Books

Real Sound Synthesis for Interactive Applications (Book & CD-ROM)

Average customer rating:

Real Sound Synthesis/a review
Excellent book on an under-served subject
Wonderful long-term goal, but not with today's hardware
It's a lot more than a cook book
Not just another digital music book....

Real Sound Synthesis for Interactive Applications (Book & CD-ROM)
Perry R. Cook
Manufacturer: AK Peters, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound: An Introduction to Psychoacoustics
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ASIN: 1568811683

Book Description

Virtual environments such as games and animated and "real" movies require realistic sound effects that can be integrated by computer synthesis. The book emphasizes physical modeling of sound and focuses on real-world interactive sound effects.

It is intended for game developers, graphics programmers, developers of virtual reality systems and training simulators, and others who want to learn about computational sound.

It is written at an introductory level with mathematical foundations provided in appendices. An enclosed CD contains code examples and sound files.

Customer Reviews:

Real Sound Synthesis/a review.......2007-01-05

One of the best volumes I've come across in the field of sound synthesis on personal computers. Provides a solid introduction to this field for those who wish to create sound on a PC (as opposed to play back previously- recorded sound).

Excellent book on an under-served subject.......2006-02-18

This is not a book that introduces and uses signal processing concepts for the sake of itself. Instead, the goal of the book is to create sounds, learn the tools and theory behind creating such sounds, and grasp the essentials of many sophisticated physical modeling concepts in particular. The book is quite thin, but don't let this fool you. The author chose to leave out quite a few details so that this did not turn into another 1000 page treatise on computer music. Thus some basic topics in signals, systems, and filter design are not fleshed out to their fullest extent. To this end, the book has an extensive reference section so that if you are unfamiliar with a particular physics or DSP topic, you can research it yourself.

Chapter 1 briefly establishing the fundamentals of digital audio, and includes an introduction to the basics of quantization, compression, and Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM) sampling. Chapter 2 investigates sound synthesis starting with wavetable synthesis. In chapter 3, digital filters are introduced. Included is a concise but clear introduction to Linear Time Invariant (LTI) systems, convolution, Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters, Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filters, and Z transforms. The chapter culminates in an introduction to the BiQuad filter.

Chapter 4, which deals with modal synthesis, acts as a stepping-stone to the frequency domain, leading to chapter 5's discussion of the Fourier Transform. This chapter examines Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), fast convolution, and Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT), and ends with examples of applications.

Chapters 6, 7, and 8 delve deeper into synthesis/analysis concepts such as Linear Predictive Coding (LPC), spectral modeling, additive/subtractive synthesis, noise signals, and inharmonicity, using the frequency domain techniques learned in previous chapters. You'll hardly turn a page without an accompanying picture or block diagram, a particularly valuable feature of this book.

Chapter 9 explores the physical modeling concepts of string vibrations and stiff bars. Modeling algorithms are introduced using basic physics perspectives centered around the familiar string, mass, and damper paradigms first introduced in chapter 4. Here again, rather than bombarding the reader with tons of equations, Mr. Cook explains ideas mainly through diagrams, sound examples, and block diagrams, which is very helpful for the software implementation of algorithms. The ready-to-compile C++ code for this section included on the CD-ROM provide models of a plucked string (Plucked.cpp), a mandolin (Mandolin.cpp), and a bowed string (Bowed.cpp).

In Chapter 11, Tubes and Air Cavities, the author introduces more models while leaving detailed mathematical derivations of equations for the appendix. He concludes chapter 11 with "Building and Blowing a Bottle Model", and includes code and sound examples, as usual. Going into chapter 12, more complex, higher dimensional models are introduced, with the traditional mass-spring model in the context of a meshed membrane starting off the chapter.

Chapter 13 introduces modeling and synthesizing particle interaction. Some of the topics covered include Formant Wave Functions (FOFs) for voice synthesis, single particle models, multi-particle systems, and statistical multi-particle systems such as a simple maraca model, implemented in less than 30 lines of C code with an accompanying block diagram.

Chapter 14 deals with the subtleties of exciting and controlling sound models. For example, Mr. Cook discusses the differences between exciting a string with a plectrum as opposed to using the fleshy part of the thumb. He also shows some fascinating effects of the striking conditions of the Tibetan prayer bowl, which exhibits very different spectra as a function of strike-direction while keeping strike-point constant. Other topics discussed include bowing, scraping, and frictional issues in synthesis. MIDI, OSC (Open Sound Control), and other standards for sound and multimedia control are also briefly examined.

Chapter 15 walks the reader through a complete system called PhOLISE (Physically Oriented Library of Interactive Sound Effects) that could possibly be applied to areas such as gaming, animation, and sound effects in film production. The five sections of the appendix go into greater detail regarding proofs, derivations, and properties of topics such as DFT properties, zero-padding, proof of fast convolution, and ideal string behaviors.

After you grasp the contents of this book, you might want to read "The Physics of Musical Instruments" and use some of Mr. Cook's techniques to synthesize the numerical models explained in that book.

