Putting sound effects in your game (from a recording perspective) is one thing, making them sound professional is another. Once you've decided on the programming that you will use (Game Makers built in audio support or an external DLL) the last thing you have to do is turn sound waves into a stream of data that can be utilized to reproduce said sound waves through the use of speakers. “Sounds” simple enough right? Wrong. Recording audio doesn't take a mountain of effort but it does require attention. Depending on the hardware you can afford to accomplish the task, you will need to adjust your technique accordingly.

Equipment

Audio Interface = A device for converting analogue audio signals into a digital data stream that is sent either through a USB cable, or PCI/ex port. The reason that USB audio interfaces are usually better than any other sound card is that they don't have so much electromagnetic interference (EMI) to deal with. The confines of a computer can contain crazily copious amounts of EMI. Your computer (If it has a metal case) acts as a Faraday cage and seals almost all of it's EMI inside it. This EMI will interfere with recordings as a constant tone, noise, or other anomaly. The interference is usually not very loud but can be very noticeable when a gain effect (Volume boost) is used. A USB audio interface is, for the most part, unaffected by this issue simply by being outside of, and several feet from the computer. Once the audio data is digital, it is impervious to EMI. There are some PCI solutions that use an EMI resistant metal (Mu Metal) that covers the affected sections of the board. It is still considered best to invest in a USB solution if financially feasible. USB vs PCI performance, as far as audio interfaces are concerned, does not effect audio quality. When using many audio ins on a USB device, the bandwidth may be exceeded in which case, latency will increase. Quality will not suffer but if your using only one or two inputs, there should be no issues at all. By the way, latency is the lag that occurs when you press a key on a midi keyboard, or speak into a microphone, and the audio coming from your speakers is late because of various actions that had to be performed on the audio by the computer. Latency is inevitable in both PCI sound cards and USB solutions, but can be reduced down to an imperceptible 2-10ms; achieved by using ASIO drivers.

Microphones = I'm certain you know what a microphone is. The best ones to use for the purest possible sound reproduction are condenser mics. They employ a ventilated metal disk to which a membrane is attached. This plastic membrane has a very thin coating of gold (Or other metal) on the opposite side of the disk. This is a very basic capacitor. If either side is grounded and the other given an electrical charge, the capacitor will seek to balance the charges. The voltage will change with the distance of the membrane from the disk. As sound waves hit the membrane and push it back and forth, the voltage drop fluctuates and produces an analogue sound signal. Condenser microphones need phantom power. Don't let the name fool you (It's a bit of a marketing gimmick actually). Phantom power is nothing but 48v that is sent through a dedicated lead in the XLR cable (Cable most commonly used for condenser type microphones). This phantom power is needed to generate the electrical potential in the “capacitor”.

The other type of microphone used in recordings is the dynamic microphone. Dynamic mics are basically very tiny speakers. Here's a little lesson in electromagnetic forces. When a magnet is passed perpendicularly above a wire, electrical current forms in the wire. When current is passed through a wire, a magnetic field is produced (Which can oppose and move another magnet). Speakers receive analog signals in the form of rapidly changing voltages. A lot of wire, spun into a coil, is employed to combat the low levels of electromagnetic force that is produced. This coil is attached to a lightweight cone. When the audio signal is sent to the speaker, the coils generate force against a magnet, moving the cone back and forth. (The magnet in all speakers is permanently affixed to it's enclosure). As the cones move, air is being pushed out and pulled back in, thereby creating sound waves that you can here. Dynamic microphones generally have a less accurate frequency response since they have a heavy cone which sound waves must “push”. You can get acceptable results from a dynamic microphone, but these mics are mostly recommended for loud, on stage performances or for recording very low frequency (<60ish Hz) sounds. Most dynamic mics use ¼ inch phono plugs. The audio signal is created by the mic itself so no phantom power is required. The signal is of a very low strength so it must be amplified by something that is called a preamp. Nearly all (This is one of those 99.9999% kind of things) computer audio interfaces include a built in preamp. Something to look out for when shopping for a microphone is it's pickup pattern. Every microphone has a pickup pattern. This pattern dictates where the microphone records the best quality sound. A cardioid pickup pattern suggests that the best position for the sound source is in front of the microphone. The sides and back will produce a lower volume, muffled kind of sound. Omnidirectional mics record quite well from any direction, while shotgun mics have a very narrow pickup pattern directly in front. This is good for say; recording the voice of a person in a loud city. The voice will be the loudest and clearest sound in the recording while things like cars, trucks, and barking dogs will dissolve into the background (If they're even picked up by the microphone at all). The most versatile pattern is cardioid since it lets you record some of the ambiance of the room but it's focus point is on the subject.

