Requisites: Pre-requisite: [Module IMD08124] Introduction to Interactive Audio

This is an advanced course designed for students seeking to deepen their technical, creative, and perceptual understanding of sound design in interactive media, with a focus on video game development. This module is ideal for those aiming to become sound designers, audio programmers, or technical sound specialists in the gaming industry. Students will explore how sound influences player perception, cognition, and emotional engagement, enhancing immersion, feedback, and narrative. Through practical exercises and discussions, they will learn to design interactive audio systems that respond dynamically to player actions and game events. The course covers advanced mixing strategies, including dynamic range control, loudness prioritisation, and sidechain compression. Students will also master audio asset management, including file naming, metadata, batch processing, and formatting for various gaming platforms (consoles, PC, mobile). Efficient workflows for integrating audio into professional game development pipelines are emphasised. A key focus is the implementation of adaptive and procedural audio, enabling real-time responses to in-game events. Students will work with real-time controls for procedural audio, dynamic dialogue, interactive music, and sound emitters, ensuring sound evolves alongside gameplay. The module also introduces object-oriented programming (OOP) techniques, allowing students to script audio events and integrate them with game mechanics using data types, variables, and logical operators. Overall, this hands-on course equips students with the technical and creative skills needed to tackle complex interactive audio challenges in the video game industry.

Upon completion of this module you will be able to

LO1: Implement intermediate audio tools and techniques for randomisation and sound layering in video gaming.

LO2: Create interactive procedural audio within a video game environment.

LO3: Apply effective dynamic audio mixing techniques in video gaming.

LO4: Understand and implement good database practice for audio assets in video games.

LO5: Select a strategy for integrating different aural elements in the game context (e.g. sound effects, ambient sound, music and dialogue) for different game platforms.