Game Testing All in One (Game Development Series)

The sound team provides us with our audible experience of the game. Just like in the movies, a well-done audible experience will make you feel part of the game. This team collaborates with designers and programmers to provide an experience consistent with the game genre , time period, and story.

Sound Engineer

One of the main functions of a sound engineer is to provide a lot of little sounds that provide the player with audible clues about what is happening in the game. A player can't see what's going on in the game beyond what is shown on the screen, but he can hear sounds coming from all directions. A basic list of contributions includes ambient sounds, character sounds, sounds that items make, and sounds to indicate the success or failure of an effect. You will find some more detailed types of sounds provided for various game genres in the lists that follow. These lists are meant to be representative but not exhaustive. As games continue to cross traditional category boundaries, and include "games within games ," the sound engineer's job will become more complex, diverse, and interesting. As a game tester, each presents a new responsibility for something you need to check for.

• Sports

  • Crowd noises: cheering, booing, ambient, vendors

  • Player movement sounds: running, skating, swimming, etc.

  • One object striking another: ball and glove, ball and bat, ball and foot , etc.

  • Player collisions

  • Player taunts

  • Announcers and coaches

  • Weather effects: rain, thunder, wind

• RPG, Adventure

  • Spell casting and spell effects

  • Weapon firing, clashing, and effects

  • Creature sounds: walking, grunting, howling, etc.

  • Vehicle sounds

  • Player and NPC dialog

• Racing

  • Car engine sounds: starting, shifting, etc.

  • Wheel sounds: braking, spinning, cornering, etc.

  • Road effects: potholes, puddles, ramps, etc.

  • Opening and closing sounds: doors, hood, trunk, seat belt, etc.

  • Sirens: police, ambulance, fire truck, etc.

  • Powerup sounds

  • Dialog and taunts

• Casino Games, Collectible Card Games, Board Games

  • Ambient sounds: environment, crowd

  • Indicate success or failure of a turn

  • Movement and placement of pieces: cards, dice, blocks, board pieces, etc.

  • Betting sounds: depositing a coin, stacking chips, etc.

• Fighting

  • Weapon sounds

  • Striking and blocking sounds

  • Environment sounds: weather, arena, etc.

  • Crowd sounds: cheer , boo, ambient

  • Announcers

  • Player and NPC taunts

• Strategy

  • Combat sounds

  • Accept or reject action

  • Movement of units

  • Creation of units and structures

  • Indicate goal, command, or milestone completed

  • Warning of enemy activities

• First Person Shooters (FPS)

  • Player running, walking

  • Ammo pickup, load, and reload

  • Weapon firing effects: gunshot, explosion, lightning, etc.

  • Player and NPC commands, acknowledgements, and taunts

  • Vehicle sounds

  • Creature sounds: walking, grunting, howling, etc.

• Puzzle Games

  • Indicate goal, command, or milestone completed

  • Indicate success or failure of a move

  • Indicate point increase or decrease

  • Timer ticking and warnings

The sound engineer's job is further complicated by continued advances in "immersive" sound technologies such as a growing variety of surround sound and positional sound formats. It is also important for the game to provide support for these systems without short-changing users who use basic two-channel speakers or headphones. These technologies complicate the game tester's job as well.

Music Director/Producer

The music director or music producer's job can involve composing new songs or acquiring existing ones. Someone in this role is expected to play at least one musical instrument and be able to read and write music. As a tester, your job isn't to comment on whether to use a major or minor chord at the start of the second movement of the soundtrack, but rather to verify the proper synchronization of the music with the game's events, verify the music is not unnecessarily cut off either by player or game actions, and whether the right piece of music is being played at the right time. Some games will let the user add and/or select songs to include in the game. Testing needs to verify that the songs start and stop properly and that the ones selected are the ones that get played .

Here are some examples of how songs by popular artists have been incorporated into video games:

• Jukebox selections in The Crib ( ESPN NFL 2K5 ), which can also be selected for stadium music during home games

• Tuning into radio stations while driving a stolen car ( Grand Theft Auto: Vice City )

• Music for dance competitions ( Britney's Dance Beat , Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix )