None Repetitive Design

Due to the limitations of memory in consoles, only a small amount of audio can be played at one time in a game. Sound can be taken from a variety of places within the games console, ranging from the CD/Blu-Ray, RAM and hard drive. To create none repetitive sound design, the audio integrator needs to carefully plan where each sound will be placed, and to decide whether the sound will need to be loaded or streamed instantly. An example of a sound that needs to be available instantly, would be character voices. These are sounds that usually occur often during both online and offline gameplay and would be required to sound immediately.

Console Sound Data Limitations

Playstation 2 (Released in 2000) limited to - 2MB of RAM

Xbox 360 (Released in 2005) limited to - 512 of RAM

Here you can see how the these two consoles have upgraded over time but even with the modern Xbox 360 there is still the issue of delegating space for visuals and sound. Usually the visuals in the game take center stage as most people seem to be more impressed with sharp pictures and cutting edge graphics, but game developers are now starting to realise that sounds can enhance the gamers experience just as much as the visuals.

Alexander Brandon explained the basic idea of 'File Management' in his book 'Audio for Games':

• Each sound file is like an audio CD. You typically store CDs somewhere different from where you play them. Sound files are stored with the rest of the game's data - usually on a hard drive, a CD, or a DVD.
• For the sound files to play, they must be moved out of storage to a location that is able to play them - the equivalent of the audio device on which you play your CDs.
• The fastest way to play sound files is usually to access them from memory: Random access memory can have sounds placed in it and removed; read-only memory cannot be changed once things are placed in it. The entire file is copied to memory from the storage area, then activated.
• A slower way to play files is streaming. Streaming takes data from storage and copies small chunks of a file into RAM one chunk at a time. When the game code triggers a chunk of data to play, that data is removed from RAM and the next chunk is lined up behind it to play immediately afterward. Understandably, this process is slower. Imagine if the first 30 seconds of a song were on one CD and you had to swap it out for a second disc when you wanted to hear the next 30 seconds. The process of playing a streamed file isn't this cumbersome, but it does take longer to initially load the file for playback.

How to cheat the system

The Playstation 2 has 2MB of RAM. What this means is that no more than 2MB of RAM can be played back at the same time.

One way of getting around the problem of small memory during the era of the Playstation 2 was for the composer and sound designers to save the files in sound banks. This technique allowed only sounds that were needed for what is currently happening in the game to load in RAM and the sounds that are not needed till later are kept in storage.

"Using smaller banks gives greater control because it is a more efficient use of RAM, and lets you prioritize groups of sounds at different points in the game according to the importance of playback."

Sony created a proprietary program for developers called VagEdit, which converts WAV files into VAG files. Using VagEdit, the sound data could be compressed to one-quarter of its original size, this allowed for less memory to be used and to conquer the dreaded 2MB limitation for memory space. This was heavily used on the Playstation 2 console.

How do you avoid repetition?

The repetition of sound in games is something that can grow old very quickly. If a gamer is racking up hours and hours of game time they will start to become aware of repetition in sounds.. resulting in breaks in emersion. For example, if different weapons in the game had the same sound, it immediately becomes unrealistic, as we all know different materials, shapes and sizes will produce a different sound.

Real-Time sound generation can be created through a variety of new and exciting techniques. One of these being the granulation synthesis of sound in video games, explained by Leonard J. Paul, 

"Granulation of sound for games is becoming a more viable tool for sound artists as the processing power of game consoles continue to improve. Granulation is a relatively recent method of sound generation which allows for sampled sound to be modified in real-time to allow pitch to change independently of tempo among other audio effects." GRANULATION OF SOUND IN VIDEO GAMES

LEONARD J. PAUL1

Granular synthesis enables sampled sounds to be cut into very small grains and then played back in endless combinations. It can be used to change the playback speed or pitch independently of another in real-time. Leonard J. Paul suggests the easiest use of granular is to augment existing non-specific backgrounds such as room tones to extend their length without noticeable loop points.

Procedural Audio

"This is also an example of procedural audio as Spore is processing all the incoming data in real time (especially in the creator mode) and making decisions about the sound the creature will create."

http://www.procedural-audio.com/

http://cedric.cnam.fr/fichiers/RC1568.pdf

http://fora.tv/2006/06/26/Will_Wright_and_Brian_Eno

http://fora.tv/2006/06/26/Will_Wright_and_Brian_Eno#chapter_04