Wonderful long-term goal, but not with today's hardware.......2004-05-13

"Real Sound Synthesis for Interactive Applications" by Perry R. Cook describes elementary and advanced techniques to simulate the audio components of dynamic systems using physics. While the book is not specifically directed toward game development, the application to game development is clear. The book's organization of the major themes covered is easily to follow through three sections that detail digital audio, sound modeling, and simulation of real world instruments. The book spans sixteen chapters and appendices totaling 248 pages.

The first section (chapters 1-3) defines digital audio, compression, wave synthesis, and simple filtering techniques. The chapters form the foundation for the later sections and define the common asset formats and techniques currently used in games. Cook emphases that key components of sound manipulation are the sampling rate and quantization of the source audio. The text demonstrates how sounds with higher sampling rates allow for greater manipulation with fewer artifacts but incur a greater computational cost.

The second section (chapters 4-8) introduces sound modeling through simplified physical systems, such as an ideal spring, and Fourier series equations. While an understanding of college physics and calculus is helpful (especially if you'd like to code these methods), the book doesn't require it or bog down in theory or mathematical proofs. (For those interested in the details, they are provided in the appendices). The concepts described in this section are critical in creating computer sound models that represent real world objects.

The last section (chapters 7-16) provides physics equations that allow for the simulation of real world instruments (string instruments, tubes, and multi-dimensional objects). Each chapter describes a different system based on Fourier construction, filtering, and physics-based equations. It's the heart of the book and most interesting. The background in the two previous sections is essential to fully grasp the concepts Cook defines here.

Throughout each chapter, Cook couples clear concise writing with a touch of humor and illustrative diagrams. Cook provides a good initial foundation as the topics covered gradually build in complexity. The clean organizational layout made it easy for me to refer back to previous sections when I felt the need. In many cases, however, I found the writing to be a little too condensed and wished for a paragraph describing a concept rather than the sentence provided. Cook does supply references at the end of each chapter for those readers seeking additional detail.

The book also includes a CD containing audio samples of the topics discussed throughout the book. While reading the book, it was useful to be able to hear the point or technique made in the text. The CD also contains Cook's sound synthesis toolkit and several examples of instruments highlighted in the last section.

Unfortunately in current development, real-time sound synthesis in games has a limited place. Due to the complex calculations of Fourier series, fast digital signal processor chips are required to simulate the audio effects without impacting the rest of the game. Minimally, filters and other simple routines outlined in the book can be written for target hardware to accomplish specialized effects but this is nothing radically new.

However, Cook's research in simulating audio is extremely exciting. During the calculation of an object's dynamic behavior (such as collision response, striking, falling, moving, etc.) a minimal additional amount of time can be spent to determine the audio effects. According to Cook's findings, this amount is generally less than 5% of the total time required to simulate an object's physical behavior. Admittedly, these calculations are on the order of minutes versus milliseconds but eventually Moore's Law will catch up and simplifications will allow unparalleled audio effects in conjunction with physical simulation.

Developers and sound designers interested in the math and physics of creating real-time sounds should pick up this book. Those interested in a fascinating look at the mechanisms of dynamically producing sound might also want to give it a read provided it's with the understanding that the direct applicability to games is at least few years away.

It's a lot more than a cook book.......2002-08-30

Are you a pretty good C++ programmer? Have you ever wanted to have your computer output sounds like footsteps or musical instruments that (a) sound real and (b) are continuously responsive to the user's control? Did you discover that it was basically impossible to do it by stitching together prerecorded samples, and you couldn't think of any other way to do it?

If so, Perry Cook has written just the book you have been looking for. In 250 pages, Cook explains everything, from the basics of digital filtering to the major alternatives for generating sounds: additive and subtractive synthesis, FM synthesis, and -- the real focus of the book -- physical modeling. Not only that, the accompanying CD-ROM includes lots of sound examples and the Synthesis ToolKit -- a pretty much platform-independent set of C++ classes and algorithms for writing your own code.

Not everything is perfect. Just as the first version of any program contains some bugs, the first printing of any book that uses mathematics contains some errors. In particular, typos in Appendix A could be very frustrating if this is your first exposure to Fourier analysis. (You might want to check Cook's web site for a promised list of errata and code updates.) And don't let the fact that the book is short, attractively produced, very well organized, unusually clear, and entertainingly written lead you to believe that you can master it in a weekend. Although Cook tries his best to make the underlying mathematics unintimidating, there is no getting around the fact that there are some rather deep concepts from wave physics and signals-and-systems theory behind what he has to say.

The good news is that the effort is richly repaid. Not only will you be able to write programs that can generate controllable sounds in real time, but you will develop insight into how physical instruments produce their distinctive sounds, and you will understand the basics of both the standard and the most advanced techniques that have been developed to model them. Highly recommended.

Not just another digital music book...........2002-08-23

This book is useful, enlightening, and fun. It covers many cutting-edge topics in lucid fashion, topics that can only be found otherwise in academic journals. The computer code (in the book and on the CD-ROM) is an invaluable resource for the ambitious reader, who can actually try out or modify the techniques. The CD-ROM also provides examples of these new techniques in action. Finally, the author's sense of humor comes through often (this is not a stiff, boring book!).

As a "digital-sound-artist" and someone who teaches this stuff at the university level, I highly recommend this book not only to those who want to learn about the most recent work going on in sound synthesis, but to those who want another perspective on more familiar topics (like the basics of PCM, fourier analysis, basic digital filtering, etc....).

