Unit 73: Sound for Computer Games
P1 Understand the use of music in games and the methodology of recording and production
Compare and contrast the following console game music.

The Last of Us main theme is a western style song. The timbre of this song is very good unlike Little Big Planet 3 which has a worse timbre than The Last of Us this is because TLOU is a serious game that is more about the countryside and out in the wilderness whereas LBP 3 is a children's game and therefore doesn't need a good timbre. Another thing that reinforces my point is that the main characters are on a horse in the game making it seem more western.  
Neither of these music pieces use Foley in it as they are all recorded using sound effects or instruments. The wavelengths and waveform for TLOU is a simple pattern that goes up then down a lot in a simple pattern. The waveform for The Last of Us is shown below and shows how high it goes but also how low it goes.

The frequency is how quick it is and with TLOU it is a moderate speed which is not as fast as other musics but is fast. TLOU also has a low amplitude. In comparison LBP 3 has a low amplitude too as the music stays at a low amplitude with a quick frequency with short wavelengths different to TLOU but it also has some long wavelengths just not as often. Both of these pieces are used with a loud speaker however, TLOU has surround sound as well. The Last of Us main theme makes you feel different to how Little Big Planet 3 makes you feel. The Last of Us music is made to feel like you are in a western, in the countryside it also makes the listener feel a bit nostalgic as it sounds very nostalgic and makes you think. Little Big Planet however, is more dramatic and makes you feel tense as if something is about to jump out and happen it also suggests something like a boss battle is about to happen. The music loudness is different for both, LBP 3 is louder as it is meant to be more dramatic than TLOU. Neither piece of music has speech in it and neither are iconic pieces of music. Both pieces of music as well were made by an individual person meaning that there are no copyright issues. But because both musicians, Barry Adamson and Gustavo Santaolalla signed a contract the rights to the music will be given to the companies so that they can use them in the game and there will be no copyright issues.

The Last Of Us
The Last Of Us is uncompressed and probably would use the WAV file because it keeps the warmth in the sound meaning the sound will sound more original and like it hasn't been edited by a digital software and less robotic. Another reason I know this is because Gustavo Santaolalla told a paper after he had recorded it that he went into the bathroom so he would get the right sound and warmth meaning he will keep it uncompressed and like that. The picture below shows an example of a PCM.
PCM: Pulse-code modulation is raw sound being recorded in analogy and being changed to digital. The reason why it is limiting the recording of sound is because the sound can only be recorded in pulses and different time frames not all at once.
File format:(MP3, Wav, Aiff) The reason why these file formats limit the recording of the sound is because the files run using PCM so it is the same reason why it cannot be done in one go.
Audio output: The limitations for audio output is that you have to find places to put the sound recorders so you can make it sound realistic and move the positions.
DSP: A DSP is a digital signal processing microprocessor it makes it for the fast operational needs for digital signal however, it cannot work if the audio is analogue meaning it is limited to digital only.
RAM: RAMs are required to change the signal to digital and process the information quickly but some cannot change the analogue signal to digital meaning you cannot use it until you have changed it to digital.
Mono is the basic audio that has been around for years and is the sound that sounds like it is one position.
Stereo is the audio that manipulates the sound waves so that it sounds like they are coming from other directions and positions.
Surround sound is a system of stereos that surround the person listening to it to make it seem more realistic and like they are coming from a certain position.
The Last of Us uses surround sound and stereo for the game so you can get a very immersive experience.
The Last of Us was recorded in analogue as I mentioned earlier on as Gustavo wanted to record it in the bathroom.
Sample rate:
Sample rate is the number of samples in a piece of audio per second it is measured in Hz so for example 44,000Hz. So the sample rate for The Last of Us is around 30,000Hz. With The Last of Us there was no problems with file size constraints.
Little Big Planet 3
The file size will most likely be compressed for Little Big Planet 3 as the game has less storage space meaning they would have to compress the music so there would be enough space for it. The picture below was took from a website that says how much memory Little Big Planet has showing they would of compressed it.

 It is also an original development by Barry Adamson for the game itself. The game will be compressed and most likely use MP3 to store it as that takes up the least amount of space. The audio output for Little Big Planet is stereo. The limitations for Little Big Planet is the RAM as the RAM is very small meaning it will limit and make it so you have to compress it. Another limitation is PCM because it cannot all be recorded at the same time.