Hey everyone. Sorry for YAS (yet another sticky :P) but this is important. As you probably know if you've been around a while and bothered to check, our Music & Sound section of the resource page is pretty well... lame. However we can rectify this situation soon, as I've been talking to several audio professionals and even audio companies who are interested in writing up content about game audio. Before I do so however I want to get an idea from all of you what kind of content you would like to see published. Some examples would be

• the technical details behind audio, like resonance, acoustics/psychoacoustics, Neuro Linguistics, Laban Bartenieff Movement Analysis, Creative Systems Theory, etc
• a look at the audio production process for a game
• popular audio tools and their use
• audio in game design (audio cues, ambient sound, event-driven music, etc)
• composition and production
• voice and vocal production

Of course those are just some basic ideas, if you have your own I'd love to hear em.

I'd like to read an article on how to make, mix and edit your own sound effects, especially if it involves cheap/free tools available to a hobbyist.

All of the above. Although in particular, I'd like to see some emphasis on free and cheap tools to help people get onto the sound and audio ladder. Be wary of getting too many professionals to tell you what they use, when the budgets are going to be way out of line with what the typical forum visitor can afford. It's tempting to write something myself, actually...

Quote: Original post by Kylotan
Be wary of getting too many professionals to tell you what they use, when the budgets are going to be way out of line with what the typical forum visitor can afford

Oh I already told them about our audience, don't worry.

I think this is a great idea! One area I think is very weak is communication. Perhaps having a resource that gives non-audio related people a good grasp on the lingo used and also gives direction on how to contact an audio professional (or amateur).

For example, I get asked "how much do you charge" all of the time. Regularly, I have to point out I need more info before I can give an accurate quote. It isn't like I can just say $30 per song. There are so many other factors that tie in. Some of these factors include:

*types of rights needed (non-exclusive vs. exclusive)

*time table of development (the less time I have to work, the higher the charge)

*type of music and musicians requested (if you want me to hire a professional orchestra and choir, then it will cost more to produce the music. I'll have to charge more to cover this expense)

*references of material (some people are not used to speaking objectively about music, and giving a reference piece or two can help)

This sample music form below can be a good way to start (key word start) contracting work out. This will give the composer plenty of information and also make the client (or buyer) think things through before simply contracting out a bunch of work.

Music Request Form

Company: ______________ Project: _________________

Amount of music: ________ needed by: ___________ Platform: _______________

Game basic plot: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

style(s) of music: _________________________________________________________________

Instrument(s) to be used: _________________________________________________________________

Mood of music: _________________________________________________________________


Music to be used for: _____________________________________________________________

References

Movies: ___________________________________________________________________________

Bands: ____________________________________________________________________________

Video games: _____________________________________________________________________

Audio format needed: ____________ Loopable: Y/N ___________

Amount of payment: ______________ Method of payment: _____

Time of payment: _______________

Exclusive or non-exclusive rights: ___________________

This doesn't cover everything, but is a much better inquiry than just "how much do you charge?" From here the composer (or sound person) and the client can begin working closely together.

I hope that helps,

Nathan

Well what would be nice to read I think is something about the music theory and not just the standard theory, but orchestration, counterpoint techniques (also the 20th century ones), composing techniques used in the 20th and 21th century. History of electronic music (musique concrete, first anologe synthesizers etc).

I could write some stuff in my spare time about this if more people are also willing to know this. If I was a starter or specialised in a certain section, then this would be what I was after.

The rest of the sum-up sounds great :D Good list and all sorts of stuff I would like to read here.

Great idea you guys! What about some tutorials on the contact-side of the developer your working on? Or the úse of audio? When to use which sound-track, where, how to start if you wanna set the mood in a piece, etc. Quality music can still be ruined if it's used at the wrong moments.
Also, mind the fact that there's also a huge gap between "look at me, I can create simple MIDI's" and "Look at me, I can create high professional audio content!". There are a lot of tutorials to write on how to get behínd the basics, because showing the basics is not enough I think.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to this. Again, great idea!

Oh and Jaap, I'd most definately would like to read that ;D

-Stenny