LAFS PREPRO Session 7 - Game Audio and Levels

GAME AUDIO AND LEVELSSession 7

David Mullich

Concept Workshop - Game PreProduction

The Los Angeles Film School

Game Audio

Diegetic Sounds are sounds that occur within hearing distance of the player character. This includes sound effects and dialogue.

Non-Diegetic Sound refers to background music and sound effects not within the game environment.

Game Audio

Zone refers to environmental sound, such as birds or sirens. These sounds set the game ambience.

Effect refers to sounds during gameplay that are produced by characters: i.e., footsteps, gunshots, explosions. These sounds can be on or off screen.

Affect refers to sounds that set the mood of the game. These range from orchestral music to moody low tones.

Interface refers menu sounds or sounds related to the HUD. The main use of these sounds is to confirm that the player’s input was registered properly.

Game Audio

Game Music

Video game music refers to the soundtrack or background music accompanying video games.

Music is dynamic and the intensity of the music has a powerful effect on the player's emotions.

Game Music

Main Theme: This track should be one that would be identifiable with your game.  

Low Key: This track represents a quiet moment in the game, or during an exploration mode.

Intense: This track represents a dramatic moment in the game, such as combat.

Game Music

Other music: Fanfare: Short/non-looping music used to

signal victory. Defeat:  Short/non-looping music used to

signal a loss. Stings: Very short, non-looping music used

to dramatize surprise, threat, or humor.

Sound Effects

Fanfare: Short/non-looping music used to signal victory.

Defeat:  Short/non-looping music used to signal a loss.

Stings: Very short, non-looping music used to dramatize surprise, threat, or humor.

Create an Audio Page in your Concept PowerPoint for: Main Music (1 sample) Low-Key Music (1 sample) Intense Music (1 sample) Zone Sound (2 samples) Effect Sound (2 samples) Interface Sound (1-2 samples)

PowerPoint

Game Levels

Game Levels

Game Levels

1. Good level design is fun to navigate

2. Good level design does not rely on words to tell the story

3. Good level design always tells the player what to do, but never how to do it

4. Good level design constantly teaches the player

5. Good level design is surprising

Game Levels

6. Good level design empowers the player

7. Good level design is easy, medium and hard

8. Good level design is efficient

9. Good level design creates emotion

10. Good level design is driven by mechanics

Dan Taylor, GDC 2013

Create a Levels page in your GDD Wiki that has the following:

General Progression and Difficulty How do the levels progress? (The game flow) What makes the game challenging? What can you adjust if you find the game to be too easy or hard? How do you plan to handle the difficulty ramp as the player transitions from novice to expert?

For each Level What is the level's layout? What is the level’s starting point? Where are the obstacles/enemies?  (including spawn points, if any) Where are the resources the player must acquire? What are the intermediate objectives (if any -- include waypoints) What are the win/loss conditions? Where is the level's exit (if any)?

Wiki

Example

Within this game the flow follows a certain pattern.  The player moves from room to room in each level, where they have to both maneuver along platforms and around pitfalls and fight enemies along the way.  Each level has about 5-10 separate rooms and at the end of each level they have to fight a boss before they progress to the next level.  The game is challenging in the fact that the player has to move creatively not only to hit enemies but also to traverse through the specific environments. 

The difficulty ramp in the game will be done in two major ways.  One, the enemies will become stronger and thus require more hits to take down, thus either using more of the blaster energy or taking a chance to leaving the player vulnerable if they go in for the melee attacks.  The second way is to ramp up the number of not only obstacles and pitfalls but put them in creatively to where the player has to figure out the best way to maneuver and their margin for ever grows smaller and smaller throughout the game.

If it becomes too easy or hard the best way to scale up or down would be not only adjusting the health of the enemies but also moving around the locations of the obstacles.

Example