2:

  • QA1 plays the same level without blindfold and headphones - music and sound effects are turned off
  • QA1 plays the same level without blindfold but with headphones - music and sound effects are turned on

Part 3:

  • QA1 makes a comparison of all 3 tests.

Comparing the 3 tests would be a way to find out how well the musical context and sound effects correspond to the graphic context.

The blindfold test can not stand alone as a method to test the music design, but can be used as a support to the audio testing procedures*. Developing and optimizing test procedures is one of the important steps towards better audio design in future game development.

*See post ‘Game Audio: Audio Testing’