Combine Music and Environment
On the last couple of iPhone jobs I have actually worked on, I’ve combined the musical material with ambient sound impacts. Then the game streams one file and the player gets the impression of a living world and musical background at the same time. Naturally there are some cons to that approach. The background environment can not be differed since it is embedded with the music track. If the customer is fine with a bigger video game size then you could develop alternative versions of the music and/or sound style then toggle the playback between versions.
Always Work to Video when Doing Sound Design
Game clients often expect sound designers to work from a playable construct of the video game they require audio for. This isn’t really enough. Constantly push for a video of the video game play. If possible, have a video of private aspects, particularly when supporting intricate in-game occasions. In some cases clients might push back stating that don’t have sufficient time or wish to concentrate on something else. Just ask if they desire their sound effects to be a best fit to the game’s action, or just a rough price quote. This typically wins them over. At the minimum, request for longer video that reveals many aspects of the video game play then score your sound results to that.
Stick to Basic Execution
From my experience, the iPhone’s audio engine isn’t really as versatile as a few of the existing audio engines such as Fmod, Wwise and others. From what I have actually checked out and learned from teams I have actually dealt with, the iPhone can do basic things such as change tunes based upon an occasion, randomize pitch and volume for duplicated sound effect calls and do simple fade in and outs. The existing phone isn’t going to have the ability to carry out a bargain of live DSP (a minimum of not at the level of the next gen consoles or PC) and it doesn’t utilize the MIDI-archive system so it can not alter instrumentation or tempo quickly.
Final Thoughts
I have actually found producing audio for the iPhone to be a very friendly job. Count your lucky stars, due to the fact that other devices, like some other cell phones or the Nintendo DS, utilize a MIDI and archiving system that has many more ins and outs than the iPhone. Creating a looping MP3 is a much more possible task. Another plus to iPhone video game advancement is that the groups are usually smaller and far more available to cross-discipline work. In addition to developing the audio, you can have input on the game’s mechanics, visuals and plot. This is a great, new horizon on the video game market. Go out there and have fun.