So to recap, we need a microphone to capture sounds, and an audio interface to get those sounds onto your computer as audio files. There are some very good condenser microphones out there that offer built in audio interfaces. You simply use a USB cable to plug the microphone straight into a USB port on your computer. These USB mics are great for people who want to record into their laptops while on location. They also reduce the cost of your recording setup since you only have to purchase one device. Buy one USB microphone and your good to go.

Also, a good microphone stand goes a long way when recording sound effects. A taller microphone stand is useful for recording voice overs as many people prefer to stand when they speak to get their best performance. Good stands also help with getting the microphone into hard to reach spaces like right besides a golf ball that is about to be sent flying towards the green (or a blanket so as to stop it from hitting the neighbors car). Shockmounts can help with condenser mics because of their high sensitivity, while pop filters stop those harsh P's, B's, and D's from sounding so boomy. Stands, pop filters, and even shockmounts can be purchased or even built from parts found in your local home improvement store or an arts and crafts shop. (Be warned that although DIY shockmounts may work well they tend to look like a mess of rubber bands and duct tape.)

Tips and Techniques

Once you have all of your gear, your going to need a program to record audio into. There are great professional solutions as well as some very capable solutions that won't break the bank. Heck, they won't even touch it ;). Set your program up, connect your microphone and your ready to start recording. Ill start off by stating the obvious; don't care how you make the sound effects as long as they sound believable. No one will know that the footsteps they hear when their characters feet are trudging through a marshland while being stalked by an alligator are nothing but some shredded news paper in a bowl of water being squished down by a spoon. You don't need a mech to recreate the thunderous boom you here when one stomps the ground. A simple punch to your desk, modified in the audio program, could create the perfect footstep for a thirty ton walking tank. Don't forget that when you're recording sound effects, it is considered good practice to keep all of your recordings in a temporary folder for that day, no matter how they sound. Keep two permanent folders. One with raw recordings, and one with final edited sounds. Try to record the same sounds multiple times and keep them in your raw recordings folder. Then take your favorite sounds, edit them as you like, but save them to the final sounds folder. This way, if you need variations on a sound you like, you will have the raw folder. You can use the final folder as a personal archive for all of your Game Maker sound needs. You will be amazed how fast you can build up a professional sounding...sound library.

As a tip for both sound effects and voice overs, try to record in a room with a lot of carpeting, objects, or anything else that will help deaden the “room noise”. Room noise is basically what the microphone picks up before and after the sounds themselves are made. To even out the beginning of the sound, make sure that no one can interfere with your recording. No vacuum cleaners, no loud music, no one singing in the shower like they were auditioning for an opera where the people need to use binoculars just to make out how many actors are on stage. Room noise trailing your recording is usually reverb. There are two ways to reduce reverb. First, you can try to deaden the room like we discussed before, or secondly, lower the input volume of the microphone so that only the sound you need is being recorded. It is always advised, however, to try to treat the room because reverb will hit the mic mid-recording. For short sounds, like a ping pong ball hitting a piece of wood, the volume trick should work fine, but for a full fledged spoken paragraph, it won't do you any good. Speaking of speaking...

You can't do voice overs by using pots and pans, so you may want to know the following. When speaking into your microphone, make sure to either angle your head away from the mic or use a pop filter. When pronouncing words with a “puh” or “buh” sound, the puff of air coming from your mouth can overwhelm some microphones and create clipping. Clipping is when the volume of a sound being absorbed by the microphone is higher than the maximum output level. Clipping sounds bad so by “shooting” your puhs and buhs away from the mic, your reducing, or hopefully even better, eliminating their effect. You can get away with impersonating different voices for a while, but when you need more diversity your going to require the aid of others. To reduce stress and get the most out of your talent (The people you asked to help you with voice overs) prepare all of their lines ahead of time. Nothing is more stressful than coming over someones house or office and being told to “just wait a minute” because they are rewriting the entire games story. That just reminded me. Since you'll be doing a lot of takes, reserve scripts with strong emotions towards the end of the session. Everyone will be tired and ready to go home by then, so they should have it in them themselves to act in a more “natural” way if you know what I mean. That, and if they were a bit shy when they first started recording, they might be warmed up for the yelling or crying bits.

Well, I think I'm ready to call it in. I will end with the most important tip of all when recording; Whatever you do, and however you do it, the sound is what counts. If it sounds good, it IS good!