Beginning Game Audio Programming

Background: I created a game engine (Goblin 2D+ Engine) and for sound just used a 3rd party library (BASS). However I quickly found the additional A$150 for BASS was effecting the uptake of my engine because it was US$59.95 and the additional A$150 for BASS was killing it. I knew nothing about sound programming so thought it was a hopeless dream to create my own sound engine. In desperation I bought this book and was surprised (not just by the CD in 1 million bits :S) Using this book as the basis I was able to create a fully functional sound library for my engine with all the features I was using in BASS. Sound effects, music, 3d positional sound, panning, volume, pitch, playing .MOD music, OGG decoder. Basically all the functionality I wanted. If anyone wants to see this in action... www.hoek.inkblue.com. The book fills in the gaps MSDN seems to leave out. Also, unlike a lot of books, Mason has NOT cut and paste from MSDN documentation. Thanks Mason!

No matter how exciting the game and how realistic the visual effects, without catchy audio in the background it’s obvious that something is missing. New developments in technology enable you to do things with audio that weren’t possible before, but they also make it necessary to find a guide that walks you through the technical hurdles. Beginning Game Audio Programming covers the challenges that you will face as you create sound effects and music for your games and gives you the information you need to face these challenges head-on. You’ll learn how to compose dynamic music and program 3D sound. There’s even coverage of using DirectPlay Voice for real- time voice chat in your games! If you are comfortable with C++ and DirectX, then you’re ready to dive into the exciting world of audio with Beginning Game Audio Programming.

Features

• Walks through the creation of a complete game audio engine
• Explains basic WAV sound effect playback, plus advanced techniques like audio scripts, ambient sounds and effect filters
• Illustrates music playback using MP3, Windows Media, S3M/IT/MOD, CD audio (Redbook), and Ogg Vorbis
• Walks the reader through the creation and programming of dynamic music
  
  About the Author
  Mason McCuskey is a software engineer with 8 years of commercial programming experience. He has successfully managed his own game company since 1990. In 2000, his company, Spin Studios, was one of 9 world finalists at the Game Developer's Conference 2nd Annual Independent Games Festival. He has also written dozens of articles for gamedev.net. and other Web sites. Mason is the author of Special Effects Game Programming with DirectX by Premier Press.

Annotation No matter how exciting the game and how realistic the visual effects, without catchy audio in the background it s obvious that something is missing. New developments in technology enable you to do things with audio that weren t possible before, but they also make it necessary to find a guide that walks you through the technical hurdles. "Beginning Game Audio Programming" covers the challenges that you will face as you create sound effects and music for your games and gives you the information you need to face these challenges head-on. You ll learn how to compose dynamic music and program 3D sound. There s even coverage of using DirectPlay Voice for real- time voice chat in your games! If you are comfortable with C++ and DirectX, then you re ready to dive into the exciting world of audio with "Beginning Game Audio Programming." Taking programmers through the complete development process for a game audio engine, this practical handbook offers detailed explanations of basic WAV sound effect playback, as well as the techniques of audio scripts and ambient sound, and demonstrates the use of MP3, Windows Media, S3M/IT/MOD, CD audio, and Ogg. Original. (Beginner) This book gives a step-by-step guide to composing dynamic music and programming 3D sound as well as creating sound effects and music for games