Level 2: On the Road—to NOW!

A Brief History of Games and Game Audio

Evolution of Sound in Video Games

Early Beginnings: Silent to Primitive Sounds
Progression of Game Audio Technology
Adapting to Technological Limitations
Recurring Themes in Game Audio Development

The First Video Games

timeline

The Silent Era of Video Games (1940–1970)

Beginnings: University Mainframe Computers
Notable Early Games: OXO and Spacewar!
The First Home Console: Magnavox Odyssey

Spacewar!

The Dawn of Sound in Video Games (1970–1980)

Introduction of Sound in Arcade Games
Technology Behind Early Game Sounds
Role of Sound Designers and Composers

Pong (1972), Atari - Nolan Bushnell

Atari, founded by Nolan Bushnell, achieved its first major success with the arcade game Pong. Initially programmed as a practice exercise by engineer Allan Alcorn, Pong was inspired by paddle tennis games on the Magnavox Odyssey.
Bushnell’s decision to include sound effects in Pong was revolutionary. Using a sync generator, Alcorn created three distinct sounds: a low-pitched blip for wall collisions, a higher-pitched blip for paddle strikes, and a bleep for scoring points.
Pong’s popularity was significantly boosted by its sound effects, which attracted attention and curiosity. It became one of the first arcade games with sound and was a best-seller, establishing Atari as a leader in the early video game industry.
Pong also transitioned into a home console game, inspiring numerous clones and leading to the video game industry’s first slump. Atari later revitalized the market with the Atari VCS or 2600, the first major console with a sound chip.

Atari 2600 (1977):

The Atari 2600, launched in 1977, represented a significant advancement in home gaming consoles. It featured a CPU, combined with RAM for short-term memory, I/O functions, and a display and sound chip named the TIA (Television Interface Adaptor).
This console’s four-chip design allowed for cost-effective manufacturing and the ability to load different programs, enhancing game diversity.
The Atari 2600’s sound, though technologically primitive with 2 channels of 1-bit monaural sound and 4-bit volume control, became iconic in the gaming world. Its distinct, quirky, and raw audio quality is still recognized and cherished by game enthusiasts and chiptune music fans.
Despite its limited bit sound, the Atari 2600’s audio was groundbreaking for its time, contributing to the console’s immense popularity and enduring cultural legacy in the realm of video game music.

Atari games

Sampled sounds - and more complex synthesis

Rally-X (1980), Namco

Stratovox (1980), Sun Electronics

Gyruss (1983), Konami

Marble Madness (1984), Atari

Nintendo NES: Revolutionizing Console Audio

Introduction of the Famicom/NES
Audio Improvements in the NES
Impact on the Video Game Industry

Nintendo launched the Famicom in Japan, later introduced in the US as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), significantly revitalizing the console video game industry post-crash.
The NES featured enhanced audio capabilities compared to its predecessors. It included three synthesized musical voices (two pulse waves and one triangle wave), a noise channel, and the capacity for 6-bit PCM audio up to 33KHz.
These advancements allowed composers to create more complex and memorable game music, contributing to the NES’s reputation for iconic soundtracks.
With high-quality hardware that rivalled arcade systems, the NES played a crucial role in shifting the gaming landscape. It drew gamers away from arcades to home gaming, notably with titles like “Donkey Kong” and “Super Mario Bros,” and heralded the decline of the arcade industry.

16-bit sound - Sega Genesis and Nintendo Entertainment System

Sega Genesis and Sega CD

Sega Genesis: A Leap in Sound Quality
Introduction of Sega CD
Expansion of Audio Capabilities and Challenges

Sega entered the console market concurrently with Nintendo, achieving notable success with the Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive) in 1988. Despite having less memory capacity than its contemporaries, with 64KB of RAM and 8KB for sound, the Genesis marked a significant improvement in sound quality.
The Genesis featured a Yamaha FM chip with built-in sounds and 6 stereo audio channels, enhancing the audio experience considerably compared to earlier consoles.
The Sega CD, released in 1992, was a major advancement with its 500 MB CD-ROM disc, substantially increasing storage capacity. This allowed for enhanced graphics and sound, including 18 sound channels, a 44.1 KHz sample rate, and connections for household stereo systems.
Games for the Sega CD could include fully produced opening cutscenes, intricate MIDI scores, numerous 16-bit stereo audio tracks, extensive sound effects, and extensive voice-overs. The complexity of mixing these audio elements was a significant challenge, showcasing the considerable evolution from the simpler audio capabilities of earlier systems like the NES.

The Revenge of Shinobi (1989), Sega

Super Famicom/Super NES

Launch and Features of the Super NES
Audio Capabilities of the Super NES
Challenges in Achieving Quality Sound
Balancing Audio with Other Game Elements

In 1991, Nintendo introduced the Super Famicom in America as the Super NES (SNES), priced at $249.95. This 16-bit system featured a Sony SPC700 sound chip, providing eight channels and a sound capacity of 64KHz.
The SNES allowed for audio streaming from the cartridge, enabling integration of premixed music, voice-over, and sound effects into games. However, this capability was limited by transfer rates.
A significant challenge was the quality of 8-bit audio samples, which required expertise to balance and enhance to acceptable standards.
The limited storage space of game cartridges (up to 6 Megabytes) necessitated compromises in audio quality. Audio often had a lower priority compared to graphics or cutscenes, leading to downsampling to fit within the memory constraints.
The SNES had a total RAM size of up to 128KB, highlighting the ongoing challenge in gaming of balancing audio quality with file size constraints, a theme that persists even in modern gaming.

Chrono Trigger (1995)

Star Fox (1993), Nintendo

Playstation, 1994

Introduction of the PlayStation
Enhanced Audio Capabilities in PlayStation Consoles
Historical Milestones in Game Audio

Sony entered the gaming market in 1995 with the PlayStation, priced at $299. This 32-bit console featured a 24-channel sound chip, offering CD-quality stereo sound and built-in digital effects like reverb and delay.
The PlayStation series progressively improved in terms of audio capacity and quality. The PlayStation 2, released in 2000, and the PlayStation 3, introduced in 2006, offered advanced sound capabilities, including handling numerous sounds on the CPU and continuous audio streams. The PlayStation 3 notably supported HDMI output with eight channels of audio and surround sound capabilities.
The PlayStation 4, with an 8-core processor and a dedicated sound processing chip, further advanced audio capabilities, able to decompress multiple MP3 streams simultaneously.
A notable historic achievement in game audio was the game “Voyeur,” released in 1993 for the Philips Interactive system. It featured one of the first full orchestral scores in a video game, composed by Garry Schyman, who later worked on the BioShock series.

Level 2: On the Road—to NOW!

A Brief History of Games and Game Audio

Evolution of Sound in Video Games

The First Video Games

The Silent Era of Video Games (1940–1970)

Spacewar!

The Dawn of Sound in Video Games (1970–1980)

Pong (1972), Atari - Nolan Bushnell

Atari 2600 (1977):

Atari games

Sampled sounds - and more complex synthesis

Rally-X (1980), Namco

Stratovox (1980), Sun Electronics

Gyruss (1983), Konami

Marble Madness (1984), Atari

Nintendo NES: Revolutionizing Console Audio

16-bit sound - Sega Genesis and Nintendo Entertainment System

Sega Genesis and Sega CD

The Revenge of Shinobi (1989), Sega

Super Famicom/Super NES

Chrono Trigger (1995)

Star Fox (1993), Nintendo

Playstation, 1994

Final Fantasy VII (1997), Square

Pre-recorded and streaming music

Quake (1996), id Software