Average customer rating:

Well worth buying...
An amazing introductory resource

Beginning Game Audio Programming
Mason McCuskey
Manufacturer: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1592000290

Book Description

No matter how exciting the game and how realistic the visual effects, without catchy audio in the background it's obvious that something is missing. New developments in technology enable you to do things with audio that weren't possible before, but they also make it necessary to find a guide that walks you through the technical hurdles. "Beginning Game Audio Programming" covers the challenges that you will face as you create sound effects and music for your games and gives you the information you need to face these challenges head-on. You'll learn how to compose dynamic music and program 3D sound. There's even coverage of using DirectPlay Voice for real- time voice chat in your games! If you are comfortable with C++ and DirectX, then you're ready to dive into the exciting world of audio with "Beginning Game Audio Programming".

Customer Reviews:

Well worth buying..........2006-02-06

Background: I created a game engine (Goblin 2D+ Engine) and for sound just used a 3rd party library (BASS). However I quickly found the additional A$150 for BASS was effecting the uptake of my engine because it was US$59.95 and the additional A$150 for BASS was killing it.

I knew nothing about sound programming so thought it was a hopeless dream to create my own sound engine.

In desperation I bought this book and was surprised (not just by the CD in 1 million bits :S)

Using this book as the basis I was able to create a fully functional sound library for my engine with all the features I was using in BASS.

Sound effects, music, 3d positional sound, panning, volume, pitch, playing .MOD music, OGG decoder. Basically all the functionality I wanted.

If anyone wants to see this in action... www.hoek.inkblue.com.

The book fills in the gaps MSDN seems to leave out. Also, unlike a lot of books, Mason has NOT cut and paste from MSDN documentation.

Thanks Mason!

An amazing introductory resource.......2003-10-03

Computer audio programming has gained enormous momentum in recent years with the arrival of professional grade hardware at consumer prices. As a result, a surging opportunity has replaced the once desolate and antiquated field of audio software development.

Beginning Game Audio Programming provides students with the ability to implement a modern sound engine. It meticulously guides the reader through basic sound concepts, common API usage, and sound engine design as well as covering, in the process, a myriad of audio topics such as DirectPlay Voice, audio scripting, and visualization to familiarize the novice with the diverse facets of the field. This work is the ultimate tool for any aspiring sound programmer.

I recommend this book for any developer seeking an introductory course in audio programming. It provides a solid foundation of sound principles, API usage, file formats, effects, and sound engine design that are crucial to the field of game audio development.

This book carefully avoids becoming overly complex or didactic, offering descriptive explanations of the core concepts of audio programming. This refreshing outlook provides a student with a solid foundation from which to take large successive steps into the audio world.

This book is truly an excellent resource for anyone wishing to learn more about the blooming field of computer audio programming.

Audio for Games: Planning, Process, and Production (New Riders Games)

Average customer rating:

great book for intro to game audio

Audio for Games: Planning, Process, and Production (New Riders Games)
Alexander Brandon
Manufacturer: New Riders Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0735714134

Book Description

Tired of video games in which the sound lags far behind the rest of the user's experience? If so, and if you're ready to do better, you need this forward-looking volume! In these pages, sound artist extraordinaire Alexander Brandon provides a broad-ranging exploration of how game audio is created today and how it should be done in the future in order to create groundbreaking audio. After providing a map of the audio development process in Chapter 1, Alexander discusses the basic preproduction, workflow, production, post-production, and technology issues audio designers must address today. Then, after a post-mortem analysis of the audio development process for a game that's currently on the market, Alexander takes a good, hard look at the heights to which video-game audio can be taken in chapters on ideal workflow, technology, and production. Throughout, the focus is on the practical advice you need to create better (and better!) sound!

Customer Reviews:

great book for intro to game audio.......2007-05-12

The author takes a pretty realistic & easy-to-understand approach to showing how audio works for games. A good "intro to game audio" book!

Fundamentals of Audio and Video Programming for Games

Average customer rating:

Fundamentals of Audio and Video Programming for Games
Peter Turcan , and Mike Wasson
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 073561945X

Product Description

Fundamentals of Audio and Video Programming for Games - reference book - CD

Average customer rating:

Good book, need experience programming in C++
No Mention that you need Windows to use the code.

Audio Programming for Interactive Games
Martin Wilde
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0240519418

Book Description

Martin Wilde's cutting-edge exploration of the creative potential of game audio systems addresses the latest working methods of those involved in creating and programming immersive, interactive and non-linear audio for games. The book demonstrates how the game programmer can create an software system which enables the audio content provider (composer/sound designer) to maintain direct control over the composition and presentation of an interactive game soundtrack. This system (which is platform independent) is described step-by-step in Wilde's approachable style with illuminating case studies, all source codes for which are provided on the accompanying CD-Rom which readers can use to develop their own audio engines.

As a programmer with experience of developing sound and music software engines for computer game titles on a multitude of platforms who is also an experienced musician, Martin Wilde is uniquely placed to address individuals approaching game audio from various levels and areas of expertise. Game audio programmers will learn how to achieve enable even better audio soundtracks and effects, while musicians who want to capitalise on this shift in roles will gain a greater appreciation of the technical issues involved, so enhancing their employment prospects. Students of game design can practice these skills by building their own game audio engines based on the source code provided.

