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Game Audio 301

Sound & Music Implementation using Wwise

Elliot Callighan

So you've written and produced your music, recorded your dialogue and created all your sfx - but how do you get these files in your game and make them behave the way you want?

In game audio, creating the audio files themselves (sfx, music, etc) is a process but so is creating the systems that govern how and when these sounds are played.

Instead of putting audio on a timeline, game audio professionals are usually asked to design audio events which are then programmed by either a technical sound designer or programmer on the development team to work with Unreal, Unity or another game engine.

Read more

So you've written and produced your music, recorded your dialogue and created all your sfx - but how do you get these files in your game and make them behave the way you want?

In game audio, creating the audio files themselves (sfx, music, etc) is a process but so is creating the systems that govern how and when these sounds are played.

Instead of putting audio on a timeline, game audio professionals are usually asked to design audio events which are then programmed by either a technical sound designer or programmer on the development team to work with Unreal, Unity or another game engine.

Wwise is one of the leading applications of audio middleware used to design these audio events. Able to be integrated with Unreal, Unity and most other available game engines, it gives the user the ability to implement all audio in a game space.

Students will learn the basics of working within Wwise, general considerations for implementing audio and a musical score as well as the available tools for troubleshooting.

During the course, students will implement all audio for the open source game Cube while walking through the educational resources created by the developer of Wwise, Audiokinetic.

This class is designed for sound designers, composers, developers, and anyone else experienced in sound who wants a more holistic game audio skill set.

Enroll now

What's inside

Syllabus

Have everything set up to begin implementing sounds in the open source game, Cube.

Getting you up and running! To begin, head to https://www.audiokinetic.com/download/ to download and install the Wwise launcher. Then, watch this video and download the resources!

Read more

A short explanation pointing out some differences between 2021+ and previous versions of Wwise and Cube.

Intro to Wwise Layout and Creating an Event
Wwise Layout and Creating an Event
Randomization, Asset Mileage
Using Single Sound for Multiple Applications
Randomization, Variation, Random and Sequence Containers
Switches, RTPCs, States
Switches and Switch Containers
Real Time Parameter Controls
States
Attenuation, Positioning
Attenuation
Positioning
Actor Mixers, Busses, Effects, Schematic View
Actor Mixers and Audio Busses
Assigning Busses, Ducking Sends and Effects
Schematic View
Troubleshooting - Soundcaster, Mixing Desk, Soundbanks and Conversion Settings
Using Soundcaster
Using the Mixing Desk
Soundbanks, Conversion Settings, Limiting Voice Instances
Soundbanks and Conversion Settings
Limiting Voice Instances
Music Considerations, Segments, Events and Track Types
Music Audio File Types, Considerations and Naming Conventions
Music Segments
Music Playlist Containers
Music Events and Soundbanks
Editing Stems and Music Segment Track types
Editing Stems in Music Segments
Music Segment Track Types
Music Segment and Playlist Templates, Music Switches, Horizontal Re-Sequencing
Copying and Editing Segment Templates
Playlist Population and Structure
Music Switch Containers, States, Transitions and Using Events
Music Switch Containers and Single State Transitions
Music Switches with Multiple Playlists and States
Using Events to Set States
Stingers, Vertical Mixing
Adding Stingers to Music Playlists
Testing Stingers and Adding Stinger to Music Segments
Vertical Mixing Using States
Switch Sub-Tracks and Vertical Mixing Using Game Parameters
Custom Switch Groups, Slew Rates for RTPCs, Transition Segments
Custom Switch Groups for Music
Using a RTPC with a Slew Rate to Control a Switch
Using Events to Set RTPC Values
Transition Segments

