MUSA229-22S2 (C) Semester Two 2022

Introduction to Game Audio

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 18 July 2022
End Date: Sunday, 13 November 2022
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 31 July 2022
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 2 October 2022

Description

Learn foundation skills in sound design and music for games. The course will survey current industry practices, and students will gain knowledge of a variety of approaches to audio creation, editing and integration into video games. No prior experience in music, sound, or game design is required.

This course teaches foundational skills involved in the incorporation of sound effects and music for interactive video games. The course will survey current industry practices, and students will gain knowledge of a variety of approaches to audio creation, editing and integration into video games. The role of sound and audio production in socially responsible game development will also be examined. No prior experience in music, sound, or game design is required.

Learning Outcomes

  • Be able to source and edit appropriate sounds and musical content
  • Be able to demonstrate proficiency in industry standard interactive audio tools (eg Unity, Reaper, WWise)
  • Develop a perspective on socially responsible game development informed by Tikanga Māori, and how this influences approaches to music and audio design
  • Understand how audio design fits in to the game development cycle
  • Understand the impact of audio design on the user experience

Prerequisites

Any 60 points at 100 level, and HOD permission.

Restrictions

Timetable Note

Student workload (150 hours) will be allocated to:
• 24 hours attending lectures
• 22 hours attending lab sessions
• 104 hours self-directed study

Course Coordinator

Adrian Clark

Lecturer

Hamish Oliver

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Game Audio Creation 20%
Integration 30%
Triggering Sounds I 15%
Triggering Sounds II 15%
Test 20%


Unless otherwise noted, assessments are due by 5 pm on the specified date. Assessment material should be uploaded via LEARN.

In the event of online submission via LEARN not working, or being unsuitable for the materials being submitted, please contact the Course Coordinator for advice and alternative submission methods.
Assessment #1: Triggering Sounds
Load sound effects into the Unity game development environment and assign them to actions in a sample game.
Weighting: 20%
Due: Friday November 27th (end of week 2)

Assessment #2: Sound capture and editing
Record real world sounds with a field recorder, edit and prepare for game integration.
Weighting: 20%
Due: Friday December 4th (end of week 3)

Assessment #3 Modulating audio parameters
Simulate distance effects and other real-world acoustic phenomena using Wwise.
Weighting: 30%
Due: Friday December 11th (end of week 4)

Assessment #4 Integration of audio in a game environment  
Combine ambience, effects, and music into a complex sound scene in Unity and Wwise.
Weighting: 30%
Due: Friday December 18th (end of week 5)

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $892.00

International fee $4,313.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Humanities .

All MUSA229 Occurrences

  • MUSA229-22S2 (C) Semester Two 2022
Next year