* Learn from an expert: the author brings a unique perspective to this subject from his experience as both a programmer and a musician
* Develop your own game audio engines: the book and accompanying CD-ROM provide easy-to-follow instructions and coding which you can apply to your own game and multi-media projects
* Keep up with the latest working practices in this rapidly evolving industry with this essential guide for both game audio programmers and audio artists

Customer Reviews:

Good book, need experience programming in C++.......2007-02-05

I've been looking for a book that would walk me through the process of creating a sound engine and this book does that but you need to know C or C++. For some reason it's not directly mentioned that you need programming experience in the editorial review or book description.
I don't think this is any fault of the author since it's assumed that if you are programming games you're probably using C or C++ already.

I'm a beginner programmer and I was looking for a book that would show a beginner how to make a sound engine. If you already know C or C++ than this would probably be a great book for you since it seems to be the only book ( at least what I could find) that shows you exactly how to create a sound engine, step by step.

No Mention that you need Windows to use the code........2005-04-07

I was impressed and excited with this book until I got to Chapter 3, where I discovered that I needed a Windows machine in order to build the "multi-platform", Soundtrack Manager. There was no mention on the cover, that in order to run the code on the accompanied CD, you need Windows.
I'm a composer/sound designer, and I happen to use a Macintosh like many other musicians, producers etc.
There is still useful information, but I was very disappointed that I couldn't build the Soundtrack Manager which the book is pretty much all about.
I'm sure it's a great book for Windows users.

Linux Multimedia Hacks: Tips & Tools for Taming Images, Audio, and Video (Hacks)

Average customer rating:

A must-have if you are serious about multimedia, even if you are not a heavy Linux user.
VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Into multimedia? Into Linux? This is the book you need.
Both newcomers and advanced users of Linux learn how to edit images, audio and video, manage music, burn DVDs and VCDs, and more
Superb collection of easy-to-use media tricks

Linux Multimedia Hacks: Tips & Tools for Taming Images, Audio, and Video (Hacks)
Kyle Rankin
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0596100760

Book Description

The fact that Linux has more multimedia application choices than Mac OS X and Windows combined may come as a surprise to many, but not to those who know Linux well. In Linux Multimedia Hacks, author Kyle Rankin showcases the best available multimedia tools so you can maximize the entertainment capabilities of your favorite OS. Included are tips and tricks for connecting to iPods, creating MP3s and Oggs, watching and making DVDs, turning your Linux box into a Tivo ala MythTV, and much more.

You don't have to be a Linux server guru to make use of this book. Linux Multimedia Hacks takes the best of Linux's multimedia tools and with step-by-step instructions shows even novice users how to do cool and useful things with images, audio, and video. It includes entry level hacks that nearly all Linux users will want, such as installing codecs for audio and video playback and managing thousands of photographs. Later, you'll find hacks that cover a variety of advanced projects, from ripping and organizing media files with metatags, to editing video and audio tracks, to creating your own DVDs. Basic or advanced, each hack stands on its own, so you can feel free to jump around to only the sections that interest you.

The book is divided into five easy-to-understand chapters:

Images: tips range from basic image edits to automated image manipulation
Audio: hacks include audio format conversion and tweaking metadata within audio files
Video: learn how to covert between video formats, plus how to create your own VCDs and DVDs
Broadcast Media: tips include how to access and create you own web broadcasts as well as watch and record TV
Web: learn how to make your multimedia creations available to the world

As one of the most powerful multimedia platforms around, Linux has far more capabilities and features than meets the eye. This latest Hacks book gives you the technical chops to enjoy them all.

Customer Reviews:

A must-have if you are serious about multimedia, even if you are not a heavy Linux user........2007-03-31

I got this book at a local Linux talk given by the author about a week ago. This book really opens my eyes to see how much resource there is for multimedia on the Linux platform. It's a must-have if you are serious about multimedia, even if you are not a heavy Linux user. As you see, a software dies on Windows PC when the software company (or Microsoft) stops supporting it (or the software company goes under), because you only have the binary code. But the Linux software lives on because you can always pick up the source code from the open source (that is if it's an open source project, of course. Fortunately, most of the Linux software are). Bottom line: this book does what it says ! I am very happy with it !

VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!.......2006-09-16

Do you want to master the entertainment possibilities of Linux? If you do, then this book is for you! Author Kyle Rankin, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that takes the best of Linux's multimedia tools and shows you step by step how to use these tools to do cool things you would not have thought possible with images, audio, and video.

Rankin, begins by defining hacks that are specifically for images. Then, the author describes hacks for all things video. Next, the author shows you how to get the most out of video tools under Linux, which are some of the best in the industry. The author then gives you tips for accessing and creating your own web broadcasts. Finally, he shows you hacks to help you tweak your web browser under Linux so it can get the most out of the multimedia Web.

For the most part, this most excellent book allows you to look for hacks based on the multimedia type. More importantly, with this book, you'll be able to move quickly beyond anything you previously thought was possible, without spending a small fortune on commercial software.

