Sound is very important in a game.However what makes the sound so special?The Chronicle of Sepllborn released part 3 of Sound Series will get the answer.

When there is no action in a computer generated environment, then from a sound perspective that environment is dead and completely silent. When in that same computer generated environment players are in combat so many things happen at such a pace that sound isn�t listened to anymore, it�s perceived; Sound adds to the action and if done well, gives you clues to help accomplish your task. Mostly it�s supportive of what you see, and as such it is experienced rather than closely listened too.

For example, we take a lot of so-called realism for granted. In film and television, when a car speeds away, you expect the tires to screech, even if the car speeds away on a dusty sand road. The car engine sound is usually equally inaccurate. However, realism is not that important as the sound in such scenes is not intended to add realism or approximate it, but to create atmosphere.

When action is absent, sound becomes more important, it literally comes to the foreground. Foremost, the way an environment sounds will give you clues about where you are. A forest filled with the sounds of birds, is a different forest from one where all you hear are creaking trees and a cold wind. Even if both forests look exactly the same, a different approach in the applied sound will change the mood of the entire place. Of course lighting, texturing and environmental effects all help achieve a mood as well.

It was my goal to make the environments sound dense and rich, which doesn�t mean the same thing as loud and full of noise. To achieve the density I imagined, traditional means would not suffice. Sounds in a game are usually attached to little invisible bubbles. As you walk into one, you will hear the sound get louder as you approach the center of the bubble. Since these sounds are part of the level, they have to be loaded into memory and memory is always limited. This means that sound used in such a way, has to be fairly short and will loop continuously. The looping is a likely reason to turn sound off and doesn�t really help in achieving a rich texture of sound.