Unit 73 File Formats

Unit 73

File formats

Uncompressed:

WAV – waveform audio file. It is a Microsoft and IBM audio format. A WAV format is used on Windows systems for uncompressed audio.

AIFF – Audio Interchange File Format. AIFF is used for storing sound data for PCs. It can also stream multiple audio files

RIFF – Resource Interchange File Format. A generic file container format used for storing data in tagged chunks. RIFF is the same as WAV but it’s an older version, low quality audio.

AU – a simple audio file format presented by Sun Microsystems. It was used mostly on NeXT systems and early web pages.

SMP – SmartMusic Performance. Used in SmartMusic, it is a music practice application for a band, orchestra and voice.

Lossy Compression

MP3 – an audio coding format for digital audio which uses lossy data compression. MP3 file are most used for just audio just as a song or voice.

RA – a propriety audio format made by Real Networks. It was used for streaming audio by the BBC

Audio Sampling:

Resolution and bit-depth can constrain file size by the amount you use

E.g. if you look at the 2 pictures above you will see on the first one that the resolution is 72, the bit-depth is 8 and the image/file size is 452.2K. The second one is a blank A4 template, the resolution is 40, the bit depth is 32 and the image/file size is 1.77M. The further you lower the bit-depth and resolution the lower the file size will be.

Sample Rate – the number of samples of audio that are carried each second.

Mono – this means alone, so a song with a guitar solo is Mono

Stereo – Sound that is forced through 2 or more speakers so that it becomes surround sound.

Surround sound - Surround sound a realistic effect that makes you able to hear where sound is coming from. E.g. if you have headphones in playing a game and there’s an enemy to your right, you will be able to hear their footsteps through your right headphone.  

Unit 73 Exercise 3

Unit 73

Sound for Computer Games

Exercise 3

https://machinimasound.com/

https://soundcloud.com/

https://www.freesound.org/

http://audiojungle.net/

 

Kingdom Hearts 2

The mood of the music in this game is calming, they have slow rhythms until you get into battle, then the music changes to the complete opposite, it turns to an upbeat fast paced piece of music. Boss battle music is different to ordinary battle music, the boss battle music is still upbeat but it’s a bit darker and more ominous.

InFAMOUS: First Light

The mood of music in this game is upbeat when you’re just running around, but when you get into battle the music turns slightly ominous. I believe that when in battle in this game the music adds suspense.

Battlefield 4

In my opinion Battlefield 4 has the best music for a game I have played, as the music slowly builds up you get more and more into the game, but when you get into gun battle the music total changes the battle to a full out war.

 

The legal considerations when using Music/FX are that you need to make sure that it is not copyrighted because if it is, it may become a legal matter where you end up being sued.

“The UK copyright law fact sheet outlines the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the principal legislation covering intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom and the work to which it applies.”
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law