Into multimedia? Into Linux? This is the book you need........2006-09-06

Most versions of Linux have minimal multimedia abilities without the installation of additional software. Of course there is a lot of Linux software out there that can be used to change your Linux installation into a powerful multimedia computer with amazing capabilities. And, since it is Linux, it can be done at minimal or no cost for the software. Author Kyle Rankin details how to install and configure these products in this book. To keep the information organized he breaks it up into chapters on Images, Audio, Video, Broadcast Media, and Web. Working through the hacks you soon discover everything from how to rip a CD, convert file types, and edit a sound file to how to build a MythTV system where you can record television, watch videos, listen to music, and play arcade games from one system. There's even a tip for automatically removing commercials from digitally recorded television shows. When you are trying to figure out how to get your Linux system to do something special in the area of multimedia this is the first book you will want to turn to for answers. Linux Multimedia Hacks is highly recommended.

Both newcomers and advanced users of Linux learn how to edit images, audio and video, manage music, burn DVDs and VCDs, and more.......2006-05-02

Kyle Rankin's Linux Multimedia Hacks: Tips & Tools For Taming Images, Audio, And Video covers a program which typically disappoints multimedia fans with what seems like shortcomings in playing DVDs or MP3 files. Overcome these seeming detriments with a book which tells how to tweak and build Linux multimedia entertainment systems. Both newcomers and advanced users of Linux learn how to edit images, audio and video, manage music, burn DVDs and VCDs, and much more. Linux Multimedia Hacks isn't just one developer's knowledge base: it reflects contributions from many Linux experts - even the software creators themselves.

Superb collection of easy-to-use media tricks.......2005-12-12

I've spent the last few days going over this book and experimenting with the different hacks on my Fedora Core 4 workstation. I use Fedora Core 4 almost 100% of the time at home, and I've felt the need to manipulate and use multimedia objects for a long time now, but didn't have the practical knowledge at my fingertips to do so. For example, how do I take a screenshot? This book answers this and other questions.

Now I understand how to use ImageMagick, take screenshots, and work with mplayer. I've implemented some hacks with gratifying results and experimented with bits and pieces of other hacks. For example I installed mplayer and the software bits needed to import video from a camcorder with a Firewire (1394) port. Mplayer is now running smoothly, and I'm waiting for a convenient camcorder to come my way so I can plug it into my 1394 port and let it rip. These hacks really seem to work, and they are quickly implemented. The authors of the various hacks give brief explanations that help build multimedia skills. Each hack is written with great clarity.

This book will gently introduce you to the power of scripting in Linux. Simple 1- or 2-line scripts pepper the book, and by using them you can quickly get the effects you want without having to spend long periods of time learning how to do the same thing on a GUI interface. Now, I can dump all 300+ photos from my 1 Gb flash card into a new folder and then use a script to resize them to a size small enough for a web page and for sharing with other folks. Try doing that to hundreds of photos on a GUI interface! With the suggested scripts, you can let the computer do the work, not you, and you can congratulate yourself on your smarts. Each script is carefully explained in plain language. I especially like Rankin's discussion of how to set up a digital camera and download all the photos from it automagically.

Today the Linux desktop is every more GUI-friendly. It is very easy to use; some of my friends have used it without realizing they were on Linux. I can see thumbnails of all my imported photos on Gnome -- it just works. I can expand the thumbnails into new windows with the actual photo. I can plug a compact flash card into my card reader and Gnome will recognize that, too, and offer to download the photos in the card. I can and often do edit photos with the Gimp and email them to my relatives. This books discusses all these things except possibly the emailing bit.

I began to realize that my hard drive is way too small for all the media I hope to work with. I recently ordered a 400 Gb drive to solve this problem.

This book shows you how to work with your media at no cost to you. It rolls up a lot of useful knowledge right at your fingertips. I can't think of another source of well-thought out media hacks either on the internet or in the documentation that comes with your Linux distribution. Every person wanting to work with media on Linux ought to have this book. Rankin and the other hack contributors have done a superb job.

Teaching by Design: Using Your Computer to Create Materials for Students With Learning Differences

Average customer rating:

A straightforward "how-to" guide to quickly and easily crafting customized educational tools
Great resources!!!

Teaching by Design: Using Your Computer to Create Materials for Students With Learning Differences
Kimberly S. Voss
Manufacturer: Woodbine House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Teaching Math to People With Down Syndrome and Other Hands-On Learners: Basic Survival Skills (Topics in Down Syndrome)
Teaching Reading to Children With Down Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Teachers (Topics in Down Syndrome)
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ASIN: 1890627437
Release Date: 2005-11-30

