This document provides definitions for key terms related to sound design and production for computer games. It includes a glossary with over 20 terms defined, each with a short definition and link to the source. The student has also provided details on how several of the terms relate to their own production practice, such as using .wav and .mp3 file formats, MIDI keyboards to create sounds, and sample rates and bit depths when rendering sounds.

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: Martin Devney 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 “A Foley Artist is a person who creates (or re-creates) sounds for movies. For
example, if the sound of an actor's footsteps were not recorded well or lost when
the voice was re-recorded, a Foley artist will recreate them. In fact, except for
dialogue and music, almost all the sounds you hear in Hollywood films is Foley
sound.” http://www.mediacollege.com/employment/film/foley-artist.html
Foley Artistry is relevant to my
production practice as I create my own
sounds to create a sountrack.
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
Sound libraries are relevant to my
production practice as I may use them to
help create new soundtracks.
SOUND FILE FORMATS Uncompressed “(Of data) not compressed.”
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/uncompressed
.wav “WAV is the format used for storing sound in files developed jointly by Microsoft
and IBM. Support for WAV files was built into Windows 95 making it the de facto
standard for sound on PCs. WAV sound files end with a .wav extension and can
be played by nearly all Windows applications that support sound.”
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Computer_Science/digital_audio_formats.asp
.wav is relevant to my production
practice as it is the format for rendering
created sounds when complete.
.aiff “("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.”
http://www.techterms.com/definition/aiff

2. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
2
.au “AU is a file extension for a sound file format belonging to Sun, NeXT and DEC
and used in UNIX. The AU file format is also known as the Sparc-audio or u-law
fomat. AU files contain three parts: the audio data and text for a header
(containing 24 bytes) and an annotation block.”
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 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
Lossy Compression “Lossy file compression results in lost data and quality from the original version.
Lossy compression is typically associated with image files, such as JPEGs, but can
also be used for audio files, like MP3s or AAC files. The "lossyness" of an image
file may show up as jagged edges or pixelated areas. In audio files, the lossyness
may produce a watery sound or reduce the dynamic range of the audio.”
http://www.techterms.com/definition/lossy
.mp3 “Stands for "MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3." MP3 is popular compressed audio file
format that helped popularize digital music downloads beginning in the late
1990s. MP3 files are typically about one tenth the size of uncompressed WAVE or
AIFF files, but maintain nearly the same CD-quality sound. Because of their small
size and good fidelity, MP3 files have become a popular way to store music files
on both computers and portable devices like the iPod.”
http://www.techterms.com/definition/mp3
.mp3 is used when using other sound
resources that have already been
created.
AUDIO LIMITATIONS Sound Processor Unit (SPU) “A programmable machine that performs high-speed processing of numbers, as
well as of text, graphics, symbols, and sound. All computers contain a central
processing unit that interprets and executes instructions; input devices, such as a
keyboard and a mouse, through which data and commands enter the computer;
memory that enables the computer to store programs and data; and output
devices, such as printers and display screens, that show the results after the
computer has processed data.”
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Processor+unit
Sound Processor Unit (SPU) was used to
listen to the created sounds and while
producing them.
Digital Sound Processor (DSP) “A digital sound processor is a tool that incorporates computer technology to
change the technical aspects of analog sound. Processors can be found in a
growing number of applications, from music to medicine.”
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5879513_define-digital-sound-processor.html
Random Access Memory “RAM is made up of small memory chips that form a memory module. These RAM allowed me to create the work and

3. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
3
(RAM) modules are installed in the RAM slots on the motherboard of your computer.
Every time you open a program, it gets loaded from the hard drive into the RAM.
This is because reading data from the RAM is much faster than reading data from
the hard drive. Running programs from the RAM of the computer allows them to
function without any lag time. The more RAM your computer has, the more data
can be loaded from the hard drive into the RAM, which can effectively speed up
your computer.”
http://www.techterms.com/definition/ram
to render them out.
Mono Audio “Commonly called mono sound, mono, or non-stereo sound, this early sound
system used a single channel of audio for sound output. In monophonic sound
systems, the signal sent to the sound system encodes one single stream of sound
and it usually uses just one speaker. Monophonic sound is the most basic format
of sound output.”
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/monophonic_sound.html
It was used to listen to sound through
headphones or speakers
Stereo Audio “Commonly called stereo sound or just stereo, stereophonic sound divides
sounds across two channels (recorded on two separate sources) then the
recorded sounds are mixed so that some elements are channeled to the left and
others to the right. Stereophonic sound is generally considered the best sound
technology of the 1950 and early 1960's.”
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/stereophonic_sound.html
It was used to listen to sound through
headphones or speakers
Surround Sound “a system for playing sounds, especially in cinemas, that uses three or more
loudspeakers so that the person listening seems to be surrounded by the sound.”
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/surround-sound
It was used to listen to sound through
headphones or speakers
Direct Audio (Pulse Code
Modulation – PCM)
“PCM audio or pulse code modulation audio is a high fidelity and uncompressed
digital sampling technique of an analogue audio signal. PCM is a technique used
to represent sampled analogue signals in digital form.”
http://uk.ask.com/question/what-is-pcm-audio
AUDIO RECORDING
SYSTEMS
Analogue “Relating to or using signals or information represented by a continuously
variable physical quantity such as spatial position, voltage, etc.”
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/analogue
Digital Mini Disc “One easy way to think about a MiniDisc is like a floppy disk -- you can record and
erase files on a MiniDisc just as easily as you can on a floppy disk. The big
difference between the a MiniDisc and a floppy disk is that a MiniDisc can hold
about 100 times more data (about 140 megabytes in data mode, 160 megabytes
in audio mode vs. 1.44 megabytes for a floppy).”
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question55.htm
Compact Disc (CD) “A small optical disk on which data such as music, text, or graphic images is
digitally encoded.”
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/compact+disc

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 Audio Tape (DAT) “magnetic tape on which sound is recorded digitally, giving high-fidelity
reproduction”.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/digital+audio+tape
MIDI “Short for musical instrument digital interface, MIDI is a standard adopted by the
electronic music industry for controlling devices, such as synthesizers and sound
cards, that emit music. At minimum, a MIDI representation of a sound includes
values for the note's pitch, length, and volume. It can also include additional
characteristics, such as attack and delay time.”
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Computer_Science/digital_audio_formats.asp
It was used to create different types of
sounds.
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 or display of a hardware
sequencer.”
http://www.wannaplaymusic.com/get-started/keyboard-terminology
Software Plug-ins “A hardware or software module that adds a specific feature or service to a larger
system. The idea is that the new component simply plugs in to the existing
system. For example, there are number of plug-ins for the Netscape Navigator
browser that enable it to display different types of audio or video messages.
Navigator plug-ins are based on MIME file types.”
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/plug_in.html
Used to create different types of sounds
such as one would ambience giving a
created sound an echo effect.
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.”
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-midi-keyboard.htm
It was used to create the sounds using a
virtual piano keyboard.
AUDIO SAMPLING File Size Constraints - Bit-
depth
“In digital audio , bit depth describes the potential accuracy of a particular piece
of hardware or software that processes audio data. In general, the more bits that
are available, the more accurate the resulting output from the data being
processed.”
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/bit-depth
Was used when rendering the sound
which was at 16bit PCM.
File Size Constraints - Sample
Rate
“The number of times an analog signal is measured (sampled) per second. The
unit of sample rate is "samples per second". This is often expressed in kiloHertz
(kHz). For example, "CD quality" sound has a sample rate of 44 kHz.”
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sample+rate
Was used when rendering the sounds
which was at 44100 Hz