MUSIC AND SOUND FOR GAMES - 2027/8

Module Overview

A key component in video games is the soundscape of the player experience. The sounds and music components of the game help to communicate meaning, function and interaction to the players and add an important layer of immersion and engagement. In this module you will explore interactive sound design for games in both linear and non-linear formats with particular reference to games and games design. A successful game requires these different components to work together to produce effects that are not just enjoyable, but truly captivating and informative to players, adapting and reacting in real time to player choice and action. Both sound artists and composers will find very useful application in this module of the skills to real world gaming (and related) industry settings and employability.

You will work with university equipment and software to create audio landscapes and effects that draw the player into the game world and that foreground interaction and immersion in that interactivity. Alongside analysis of sound objects and processes (linear and non-linear) in games and games design, students will explore and develop composition, spatialisation technique and soundscapes design work that can be tested and demonstrated in relation to a proposed game sound project for assessment. On this module you will create, and apply post-production techniques, to a portfolio of sound/music design elements as a library of game sounds', a collaborative project with other students on the module and as an individual sonic/music project with reflective critical commentary. Music and Sound for Games, in its further, in detail, exploration of sonic aspects of games and games design, as well as technological and technical solutions and knowledge, such as using tools and software such as fmod, wwise and fabric and the sound subsystem in Unreal Engine. It will contribute to the important acquisition of technical and software skills in the degree and connect to the other sound arts and games design modules in your first and second years as well as feed into your final year projects.

Module provider

Music & Media

Module Leader

MOONEY Stephen (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

FVP2001 - SOUND IN FILM AND TV

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Sonic interaction in video games


• Sonic immersion


• Linear and non-linear application in sound and music


• Composition for video games


• Spatialisation and soundscapes


• Location sound recording


• Mixing and mastering


• Post-production and realisation


• Sound design collaboration

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the module learning outcomes.

Seminar-workshop discussion with ongoing tutor feedback is designed mainly to assess transferable skills in working as part of a group and practical/professional skills in expressing ideas and critical analysis in oral communication. It also assesses subject knowledge in the different forms of practical, theoretical and technological (hardware and software) resources available and usable in sound, music and game design and cognitive/analytical skills in critical thinking and in using theory, innovation and creative practice approaches in the close analysis of sound art and composition and critical materials.

The portfolio of sound design objects assesses practical creative application of sound and music technology to games and acts as part of a broader professionally focused sound/music portfolio that student can take forward into future careers. Students develop advanced subject knowledge and application in relation to sound, music and games as well as the cognitive problem solving that goes along with this. These also function as transferable skills in the creating and compiling of creative outputs to address specific needs in the application of sound and music.

The group sound project assesses practical creative application of sound and music technology to collaborative project work in music and sound for games and acts as part of a broader professionally focused sound/music portfolio that student can take forward into future careers. Students develop advanced subject knowledge and application in relation to sound, music and games as well as the cognitive problem solving that goes along with this collaborative group setting. These also function as transferable skills in working with others collaboratively towards the realisation of a group project.

The individual sonic/music project with reflective critical commentary assesses practical creative application of sound and music technology to an individual video game focused project and acts as part of a broader professionally focused sound/music portfolio that student can take forward into future careers. Students develop advanced subject knowledge and application in relation to sound, music and games as well as the cognitive problem solving that goes along with designing, testing and realising a final year project. These also function as transferable skills in the creating and compiling of creative outputs to address specific needs in the application of sound and music. The reflective critical commentary element of the project offers an opportunity for students to employ their research skills to determine and develop the critical context of their creative work to better understand where they may fit in a contemporary games industry landscape and beyond to the creative industries more broadly.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

Portfolio of sound design objects (25%)

This summative assessment is an opportunity for students to create and present a portfolio of sound creations for video games for assessment.

Group Sound Project (25%)

This summative assessment is an opportunity for students to work together as part of a team to explore and develop an aspect of music and sound for games, presenting a collaborative soundtrack for assessment

 Individual sonic/music project with reflective critical commentary (1500 words) (50%)

This summative assessment is an opportunity for students to work on their own sonic/music project that explores and presents an aspect of music and sound for games as a realised project for assessment.