Product Description

Teaching by Design shows readers how to use the computer to design meaningful educational materials for children and adults with special needs. A synthesis of computer graphics, education, and crafting, this book represents the author?s considerable expertise in customizing educational materials for her daughter with multiple disabilities as well as teaching other parents and teachers to create them too. Full of instructions for designing and adapting materials and strategies for using them--including a time-saving CD-rom of templates--Teaching by Design is useful to parents and teachers of students of all ages with a wide range of disabilities. Design and customize lotto boards, interactive spelling cards, game pieces, playing cards, matching games, menus, fill-in-the-blank decals, handwriting transparencies, and more, to teach visual perception, math, language, communication, reading, handwriting, and self-help skills. This book is loaded with illustrations and supportive anecdotal information and is divided into three parts: Controlling Variables explains how presentation (media, text, images, and layout) affects learning and how to make appropriate design choices based on your child's needs and preferences Graphic Skills provides a mini-tutorial on computer graphics programs including Free-Hand, Illustrator, AppleWorks, Paint Shop Pro, CorelDraw, and Microsoft PowerPoint The Recipes include over thirty sets of step-by-step instructions for creating projects, from Interactive Books to Coloring Within the Lines and from Restaurant Menus to Telling-Time Worksheet. The CD-rom of graphic templates gives users a headstart in the design process. With this book, and access to a computer, printer, and office and craft supplies, you can make learning for a child with special needs immeasurably easier, richer, and fun for both of you as you make and use custom adaptive materials for home and school.

Customer Reviews:

A straightforward "how-to" guide to quickly and easily crafting customized educational tools .......2006-03-06

Teaching By Design: Using Your Computer To Create Materials For Students With Learning Differences is a straightforward "how-to" guide to quickly and easily crafting customized educational tools with the resources of a basic personal computer at one's disposal. Written especially for teachers working with students who have learning disabilities or impairments, Teaching by Design covers how to control variables in font size, images, and layout, why larger font isn't always better, a smorgasbord of easy-to-make projects ranging from color/shape/size lotto to interactive spelling cards to fill-in-the-blank word magnets and decals, and much more. The materials presented are designed to make learning as easy and intuitive as possible without excess distractions, and as such are applicable to all children whether learning disables or not. An accompanying CD-ROM of templates to simplify the process rounds out this invaluable, user-friendly resource recommended especially for instructors, but also useful to parents and lay people looking for educational games to play with developing young minds.

Great resources!!!.......2006-02-20

Excellent templates and web site resources.....better if you have a graphics program like Illustrator, CorelDRAW 0r Freehand.

The Complete Guide to Game Audio: For Composers, Musicians, Sound Designers, and Game Developers

Average customer rating:

Rich in information but outdated
For those who want to know about the game industry in general
Solid advice for composers wanting to get into the industry
Few specifics
mysticmusing get out and read about the industry

The Complete Guide to Game Audio: For Composers, Musicians, Sound Designers, and Game Developers
Aaron Marks
Manufacturer: CMP Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Audio for Games: Planning, Process, and Production (New Riders Games)
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Beginning Game Audio Programming

ASIN: 1578200830

Book Description

This comprehensive guide gives readers with basic music compositional skills the information they need to become commercially viable artisans. In addition to providing a foundation of prerequisite technical skills, including basic audio considerations and sound file formats, the book teaches the business skills needed to work successfully as an audio technician in the game development business. How-to features take the reader step-by-step, from purchasing the right equipment, understanding the various game platforms, and composing music and creating sound effects specifically for games, to the ins and outs of marketing, producing demo reels, determining fees, bidding projects, and negotiating contracts.

Turn your musical passion into a career with this valuable guide to the business and technical skills you need to succeed in the multi-billion dollary game industry.

Customer Reviews:

Rich in information but outdated.......2007-03-21

This book contains very good and valuable information for those wanting to get into the game industry, unfortunately it was written in 2000, so most of the information is completely old for today standards, specially in this field.

For those who want to know about the game industry in general.......2005-08-23

This book is very well written, its easy to go through it quickly. One of the features I really like is the different interviews with game music composers asking everything from equipment to techniques to inspiration.

This book gives a detailed look into the industry, don't expect to learn how to compose from buying this book. This book is for musicians that are beginning or are already working with computer games and need to know about the industry. Sorry but there will never be books around pretending to teach you how to compose music, composing like anything else is something that you learn by doing and not by reading books. But if you are a musician already, and love computer games, then you won't regret this book.

Solid advice for composers wanting to get into the industry.......2005-07-06

This is a great book for those composers and sound designers wanting to break into the gaming industry. I do not understand why many people read this book hoping to find technical audio information, but this is NOT a TECHNICAL AUDIO or ENGINEERING book. This book is in the same vein as Jeff Rona's Reelworld book or Richard Davis's Complete Guide to Filmscoring.

Invaluable industry advice and at preparing your audio demo reels, and making connections. Must have for any aspiring game music composer or sound designer.

Few specifics.......2004-04-22

Although an o.k. book, I have to agree with "mysticmusing" in his criticism. The industry advice is probably invaluable to professional or budding audio dudes, but it fills up half the book..!

There are very few specfic examples of actual techniques for composition, sound effect development or integration. There are no concrete examples of game audio as implemented within any game engine - be it by C+ or through e.g. DirectMusic.

All in all this book has very little to tell people that don't already master all the great techniques and tools. And if you do master those techniques and tools, I suspect half of this book would be old news.

mysticmusing get out and read about the industry.......2003-10-21

Great book, and ignore that first review where it talks about lack of coverage of developer issues. The term developer is not used the same way in the game industry as it is in the more general software world. Developer does not mean programmer. Game programmers use the term programmer (imagine that!). A developer is someone who works in a broader role to get the game created (or developed), like say a producer or project manager or whatever. It is not the narrow term that we all have come to know and love in other areas of software development. Maybe those chapters on how to get into the industry might do you some good after all, eh?