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Game Audio 301: Sound & Music Implementation using Wwise with these activities:
Review Basic Audio Concepts
Solidify your understanding of fundamental audio concepts to better grasp Wwise's advanced features.
Show steps
  • Review the basics of digital audio.
  • Study acoustics and sound propagation.
  • Familiarize yourself with common audio terminology.
Read 'The Sound Effects Bible'
Gain a deeper understanding of sound design principles and techniques to enhance your Wwise implementation skills.
View Make Some Noise: Sound Effects Recording for... on Amazon
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'The Sound Effects Bible'.
  • Read the chapters on recording and editing sound effects.
  • Take notes on key concepts and techniques.
Experiment with Wwise Demo Projects
Reinforce your understanding of Wwise concepts by experimenting with pre-built demo projects.
Show steps
  • Download demo projects from the Audiokinetic website.
  • Open the projects in Wwise and explore the event structures.
  • Modify parameters and observe the resulting changes in sound.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Read 'Designing Sound'
Enhance your sound design skills by learning about the underlying principles of sound synthesis and processing.
View Designing Sound (Mit Press) on Amazon
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'Designing Sound'.
  • Read the chapters on sound synthesis techniques.
  • Experiment with implementing these techniques in Wwise.
Design a Simple Interactive Soundscape
Apply your Wwise knowledge by creating an interactive soundscape with dynamic elements.
Show steps
  • Choose a theme for your soundscape (e.g., forest, city).
  • Gather or create relevant sound effects and music loops.
  • Implement the sounds in Wwise, using RTPCs and switches for interactivity.
  • Test and refine your soundscape.
Contribute to Wwise Documentation
Deepen your understanding of Wwise by contributing to its open-source documentation.
Show steps
  • Identify areas in the Wwise documentation that need improvement.
  • Write clear and concise explanations or examples.
  • Submit your contributions to the Wwise documentation team.
Implement Audio for a Personal Game Project
Solidify your Wwise skills by implementing audio for a personal game project.
Show steps
  • Choose a game project to work on.
  • Design the audio events and systems for the game.
  • Implement the audio in Wwise and integrate it with the game engine.
  • Test and refine the audio implementation.