Formative Assessment & Feedback:

There are no formal formative assessment components for this module, but formative feedback will be given to individual students the practical seminar-workshops.

Verbal feedback and formative 'feed forward' is provided through tutor and peer feedback in seminar-workshop discussions, with draft ideas and potentially written plans presented as part of the confidence building safe space of the seminar-workshop.

Cognitive ability will be developed and refined in class discussions in relation to theory, critical and practical approaches and to games design modalities. Academic writing and critical analysis skills will be developed and honed which will feed forward to the final summative assessment for this module and towards building the students' resilience and confidence in preparing work for examination.

There is the option of a range of other feedback mechanisms agreed between tutor and students in week 1 of the module, such as seminar-workshop contribution and writing exercises.

Module aims

• equip students with an extended knowledge in the area of games audio and composition
  
• develop in students an advanced understanding of professional audio systems in video games with a view to enhancing player immersion, engagement and action
• further expand students' engagement with and understanding of a range of essential techniques, structuring and workflow skills for designing audio content for games
• provide students with the opportunity to more deeply explore critical analysis of audio systems in relation to games to encourage them to think critically in connecting these to games design techniques and practices
• continue to enhance students' understanding of the processes and tasks involved in the recording and post-production of sound for visual media
• provide students with the opportunity to develop and present a range of sound and compositional creative materials that will contribute to the portfolios of work that they can showcase to employers
• further develop and build confidence in students' critical and analytical skills

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• hone and develop students' critical contexualisation and analysis skills (in a variety of forms) by developing an awareness of the application of sound and music techniques and technology to their games design practice and processes through set reading, responding to in-class prompts, discussion and sharing of audio creation/composition experience (as well as in gameplay) alongside study of critical and source materials


• assist students in locating practical sound and music outputs within and alongside theories, approaches and modes of production in their own critical writing, and their own design work by identifying some of the key ideas and concerns in the study and application of sound and music in games, the visual arts and beyond such as digital AI, global cultural and sustainability questions, and the relationship between creative design practice and critical and theoretical approaches to such


• help students produce innovative, imaginative and exciting publication standard games related creative work through applied practice in class and in individual and group project work


• equip students with more developed research and writing skills they will need to produce critically informed and nuanced academic and critically analytical writing by developing further competency and confidence in writing in critical and academic modes through the safe space of the seminar-workshop setting where ideas, advice and responses are shared with other students


• equip students with a further grounding in resourcefulness and resilience as practitioners, thinkers and critics by giving them the freedom to connect with, explore and experiment with ideas, modes, practices, theories, technology and approaches around specialised areas of study and application to the industry environments they will encounter through set reading and prompts, and by providing them with the supportive and encouraging safe space of the seminar-workshop space within which they can hone their skills in debating and receiving and giving constructive critical responses and feedback to critical ideas and approaches that they identify and refine in their own critical and creative practices


• help students develop hone the sorts of practical, applied sound and music skills and credentials that modern employers look for in the games and related creative industries (and beyond) through the more developed testing, post-production, feedback and realisation experience engendered though the set reading, prompts in class and the assessment briefs which foreground more applied practical employability-focussed skills, including woring collaboratively as part of a project team


• further facilitate students' complex creativity, developing libraries of sound objects and/or compositional soundscapes for games as well as collaborative project work and individual project realisation which will benefit students going forward into the sorts of interdisciplinary environments that characterise many of the employment roles that games design students are likely to enter by refining their collaborative, interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary thinking and practice in producing creative work for incorporation into games and other creative industry outputs through the set reading, teaching, seminar-workshop discussions and assessment outputs of the module

The learning and teaching methods include:

a combination of lecture materials, seminar-workshops, captured content, guided learning and independent learning, and includes a weekly combined seminar-workshop where students respond to advanced critical ideas in sound and music studies and discuss with their tutor and their peers those aspects, challenges and approaches that appeal or do not appeal to them as future games designers and critics working with audio and music in a supportive, constructive and open manner.

Students will engage with preparatory reading, including, where relevant, critical arguments by other students, in advance of the combined seminar-workshop which will incorporate in-depth discussion of interrelated critical ideas and texts with in-class prompts each week. Designed to help students reflect on and apply their learning to music and sound production and on the advanced application of this to games design, the seminar-workshop environment acts as a safe space for developing and exchanging ideas, support, design, analysis and writing skills.