DirectX Audio Exposed: Interactive Audio Development

Average customer rating:

Great Book a must have!
Only for beginners
Good for games/music - bad for sound/audio
Extremely valuable resource
An excellent resource

DirectX Audio Exposed: Interactive Audio Development
Todd M. Fay , Scott Selfon , and Todor J. Fay
Manufacturer: Wordware Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Game Audio Programming (Advances in Computer Graphics and Game Development Series)
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Introduction to 3D Game Programming with Direct X 9.0c: A Shader Approach (Wordware Game and Graphics Library)
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Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0

ASIN: 1556222882

Book Description

The de facto resource on interactive sound and music creation for Windows, this book covers topics important to musicians and sound designers.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book a must have!.......2007-03-27

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! This is a great book to get you involved in this subject. Plenty of examples for all skill levels and are both detailed and useful. Much of this information can't be found in other books. The chapters are well written and in-depth. I recommend this book for anyone that is trying to become an expert on the subject.

Only for beginners.......2005-07-25

Compared to DirectX graphics, Directx Audio gets little spotlight. DirectX programming is known to be complex. This book does a good job in making DirectX (audio) more accessible to beginners.
Here is my rating on the Content (5=Best):

Accuracy: (4.5/5) So far, I have found minor ommissions in the text. However, the sample code is good enough.
Coverage (4/5)The book, as some other reviews pointed out, focuses more on directmusic than direct audio programming. Maybe its just me, but I was expecting more programmer-oriented text. I only found 50% of the book applicable to my programming work.
If you are considering buying this book, please check the table of contents. The direct music part is useful if you are considering composing music and/or need some basic understanding of computer sound.
Completeness (3/5). This is by no means a complete reference for directx. Keep the SDK documentation handy.
The author also fails to explain at times the rationale behind chosing the particular parameters values for various function calls. Expect to do some googling if you plan to understand the code insideo out.
Style (5/5): The author's explaination is very clear and concise. A beginner to directx should have no trouble following the text.
Overall: 5/5 if you have never touched directx before. 4/5 if you have previous experience with directx programming. You are better off with premier's game audio programming book.

Good for games/music - bad for sound/audio.......2005-04-05

Lots of good information for game programming, but nothing useful for general audio programming with Direct Sound. Judging from what I had read about the book, I thought there would be more meat in it on the Direct Sound interface, but there wasn't. There is lots in it if you are doing games and will have sound that you just need to playback, but if you need to do any audio processing with Direct Sound, that isn't in the book. It could really have benefitted from some interface documentation (perhaps an in an appendix) and a bit more low level stuff, especially on effects processing.

Extremely valuable resource.......2004-03-02

This book is an excellent resource for composers, sound designers and audio programmers who are focused on developing and creating interactive and adaptive audio for games. Regardless if you are utilizing Microsoft's DirectMusic Producer, you will find the techniques and strategies for creating interactive music extremely valuable and useful no matter what development tool you use.

Don't be intimidated by the wealth of knowledge and years of expertise from the authors. The straight forward creative and analytical approach to presenting the concepts in this book make it very well rounded for all readers. The case studies are particularly valuable in that they provide real-world applications of creating interactive and adaptive audio for the top games.

As a music composer for games, I highly recommend this book to both those who are currently developing audio content and to those aspiring to create audio for games.

An excellent resource.......2004-01-08

If you want to gain all the benefits and sophistication that DirectMusic provides, this book is a must. Also included is a marvelous CDROM containing several very well thought out sample sound programs (both source and executables) that illustrate many of the chapters' concepts in real-time. Definitely take them for a drive.

For programmers, I found this book to be packed with information on using both the DirectMusic API, and the very powerful (and free) DirectMusic Producer tool, which lets you view, edit, play, and drill down into DirectMusic files/projects. Understanding the Producer tool through this book will give you a much better understanding of the API and the architecture.

The CDROM contains several VC++ projects you will find absolutely essential if you are writing your own applications. All the source code is included and is very clean, and the programs are cleverly devised and illustrate key points very clearly.

This book contains a lot of information, but if you want to learn how to create dynamic music with this kind of audio quality and sophistication, this is by far the best resource I have found.

Game Audio Programming (Advances in Computer Graphics and Game Development Series)

Average customer rating:

A great resource
Good for learning about API, not audio prgramming
A book about API, not audio
Excellent !!! - Informative, Disciplined, and Practical...
Excellent !!! - Informative, Disciplined, and Practical...

Game Audio Programming (Advances in Computer Graphics and Game Development Series)
James Boer
Manufacturer: Charles River Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1584502452

Book Description

Game Audio Programming is a comprehensive guide to interactive audio programming for the Microsoft Windows ® platform. Written for C++ programmers implementing an audio system for an entertainment or multimedia title, this practical reference covers a wide range of topics relevant to today?s audio programmers, including DirectX Audio, audio decompression libraries, hardware filters and effects, geometric representation of world data for effects, occlusion and obstruction, and more. In addition, a full-featured, documented, and internally commented game audio programming (GAP) library is referenced throughout the book to explain various concepts. The library is included on the companion CD-ROM and can be used as either a ready-to-use library for your own games or as reference code to help implement an audio system.

