General information


Subject type: Mandatory

Coordinator: Juan José Pons López

Trimester: First term

Credits: 4

Teaching staff: 

Gabriel Garrido Garcia

Academic year: 2025

Teaching course: 4

Languages ​​of instruction


  • English

Competencies / Learning Outcomes


Specific skills
  • V6. Develop video games in high-level programming languages ​​in graphics engines based on specifications.

Presentation of the subject


This subject seeks to provide the basic theoretical and practical knowledge to provide quality sound to any video game production. The fundamental characteristics of sound and how to describe it will be studied, a brief review of the history of sound in audiovisuals, the technology needed to record and create sound, the main sound elements of video games and also knowledge related to copyright and rights. of use.

The course consists of theoretical sessions and practical sessions in the computer lab and the audio studio. In order to acquire the knowledge, the subject is evaluated with the works arising from the practical sessions, the individual tests done during the course and the final exam.

 

Contents


Fundamental concepts of sound and music
1.1 What is sound?
1.2 Sound aesthetics
1.3 Sound textures
1.4 Basic musical elements and their recognition.
1.5 The search for a sonority. How do we describe a sound?
1.6 ADD (Audio Design Document)


Impact of music and sound on the gaming experience
2.1 Brief introduction to the different musical currents and aesthetics.
2.2 The origin of music as an accompaniment to the image.
2.3 How does the sound affect the player?
2.4 Hearing fatigue.
2.5 Sound aesthetics of XNUMXst century video games


Basic technology
3.1 Essential hardware and software
3.2 Fundamentals of digital audio editing and manipulation
3.3 Workflow of the music composer dedicated to the video game.


FMOD
4.1 Basic functions - Order and management.
4.2 Logic tracks
4.3 Automation of volume and effects
4.4. Equalization
4.5 Reverberation
4.6 Flanger
4.7 Delay
4.8 FMOD Instruments, practical use.
4.9 Dialogs and location management in FMOD
4.10 Common problems of sound and music treatment in FMOD.

Fundamental sound elements
5.1 Dialogues
5.2 Sound effects (SFX)
5.3 Backgrounds
5.4 Music


Integration of sound and music in video game programming

Activities and evaluation system


The grade of each student will be calculated following the following percentages:

A1. Laboratory practice: Introduction to the sound management of a project (ADD). 10%
A2. Laboratory practice: Introduction to active listening. 10%
A3. Laboratory practice: Introduction to FMOD, theoretical aspects. 10%
A4. Group work: Management and integration of sounds and music in a project. 30%
A5. Final exam 40%


Final grade: A1 0,1 + A2 0,1+ A3 0,1 + A4 0,3 + A5 0,4

Considerations:
A grade above 5 must be obtained in the final exam to pass the subject and add the results of the other activities. An activity not delivered or delivered late and without justification (court summons or medical matter) counts as a 0.

It is the student's responsibility to avoid plagiarism in all its forms. In the case of detecting plagiarism, regardless of its scope, in some activity it will correspond to having a grade of 0. In addition, the professor will communicate the situation to the head of department so that applicable measures can be taken in terms of disciplinary regime.

The teacher may request a personalized presentation of the activities either to clarify general aspects or to individualize the students' grades.

Recovery:
It is necessary to obtain a grade higher than 5 in the final recovery exam to pass the subject.
The make-up exam grade will apply to the A5 activity grade only.
In case of passing the recovery, the maximum final grade for the subject will be 5.

 

 

 

Bibliography


Basic

Horowitz, Steve, Looney, Scott R (2014). "The Essential Guide to Game Audio: The Theory and Practice of Sound for Games." Focal Press

Marks, Aaaron (2017). "The Complete Guide to Game Audio". AK Peters / CRC Press

Phillips, Winifred (2017) "A Composer's Guide to Game Music". MIT Press

Complementary

AVID. "Protools 101 v12". AVID

Rose, Jay. (2009). “Audio postproduction for film and video 2nd ed.”. Elsevier.

Sweet, Michael (2014). “Writing Interactive Music for Video Games: A Composer's Guide”. ADDISON WESLEY