This document contains a glossary of terms related to sound design and production for computer games. It includes definitions for terms like Foley artistry, sound libraries, file formats like .wav and .mp3, audio limitations such as memory and processors, recording systems like analog and digital audio tape, and more. For each term, the student provided an internet definition source and described how the term relates to their own production practice, such as using sound libraries to store recorded sounds and rendering files into different formats for various uses.

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 is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are
added to film, video, and other media in post-production to
enhance audio quality. These reproduced sounds can be
anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to
squeaky doors and breaking glass.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foley_(filmmaking))
My most common production method is
the recording of the sounds inside/outside
(depending on the sfx I’m trying to record)
For one of my projects I actually did record
a cloth swishing in the wind for a flag pole.
Sound Libraries a collection of sounds stored on file (for example on CDs,
DVDs, or as digital audio files)
(http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sound-
library)
All of my recordings were stored in a library
or folder of sorts.
E.g: N:CollegeYear 2Iain -
SoundIG2sounds
SOUND FILE FORMATS Uncompressed Uncompressed audio is audio without any compression
applied to it. This includes audio recorded in PCM or WAV
form. http://www.voxforge.org/home/docs/faq/faq/what-
is-the-difference-between-lossy-lossless-and-uncompressed-
audio-formats
Before files are rendered they are this type
of file.
.wav Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE) is a Microsoft and IBM
audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on
PCs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAV
If I needed to render out my project into
this format for storing on bitstream, this
would be the format I chose.
.aiff Stands for "Audio Interchange File Format." AIFF is a file
format designed to store audio data. It was developed by
Apple Computer, but is based on Electronic Arts' IFF
(Interchange File Format), a container format originally used
on Amiga systems.
If I was editing or rendering on an apple
computer this would be the default render
file type.

2. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
2
http://www.techterms.com/definition/aiff
.au The Au file format is a simple audio file format introduced by
Sun Microsystems. The format was common on NeXT
systems and on early Web pages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Au_file_format
If I was to use my audio sounds for flash
games or mentioned systems this would be
the format I’d render files in Reaper.
.smp ".smp" file may be one of several different types of audio file.
For example, it could be a SampleVision audio sample file.
This 16-bit audio file was originally used by Turtle Beach
SampleVision; you can open it with Adobe Auction, Sound
Forge Pro or Awave Studio. It could also be a sample file for
AdLib Gold, a PC sound card released in 1992; Scream
Tracker, a mid-1990s music editing program; or Swell.
Reason, a music recording and production program, uses the
".smp" extension for sampler instrument patches.
http://www.ehow.com/info_12198596_file-smp.html
I would use .SMP file format for a sprintbit
playlist manager.
Lossy Compression Lossy audio compression attempts to apply to discard as
much 'irrelevant' data as possible from the original audio,
thereby producing a file much smaller than the original that
sounds almost identical.
http://www.voxforge.org/home/docs/faq/faq/what-is-the-
difference-between-lossy-lossless-and-uncompressed-audio-
formats
This was used to remove static and
background sounds In some of my samples.
.mp3 MP3, is an encoding format for digital audio which uses a
form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format
for consumer audio streaming or storage, as well as a de
facto standard of digital audio compression for the transfer
and playback of music on most digital audio players.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3
Some files were rendered or left in .mp3
format for future use in larger projects or if
I was simply importing them into another
piece of software.
AUDIO LIMITATIONS Sound Processor Unit (SPU) A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal
computer expansion card that facilitates the input and
output of audio signals to and from a computer under
control of computer programs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_card
If the PC’s we were working on didn’t have
this card we wouldn’t be able to hear audio
from the machine at all.
Digital Sound Processor (DSP) A digital sound processor is a computerized microprocessor
that transfers sound from an analog source into a digital
sound signal.
This is how we record sound with
microphones.

3. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
3
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5879513_define-digital-sound-
processor.html
Random Access Memory (RAM) RAM is type of computer memory that can be accessed
randomly; that is, any byte of memory can be accessed
without touching the preceding bytes. RAM is the most
common type of memory found in computers and other
devices, such as printers.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RAM.html
This affects how fast the computers we use
are, if we had extremely low Ram it’d take
hours to render out finished work through
reaper or just to search through our
Documents could take minutes instead of
seconds.
Mono Audio Mono or monophonic describes a system where all the audio
signals are mixed together and routed through a single audio
channel.
http://www.mcsquared.com/mono-stereo.htm
This is simple audio played from one
direction and cannot display subtle changes
like Stereo.
Stereo Audio Stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that creates an
illusion of directionality and audible perspective. This is
usually achieved by using two or more independent audio
channels through a configuration of two or more
loudspeakers (or stereo headphones) in such a way as to
create the impression of sound heard from various
directions, as in natural hearing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound
Stereo Audio is used in surround sound to
send parts of audio through specific audio
channels.
Surround Sound 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. The term surround sound has become popular in
recent years and more commonly used since the advent of
home theater systems. Surround sound can be either an
analog or digital system.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/surround_sound.html
Using Stereo sound files to determine which
speaker the sound should travel to,
surround sound is an extremely effective
way to increase immersion.
Direct Audio (Pulse Code
Modulation – PCM)
Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally
represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of
digital audio in computers, Compact Discs, digital telephony
and other digital audio applications.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-code_modulation
I think this is relevant because all of our
sounds would be (unless specifically
rendered otherwise) would be in Direct
Audio (PCM) format.
AUDIO RECORDING SYSTEMS Analogue Refers to recording audio in a format of continuous
vibrations that are analogous to the original sound waves.
Before audio recording became digital, sounds were "carved"
into vinyl records or written to tape as magnetic waveforms.
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/60827/analog-
audio
Analogue recording was unused and
irrelevant to our project.

4. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
4
Digital Mini Disc The MiniDisc (MD) is an obsolete magneto-optical disc-based
data storage device for 74 minutes and, later, 80 minutes, of
digitized audio or 1 gigabyte of Hi-MD data. The Sony brand
audio players were on the market from September 1992 until
March 2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiniDisc
Digital Mini Discs recording was unused and
irrelevant to our project.
Compact Disc (CD) Compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage
format. The format was originally developed to store and
play back sound recordings only (CD-DA), but was later
adapted for storage of data (CD-ROM). Several other formats
were further derived from these, including write-once audio
and data storage (CD-R), rewritable media (CD-RW), Video
Compact Disc (VCD), Super Video Compact Disc (SVCD),
Photo CD, PictureCD, CD-i, and Enhanced Music CD. Audio
CDs and audio CD players have been commercially available
since October 1982.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disc
We could burn our sound files onto a CD
disc and play them through a CD player or
radio system
Digital Audio Tape (DAT) Digital Audio Tape (DAT or R-DAT) is a signal recording and
playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987.
In appearance it is similar to a Compact Cassette, using 4 mm
magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but is roughly
half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. As the name
suggests, the recording is digital rather than analog. DAT has
the ability to record at higher, equal or lower sampling rates
than a CD (48, 44.1 or 32 kHz sampling rate respectively) at
16 bits quantization. If a digital source is copied then the DAT
will produce an exact clone, unlike other digital media such
as Digital Compact Cassette or non-Hi-MD MiniDisc, both of
which use a lossy data reduction system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Tape
Digital Audio Tape recording was unused
and irrelevant to our project.
MIDI MIDI, (short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a
technical standard that describes a protocol, digital interface
and connectors and allows a wide variety of electronic
musical instruments, computers and other related devices to
connect and communicate with one another. A single MIDI
link can carry up to sixteen channels of information, each of
which can be routed to a separate device.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI
In Reaper there are ways to use Virtual
Instruments through a MIDI Virtual
Keyboard which can be quite useful.
Software Sequencers music sequencer (or simply sequencer) is a device or For all my editing I used a program called

5. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
5
application software that can record, edit, or play back
music, by handling note and performance information in
several forms, typically MIDI or CV/Gate, and possibly audio
and automation data for DAWs and plug-ins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_sequencer
Reaper, it managed all of the plugins and
Software Plug-ins Plug ins are software components that adds a specific
feature to an existing software application. When an
application supports plug-ins, it enables customization.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_(computing)
Plug in’s come in a lot of different types, the
different kinds I used affected the types of
audio our sounds would produce by altering
the pitch or volume for example.
MIDI Keyboard Instruments A MIDI keyboard is typically a piano-style user interface
keyboard device used for sending MIDI signals or commands
over a USB or MIDI cable to other devices connected and
operating on the same MIDI protocol interface. This could
also be a personal computer running software such as a
reaper.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI_keyboard
I used a Midi keyboard for a few of the
audio tracks I used for tasks in an early
assignment and in task 2 for this one.
They can be quite useful.
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 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_bit_depth
The larger the bit depth will affect file size,
for example higher quality sound recordings
will have a higher file size and bit depth
than a low quality one. And thus will sound
very different to each other.
File Size Constraints - Sample
Rate
Typically expressed in samples per second, or hertz (Hz), the
rate at which samples of an analog signal are taken in order
to be converted into digital form
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/sampling_rate.html
This affects the speed of playback rate as
well as pitch.