Gameaudiopodcast has a regular series that details the adventures of the people working on the audio side.

Great article on the Designing Sound Webpage about tips for sound designers.

Great article on Gamasutra about two game music specialists. They have some interesting discussion in the middle about how it’s much easier as a company to negotiate, than merely as an individual. You should read the whole article, though.

A simply amazing site (for game music geeks) called Gamemusic4al that has a weekly column entitled “This Week in Game Music”.

For an assessment of older game music, go to Critical Game Studies and read the post here. They list the tech specs of the NES, the SNES, and the Sega Genesis among others.

For the latest consoles: Xbox360, see Teamxbox web site: , but as a summary, “The console has a multi-channel surround sound output that supports 48 KHz, 16-bit for over 256 audio channels”… For the PS3, Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell-based processing), from Playstation official specs. (Quick note about audio specs: This Gizmodo article points out the firmware updates through PS3 network (assuming you are connected) enhance the built-in hardware capabilities as technology evolves.) Nintendo Wii: An article on GizmoCafe notes that the Wii features ” Dolby Pro Logic II, an upgraded implementation of the popular original Dolby Pro Logic.” The article also adds that the Wii features actual speaker from the Wiimote.

Freesound is a collected repository of free (CC-licensed) sounds. (If you’re a developer reading this and saying, “Why is he giving this out for free?”; I found these resources in less than an hour; imagine how much I could save you if you paid for an afternoon of my time!)

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Below the fold; for those of you with the drive and the desire:

Rob Bridgett’s article on Post-production on Video Game Sound. Wonderful template for designers working on finishing up the sound in a video game. Worth it entirely just to read Footnote 14.

“The majority of sounds in thePlaystation 2 and Xbox versions of the
game were at 24khz. For Tony Montana’s M16 the sample rate was increased to
32khz. This had the effect of rendering it much clearer than all
the other sounds in the game.” If you don’t know what he’s talking about ask a teenager.

Another gem from IGDA, The Ten Commandments for Game Developers.

Jay Moffitt is a Tennessee attorney. This blog is for entertainment and educational purposes only and does not consitute legal advice or create an attorney/client relationship. Jay Moffitt is not certified as a specialist in this area by Tennessee and Tennessee does not certify specialists in this practice area. All comments will be answered promptly and courteously as long as they are germane to the discussion and do not contain specific game names or incidents.

The Escapist reports Sony being sued over PS3 firmware update, the article focuses on the gamers perspective.

The Edge reports about Sony being sued in class-action because of PS3 update, be careful if you’re on a slow connection, it has an embedded video clip.

The original story that the gaming magazines refer to in Courthouse News, reporting the class-action filed in the Northern District of California.

The lawsuit vital statistics are as follow: termed CV 09 4791, filed in N.D. of CA, SF Div, on Oct 2, 2009. The complaint (linked here) alleges:

1. Breach of Implied Warranty

2. Negligence

3. Negligent Misrepresentation

4. Unjust enrichment

5. Trespass to chattels

6. California Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code Section 17200

7. California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Civil Code 1750

Jury Demand

If you’re interested in all the foundations of the allegations and complaint for relief, you can read that in the 18-page complaint mentioned above. Notable allegations include #12 “Although, as a general rule, Sony “encourages” PS3 owners to install the latest versions of system software, Sony required users to install the Firmware 3.0 update.” And another important factor, #21 “Upon information and belief, the class consists of at least tens of thousand of members in diverse locations throughtout the United States…” is listed.

This case is to my knowledge the first of this exact type, and I will be following it as events warrant.

Jay Moffitt is a TN attorney. The statements here are not legal advice, and no attorney/client relationship is created. Jay Moffitt claims no certification in this specialty, and TN does not offer a certification in this area of law. Copyright, Jay Moffitt, 2009. Comments are welcomed and will be answered promptly and courteously.