1. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
1
Produce a glossary of terms specific to the methods and principles of sound design and production. Using a provided template, you must
research and gather definitions specific to provided glossary terms. Any definitions must be referenced with the URL link of the website you
have obtained the definition.
You must also, where possible, provide specific details of how researched definitions relate to your own production practice.
Name: RESEARCHED DEFINITION (provide short internet researched definition and URL link) DESCRIBE THE RELEVANCE OF THE
RESEARCHED TERM TO YOUR OWN
PRODUCTION PRACTICE?
SOUND DESIGN
METHODOLOGY
Foley Artistry “Foley Artistry is the matching of live sound effects to the action of a picture. The
sound effects are laid "manually" and not cut in with film.”
Source: http://www.filmsound.org/terminology/foley.htm
Sound
Libraries
“A sound library is a collection of digital sounds that are stored within a file. The sound
files are loaded into a sampler - either hardware or computer-based - which is then
used to create music.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample_library
I have used a sound library in reaper to save
sounds from IG1 and IG2.
SOUND FILE
FORMATS
Uncompressed “An uncompressed sound file is one where the sound is in its original state before any
editing takes place.”
Source: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/560011/compressed-and-uncompressed-
wav-files
I had to save a version of the GTAV speeches
while they were in an uncompressed state.
.wav “.wav is a format for storing sounds in files, developed by Microsoft and IBM.”
Source:http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/WAV.html
I have used .wav in reaper to convert sounds
from the sound recorders.
.aiff “AIFF is short for Audio Interchange File Format, which is an audio format initially
created by Apple Computer for storing and transmitting high-quality sampled audio
data.”
Source: http://www.abyssmedia.com/formats/aiff-format.shtml
.au “AU is a file extension for a sound file formatbelonging to Sun, NeXT and DEC and used

2. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
2
in UNIX. The AU file format is also known as the Sparc-audio or u-law fomat.”
Source: http://whatis.techtarget.com/fileformat/AU-Sun-NeXT-DEC-UNIX-sound-file
.smp “An ".smp" file may be one of several different types of audio file. For example, it
could be a Sample Vision audio sample file. This 16-bit audio file was originally used by
Turtle Beach Sample Vision; you can open it with Adobe Auction, Sound Forge Pro or
Awave Studio.”
Source: http://www.ehow.com/info_12198596_file-smp.html
Lossy
Compression
“Lossy compression is a dataencoding method that compresses data by discarding
(losing) some of it. The procedure aims to minimize the amount of data that needs to
be held, handled, and/or transmitted by a computer”.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossy_compression
.mp3 “MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3) is a standard technology and format for compressing a
sound sequence into a very small file (about one-twelfth the size of the original file)
while preserving the original level of sound quality when it is played.”
Source: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/MP3-MPEG-1-Audio-Layer-3
AUDIO
LIMITATIONS
Sound
Processor Unit
(SPU)
“The SPU is the unit responsible for all aural capabilities of the psx. It
handles 24 voices, has a 512kb sound buffer, has ADSR envelope filters for
each voice and lots of other features.”
Source: http://psx.rules.org/spu.txt
Digital Sound
Processor
(DSP)
“Short for digital signal processing, which refers to manipulating analog information,
such as sound or photographs that has been converted into a digital form. DSP also
implies the use of a data compression technique.”
Source: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/DSP.html
Random
Access
Memory
(RAM)
“RAM is an acronym for Random Access Memory, a type of computer memory that can
be accessed randomly; that is, any byte of memory can be accessed without touching
the preceding bytes.”
Source: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RAM.html

3. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
3
Mono Audio “when the sounds coming from a speaker are one frequency”
Source:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_mono_audio_on_an_ipod#slide=2&article=What
_is_mono_audio_on_an_ipod
Stereo Audio “In music recording, playback and performance, "stereo" denotes an audio signal with
two channels -- left and right. Each channel contains different audio information,
which your ears piece together into a whole.”
Source: http://www.ehow.com/info_8566527_stereo-audio.html
Surround
Sound
“Surround sound is a term used to describe a type of audio output in which the sound
appears to "surroundthelistener" by 360 degrees. Surround sound systems use three
or more channels and speakers in front and behind the listener to create a surrounding
envelope of sound and directional audio sources.”
Source: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/surround_sound.html
Direct Audio
(Pulse Code
Modulation –
PCM)
“Type of encoding used for audio bit streams. Pulse code modulation was originally
developed in 1939 as a method for transmitting digital signals over analog
communications channels. The same technique proved effective as a method of
sampling and quantizing audio for encoding in digital form.”
Source: http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/fdd/fdd000016.shtml
AUDIO
RECORDING
SYSTEMS
Analogue “DAT (Digital Audio Tape) is a standard medium and technology for the digital
recording of audio on tape at a professional level of quality. A DAT drive is a digital
tape recorder with rotating heads similar to those found in a video deck.”
Source: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/DAT-Digital-Audio-Tape
Digital Mini
Disc
“A minidisc recorder is a digital audio recording device that saves audio onto a
minidisc. Each minidisc holds up to about 80 minutes of recorded audio.”
Source: http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/minidisc/

4. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
4
Compact Disc
(CD)
“plastic disk for digital recording: a hard plastic disk approximately 12 cm4 in. in
diameter on which information such as music or computer data is digitally
encoded in a format readable by laser beam”
Source: http://www.bing.com/search?q=what+is+a+compact+disc&src=ie9tr
Digital Audio
Tape (DAT)
“DAT (Digital Audio Tape) is a standard medium and technology for the
digital recording of audio on tape at a professional level of quality. A DAT
drive is a digital tape recorder with rotating heads similar to those found in a
video deck. Most DAT drives can record at sample rates of 44.1 kHz, the CD
audio standard, and 48 kHz.”
Source: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/DAT-Digital-Audio-Tape
MIDI “MIDI is nothing more than data -- a set of instructions. MIDI data contains a list of
events or messages that tell an electronic device (musical instrument, computer sound
card, cell phone, et cetera) how to generate a certain sound.” Source:
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/midi1.htm
Software
Sequencers
“A sequencing software package designed to be loaded into a computer. Software
sequencers usually have more features and have the advantage of showing you a lot
more information at once because they use the computer's screen and aren't locked
into the knobs or buttons”
Source: https://www.google.co.uk/#q=what+are+Software+Sequencers
Software Plug-
ins
“Software plug-ins are miniature programs that “plug into” a host program for
additional functionality. Plug-ins allow a third-party application to be used within the
host program, acting as a kind of liaison or bridge.”
Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-software-plug-ins.htm
In Reaper I used different VST and VSTi plug-ins
to create sounds for IG1 and IG2.
MIDI
Keyboard
Instruments
“A Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard is a musical instrument like a
piano keyboard. The MIDI portion indicates that the instrument has a communication
protocol built in that allows it to communicate with a computer or other MIDI-
equipped instrument”
Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-midi-keyboard.htm
I used MIDI instruments in Reaper to create
sounds for both IG1 and IG2.
AUDIO
SAMPLING
File Size
Constraints -
Bit-depth
“In digital audio using pulse-code modulation (PCM), bit depth is the number of bits of
information in each sample, and it directly corresponds to the resolution of each

5. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
5
sample. Examples of bit depth include Compact Disc Digital Audio, which uses 16 bits
per sample, and DVD-Audio and Blu-ray Disc which can support up to 24 bits per
sample.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_bit_depth
File Size
Constraints -
Sample Rate
“Sample rate is the number of samples of audio carried per second, measured in Hz or kHz (one
kHz being 1 000 Hz). For example, 44 100 samples per second can be expressed as either 44 100
Hz, or 44.1 kHz.”
Source: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Sample_Rates