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| Delphi Graphics and Game Programming Exposed with DirectX 7.0 by John Ayres Wordware Publishing, Inc. ISBN: 1556226373 Pub Date: 12/01/99
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Sprites take many forms, and serve as a powerful element for increasing realism and improving a user’s overall enjoyment of the game. For example, sprites include asteroids in a space game, attacking orcs in a war game, and even your brave soldiers who are about to get butchered by the attacking orcish hordes. Sprites can even be used solely for improved background animation, such as birds flying overhead or vultures picking at the remains of dead orcs and human soldiers.
| Note: Creating art for games can be difficult if you’re not an artist and do not have access to one. However, there are several freeware art libraries available on the web that contain sprite images. Check out the SpriteLib sprite graphics library by Ari Feldman on the accompanying CD.
#### Sound Sounds in a game application can add depth and richness that is simply impossible to achieve with graphics alone. Sound immerses a player in the world represented by the game, increasing both the realism and the enjoyment of the experience. Technically speaking, it is possible to create a game without sounds of any kind. However, such a game, while possibly enjoyable, will have a feeling of incompleteness and will leave the user with the impression that something is missing. Just as graphics have progressed from their once-primitive lines and flat polygons, game sound creation has become a specialty field in its own right. Indeed, it is now common for well-known rock musicians to provide music for today’s hottest games. Larger game companies are hiring Hollywood sound designers to create realistic sound effects. Even some movie and television production houses are now selling their sound effect libraries for use in game applications. Game sounds can be broken into two component parts: sound effects and music. Sound Effects Good sound effects can add great depth to any game. An Asteroids clone might be fun enough to play without sound effects, but when you add the whine of laser blasts, the explosions of destroyed asteroids, the thrust of acceleration, and some blips and whirs to go along with normal UI elements such as buttons and menus, the game takes on a whole new dimension. Hearing the scrape of metal as your hero unsheathes his sword and a solid thud as the orcish leader’s head falls to the ground after being severed adds both realism and drama to a game. Such a sequence would not be nearly as effective without the accompanying sound effects. More importantly, sound effects can give the user audible clues as to changing game states. The typical game screen is busy enough, with the user trying desperately to outrun marauding pirates while avoiding cannon fire and shallow water and rocks. Sound effects can relate important information to the player, freeing her up to attend to the situation at hand instead of scanning the game interface to make sure that some critical system isn’t on the verge of destruction. For example, a space flight simulator may feature a ship with a shield rating. As the user flies around trying to avoid destruction while accumulating the maximum number of kills, the shield readout must be continually checked to make sure that the ship is still safe from harm. Implementing a sound effect such as a voice saying “Shields Low” will both free the user from a repetitive task as well as induce a sense of urgency when the user hears the sound effect. Another example of this type of audible clue is the typical “We’re under attack” heard in real-time strategy games. This frees the user from constantly scanning the map, which can quickly become a tiring chore, if not impossible. Even simple clicks or beeps on buttons and menus can greatly add to the realism and enjoyment of a game.
| Note: Magazines and books that cover the movie industry, particularly the special effects field, sometimes contain information on how to make sound effects. These same techniques can be used to create awesome sound effects for games.
Music Like sound effects, music can add a tremendous amount of depth to a game. Music helps to define the mood for a game, and can work wonders for building tension during climactic moments, a sense of euphoria after a victory, or a sense of melancholy after a defeat. The best games use music that changes with the context of the game, building a sense of anticipation during slow moments just before an ambush, and changing to a heart-pounding rhythm during the attack. The best example of the effective use of music to evoke emotions is in movies. Pay attention to how ballads can produce a feeling of romance or loss, and how anthems can just as effectively make you feel king of the world. A game that can use music as effectively as a movie will generally provide a greater level of enjoyment for its users. Unlike the other constituent elements of a game application, music may not always be an appropriate addition. While it may add depth to some games, it may be distracting or even a bit annoying in others. An upbeat, urgent rhythm played with electric guitars may be almost essential to a fast-paced aerial dogfight game, but the user may prefer total silence when playing a deeply tactical game such as chess. Thus, it is usually a good practice to include an option to turn off music (or even sound effects). #### User Input User input is by far the most important part of any game. It is the reason that a game is played in the first place. Without a means of providing some sort of interface so that the user can interact with the game elements, the game is little more than an elaborate animation. The entertainment value of a game comes from this user/game element interaction. If the user wanted to watch a non-interactive animation, she would have watched TV or gone to the movies. Providing a natural means of user interaction is a very important part in the overall design of a game. While a game may be pretty to look at and pleasant to listen to, if it is difficult to use, it won’t be used long. The most appropriate means of user interaction will depend on the type of game. Obviously, flight simulators would best be controlled through a joystick of some sort, while games with lots of moving pieces that can be repositioned freely should probably use the mouse. For other games, the keyboard may be the most natural means of user interaction. Regardless of the most appropriate input device, it is good practice to support input from a wide variety of input devices. This gives users more control over what feels intuitive to them, as some may feel more comfortable using the keyboard over the mouse, and vice versa. User input can be broken down into two parts: standard input devices and peripheral input devices.
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