Varied learning materials such as lexical texts, visual materials, sculptural objects and other physical material prompts, video and sound objects, games and gamified texts are designed to increase student accessibility and will present them with a range of interpretive materials and approaches with which to work and develop their own thinking and creative responses.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: DMA3018

Other information

The School of Arts, Humanities & Creative Industries is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Employability: this final year module provided the opportunity for students to develop a set of industry facing sound and/or music outputs that may contribute to their portfolio of work that they can present to future employers in the games industries, the creative industries and beyond. Students will develop creative work focussed on specific concerns and challenges faced by games designers and the games industries in relation to sounds and music within the framework of the professional standards and business and industry environments that a career in contemporary games design and beyond require. In focussing on and honing and developing further key creative and compositional abilities, such as composition for video games, sonic interaction in video games, sonic immersion, and sound design collaboration, as well as analytical, critical and writing skills, in this module you will improve your existing professional abilities, facilitating your growth as a professional games design practitioner in the sound and music arts. The skills and aptitudes developed in this module will feed into the wider sound and music and games design expertise throughout your degree and be particularly useful in the Final Major Project and virtual production arenas.

Equally important for employability within these areas (and often overlooked) is the development of social knowledge around games design and personability and working collaboratively as part of a team.

Digital Capabilities: in this module, software and digital technologies are examined and used from both a critical and a practice standpoint to generate and realise creative outputs in digital form. Specific conceptual aspects of game design and gameplay in relation to sound and music will be addressed in terms of interactivity, immersion and non-linearity and realised in digital solutions. As such, this module is intimately concerned with digital capabilities. Students develop advanced proficiency in linear and non-linear application in sound and music, mixing and mastering, soundscapes and sound recording as well as post-production and realisation. In addition, the opportunities and challenges posed by generative AI will form part of the advanced skills development of students. Appropriate use of digital media and communication platforms is increasingly important for games, sound art and creative industry professionals and students will gain and develop those invaluable skills as part of this module.

As part of the module seminar-workshops, you will also be encouraged to communicate with one another and to work on some exercises using SurreyLearn, Microsoft Teams, and other digital and file and output sharing platforms, skills will be carried forward to other modules across your degree and beyond.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: music, sound design and games design are all broad fields that have a significant application to human experience, interaction and artistic and cultural immersion that crosses borders and boundaries reaching all parts of our global cultures, while acknowledging and foregrounding those aspects that make different cultures so valuable and vibrant. The interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches that work in music and sound for video games entails are adept at exploring subjects from multiple different and varied standpoints and as such play a vital role in emoting, recording, preserving and emphasing the cultural specificities of different cultures and experiences, especially those that might otherwise be silenced or endangered. The weekly seminar-workshop sessions give students the opportunity to present your own approaches to, and analysis of, the themes and practical components of the module and to experience and respond to those of others in a friendly, constructive and open forum.

Resourcefulness and Resilience: this module’s emphasis on producing work that functions within the confines of a larger multi-disciplinary field and the problem solving that this often entails encourages students to respond positively and creatively to the challenges that the real world setting of your current and future games design practice promises. The shared experience of your peers (a really important group, as you will be the composers, sound artists, games designers and specialists of the future) is very important source of resourcefulness and resilience for students especially when exploring working as part of interdisciplinary teams. Your tutors, who all have expertise in sounds design and music, will also be a great source of information about life and practice in these fields, as will the periodic guest speakers attached to the Games Design programme that you will encounter as you progress through your degree. This module provides students with a number of analytical and contextual challenges which reflect the current state of the art in sound art and music for video games and in games design itself. Students need to respond to these with inventiveness and flexibility, and are often required to research and develop their own solutions to given problems.

Sustainability: students are made aware of sustainable design and production practices around the production and presentation of sound and music for games. Furthermore, students may choose to produce creative work that directly addresses environmental and sustainability issues as part of their subject matter. Music, sound art and games design, as with all art forms, can also realise cultural sustainability goals, playing an important role in increasing and maintaining awareness of cultural identity, themes and experience.

Teachers across the School also work closely with the University of Surrey’s Institute for Sustainability to explore and promote the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2027/8 academic year.