Customer Reviews:

A great resource.......2003-07-06

For anyone actually doing practical audio programming for a game, this book is a great resource. No, it doesn't dig into academic minutia such as implementing your own software mixer, or explaining FFTs or writing custom DSPs, as those topics fall outside the realm of game programming (yes, audio compression uses these items, but no one writes their own audio compression codecs anymore, especially with good open-source alternatives available). Modern audio programming is all about taking advantage of hardware acceleration, and that means using APIs such as DirectX that can do this. The book is quite specialized, but digs into the APIs and gives a lot of good advice on practical implementation that you won't find anywhere else.

It also contains a good deal of the meat and potatoes of game audio programming, such as developing and interactive music system, or creating compelling dynamic soundscapes. The APIs are a big part of that, but not the only part, as a good portion of the book is devoted to these higher-level programming concepts.

I'd highly recommend this book to any game developer who needs to implement (or improve) an audio engine for their Windows PC game. It will give you a big head start, with lots of working source code to play with.

Good for learning about API, not audio prgramming.......2003-05-01

I agree with a previous reviewer that this book is dedicated to developing a high to mid level audio engine based on DirectSound and DirectMusic. This book is not about audio programming from scratch. It doesn't give any algorithms for implementing your own 3D audio engine. It does give pretty good explanation of the I3DL2 spec (but this can be gleaned from the AISIG site. It also has a good explanation of Occlusion and Obstruction.

A book about API, not audio.......2003-01-04

This book was very disappointing. It is a book about programming audio APIs, not programming audio algorithms. The section on Advanced 3D Techniques is mostly a description of how to use EAX. There is little here that could not be gleaned from the documentation and examples that come with the APIs in question.

This has only the barest whisper of theory. Just enough for someone to understand what a certain function in the provided APIs might mean. DSP, FFT and DCT are not even mentioned in the index! In all, this book is pretty much useful only to someone who doesn't want to deal with the included SDK documentation with DirectX Audio. Anyone working upon a different platform, or wishing to go beyond the basics of merely playing back samples should look elsewhere. Do you really need a 640 page long book just to figure out how to play back a sample?

Excellent !!! - Informative, Disciplined, and Practical..........2002-12-05

I recently had the opportunity to be the sole programmer for a very cool project that was a combination of a music player and a comprehensive jukebox. Yet, this was my first experience with *serious* audio programming on the Windows platform.

While doing my research on how I would meet the requirements for this project (including playback, sound mixing, crossfading, and conversions between the various standard audio formats - WAV, WMA, MP3, OGG Vorbis), I was very fortunate to stumble on this book while in a bookstore in Manhattan. At first I was thrown off by the title and assumed that this book was intended solely for 'game developers.' However, after picking it up and scanning it, I quickly realized that that was not the case. This book is for *anyone* interested in audio programming on the Windows platform.

In my opinion, this book accomplishes several things VERY well:

1) Provides the reader with a very good understanding about how audio works in general and the key components of any wave that you must understand when tackling a project such as mine (eg. sampling rate, bit depth, etc.)

2) While geared towards using the DirectX Audio APIs, the author provides a sound explanation (no pun intended) of why this API should be seriously considered and how it compares to using other APIs (typically offered by a 3rd party)

3) Perhaps most important, the author takes a very disciplined approach to the design of an audio system. This is extrememly helpful since many readers, like myself, will purchase this book not only because they have an interest in audio, but also because they need/want to build their own set of audio engines that they can use/reuse in present and future projects. This feature alone seperates this book from most, if not all others (that are typically reference books to a technology such as DirectX). This also demonstrates that the author has a very solid meta-level understanding of what he is writing about, pulling from many recognized and practical real-world projects.

4) Serves as a very good reference to the DirectX Audio APIs (DirectSound and DirectMusic) and even the Windows Media Format SDK

5) Discusses the main file formats (Raw PCM, WAV, WMA, MP3, OGG Vorbis) and how you can employ various codecs to get wave data from a file to a DirectSound buffer or vice versa. This is very useful because, on the Windows platform, you dont get some of these formats for free. So, an understanding of how you can design a system to support virtually any audio codec is therefore invaluable - and something the author does very well. He even walks you through the integration of the MP3 and OGG Vorbis formats into your audio engine.

I really cant say enough about this book. In fact, even though I shop here ALL the time, this is the first book review I have ever written on Amazon's website. Anyone who is interested in audio programming, at ANY level, should purchase this book. You will NOT be disappointed.

Excellent !!! - Informative, Disciplined, and Practical..........2002-12-05

In my opinion, this book accomplishes several things VERY well:

4) Serves as a very good reference to the DirectX Audio APIs (DirectSound and DirectMusic) and even the Windows Media Format SDK

I really cant say enough about this book. In fact, even though I shop here ALL the time, this is the first book review I have ever written on Amazon[.com]'s website. Anyone who is interested in audio programming, at ANY level, should purchase this book. You will NOT be disappointed.

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