A Sound Idea

The question most pertinent to the topic of audio in mobile games is - is it actually relevant? Looking back, audio has always been something of an after thought for J2ME, the original version didn’t even include an API for sound, leaving it to each manufacturer to developer their own proprietary one. The effect of this was a legacy of incompatibility and poor sound support that continues even to this day. MIDP 2 finally provided a nice consistent interface, but the original proprietary interfaces continued for backward compatibility and often the MIDP2 interface was often no more than a thin layer on top of the original proprietary one. Today, audio is still the most incompatible and problematic part of J2ME and is generally one of the first things that pulled when problems hit.

There is no other gaming device, where the first question you get asked is ‘do you want to switch sound off?’ The reason why sound has such a paltry role to play is largely because of the occasion usage for mobile games. Mobile games are generally played either when we can’t hear the sound or don’t want it, because it’s considered anti-social.

Times are changing, however, and with the newer handsets entering the market, manufacturers are putting a lot more effort behind sound. The increasing size of the application allows for sampled sound effects and good sound chips give us the ability to deliver licensed music which is recognisable. Although we might not be quite at Wip3out, games like redout racer are really starting to make some progress in getting licensed music into mobile games.

With the arrival of 3D handsets, you’re also getting 3D audio with the JSR234, although this is hardly worth the bother with the poor mobile speaker, put on a good pair of headphones and you really start to experience the 3D effects. 3D audio brings a whole new experience to mobile gaming for the right kind of game, but like everything in mobile it’s vital that we develop games focused on a target audience. With casual puzzle titles, for example, licensed music isn’t relevant, whereas gamers of console ports to mobile on the other hand are going to appreciate the greater depth that enhanced audio brings.

Reviewers of mobile games, who are increasingly influential in the purchasing process for consumers, need to recognise that publishers are going to work to deliver the right audio experience for the right game. Broadly speaking, mobile gaming is usually part of another activity, whether it is commuting, or avoiding boredom in meetings and at school, for example. Reviewers who play games for a living are not playing mobile games in a usual context and therefore frequently place too much importance on audio.