Career center

Learners who complete Game Audio 301: Sound & Music Implementation using Wwise will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Game Audio Implementer
A Game Audio Implementer is responsible for integrating audio assets into a game engine and ensuring they function correctly. This course directly trains someone to become a game audio implementer, focusing on the practical skills needed to use Wwise. It covers the basics of working within Wwise, general considerations for implementing audio, and available tools for troubleshooting. The course's hands-on project, implementing audio for the open-source game Cube, provides valuable experience for aspiring implementers.
See salaries and explore the career path for Game Audio Implementer
Middleware Specialist
A Middleware Specialist is an expert in audio middleware tools like Wwise and FMOD, providing support and training to game developers. This course directly aligns with the role of a middleware specialist, focusing specifically on Wwise. This may be relevant, considering that a middleware specialist needs hands-on experience using the software. The course, therefore, is a stepping stone to becoming a middleware specialist.
See salaries and explore the career path for Middleware Specialist
Technical Sound Designer
A Technical Sound Designer bridges the gap between sound design and game programming, implementing audio assets and creating interactive sound systems. This course specifically addresses the core responsibilities of a technical sound designer. By learning to design audio events and implement them using Wwise, professionals will gain the hands-on experience in the implementation aspect of game audio. The course's troubleshooting sections, using tools like Soundcaster and the Mixing Desk, can help someone become a technical sound designer.
See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Sound Designer
Interactive Audio Specialist
An Interactive Audio Specialist designs and implements audio systems that respond dynamically to player actions and in-game events. This course is helpful to someone that seeks to become an interactive audio specialist, focusing on the techniques used to create dynamic audio. The course's modules on switches, real-time parameter controls, and states, combined with its coverage of music implementation, provide a solid understanding of how to create interactive soundscapes. The sections on transition segments can also help them to become an interactive audio specialist.
See salaries and explore the career path for Interactive Audio Specialist
Sound Designer
A Sound Designer crafts the sonic landscape of video games. This involves creating sound effects, recording dialogue, and implementing music. This course helps someone become a sound designer as it focuses on implementing audio into a game engine using Wwise. The course teaches how to design audio events, a core skill for sound designers, and explores implementation considerations. The course's hands-on approach, using the open-source game Cube, lets aspiring sound designers gain practical experience with Wwise.
See salaries and explore the career path for Sound Designer
Audio Systems Designer
An Audio Systems Designer creates the underlying systems and tools that allow audio to be implemented and controlled within a game. This course provides insights into the design of effective audio systems using Wwise. The course helps audio systems designers understand the capabilities and limitations of audio middleware. Modules on switches, RTPCs, states, and music implementation are particularly relevant, enabling them to design systems that support dynamic and interactive audio experiences.
See salaries and explore the career path for Audio Systems Designer
Game Composer
A Game Composer produces original music for video games, setting the tone and enhancing the player experience. This course may be useful to a game composer as it covers implementing a musical score within a game environment using Wwise. The course includes lessons on music segments, events, track types, and music playlists. Composers will find the sections on editing stems and music segment track types particularly useful as they learn how to translate their compositions into interactive game audio.
See salaries and explore the career path for Game Composer
Sound Design Instructor
A Sound Design Instructor teaches aspiring sound designers the principles and techniques of creating audio for games and other media. This course can help someone who seeks to be a sound design instructor as it provides a practical, hands-on understanding of audio implementation using Wwise. It will also show the instructor how to walk through the educational resources created by Audiokinetic. This is the kind of experience that someone needs to be an instructor of sound design.
See salaries and explore the career path for Sound Design Instructor
Virtual Reality Audio Designer
A Virtual Reality Audio Designer specializes in creating immersive audio experiences for virtual reality environments. This course may be useful to someone who seeks to become a virtual reality audio designer as it covers the fundamentals of spatial audio implementation using Wwise. The course helps someone who seeks to get started in the field of VR audio design. The sections on attenuation and positioning, are useful for creating realistic and engaging VR soundscapes.
See salaries and explore the career path for Virtual Reality Audio Designer
Audio Programmer
An Audio Programmer focuses on the technical aspects of game audio implementation, writing code to control sound playback and create dynamic audio systems. This course may be useful to an audio programmer as they learn how Wwise integrates with game engines like Unreal and Unity. They can also understand how audio events are designed and triggered, enabling them to better collaborate with sound designers and implement more sophisticated audio behaviors. The course's coverage of troubleshooting, soundbanks, and conversion settings are valuable to audio programmers.
See salaries and explore the career path for Audio Programmer
Audio Director
An Audio Director oversees all aspects of audio production for a game, from sound design to music composition and implementation. This course may be useful to someone who seeks to become an audio director as they gain a deeper understanding of the audio implementation process. By learning how to use Wwise to design and manage audio events, they can better guide their team and ensure a cohesive and impactful sonic experience. The course's overview of music considerations, mixing, and troubleshooting provides them with a broader perspective on game audio production.
See salaries and explore the career path for Audio Director
Sound Effects Editor
A Sound Effects Editor is responsible for creating, editing, and mastering sound effects for games. This course may be useful to a sound effects editor because, while it does not focus on sound creation, it provides the skills needed to implement and integrate sound effects effectively within a game environment using Wwise. Understanding how sound effects are triggered, controlled, and mixed within the game engine helps sound effects editors create more impactful audio assets. The course's coverage of attenuation, positioning, and mixing provides additional context.
See salaries and explore the career path for Sound Effects Editor
Dialogue Editor
A Dialogue Editor is responsible for editing and cleaning up recorded dialogue for use in games. This course may be helpful to a Dialogue Editor and helps them understand how dialogue is implemented and controlled within a game. Dialogue editors will benefit from seeing the implementation process, and how they make a difference in the ultimate final product that players will experience. The course's segments on voice instances may prove to be quite helpful.
See salaries and explore the career path for Dialogue Editor
Game Audio Tester
A Game Audio Tester is responsible for ensuring that the audio in a game is functioning correctly and meeting quality standards. This course may be useful to those aspiring to become game audio testers, providing a fundamental understanding of how audio is implemented using Wwise. This understanding helps testers identify and report issues more effectively. The course's troubleshooting sections, using tools like Soundcaster and the Mixing Desk, are directly applicable to the testing process.
See salaries and explore the career path for Game Audio Tester
Game Level Designer
A Game Level Designer creates the environments and gameplay spaces within a video game. This course may be useful to a game level designer because understanding how audio is implemented and controlled within a game engine such as Unreal or Unity is critical. Level designers can collaborate more effectively with sound designers, ensuring that the audio complements the visual and gameplay elements of the level. The course's hands-on implementation of audio for the open-source game Cube is also valuable.
See salaries and explore the career path for Game Level Designer

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Game Audio 301: Sound & Music Implementation using Wwise.
Cover image
Designing Sound
Save
Delves into the technical aspects of sound synthesis and processing. It provides a strong foundation for understanding how audio is generated and manipulated. While it doesn't focus specifically on Wwise, the knowledge gained from this book can be applied to create more complex and nuanced sound designs within the software. It is commonly used as a textbook in audio engineering programs.
Designing Sound (Mit Press)
Hardcover
$$$
Designing Sound
Kindle Edition
$$
Cover image
Make Some Noise
Save
Provides a comprehensive overview of sound effects creation and implementation. It covers recording techniques, editing workflows, and library management. While not Wwise-specific, it offers valuable context for understanding the source material used within the software. It useful reference for sound designers of all levels.
Make Some Noise: Sound Effects Recording for Teens
Paperback
$$
Make Some Noise: Sound Effects Recording for Teens
Kindle Edition
$$

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Effort
7 total hours
Via
Udemy
Instructor
Elliot Callighan
Language
English
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