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Nice Pure Data Article

Audio Prototyping with Pure Data – By Leonard J. Paul
Gamasutra - May 28, 2003

While browsing the Internet for some Pure Data, i discovered this very detailed article about prototyping audio data … The author’s example patches are yet complex but simple to understand and can be at once a good way to start dealing with pd or either develop new paches from his sources.

Creating great audio for games requires successfully combining content and code. Unfortunately, the sound designer/composer (hereafter referred to as “the composer”) often has little control over how the code works and thus how the content will actually sound in the final game. This, in turn, reduces the potential of game audio. To remedy this situation, we need a better flow of ideas between the disciplines of the audio programmer and the composer. Even with great communication, however, the coder’s time is often at a premium, which causes the audio to suffer as a result.

To solve this problem, we need ways for composers to be able to experiment with interactive audio without needing to wait for the coder’s time. This is especially true for smaller game companies which do not have a dedicated audio coder or a refined audio toolset. By putting more control in the composer’s hands, the composer can test out ideas independent from the coder. Likewise, the more the composer learns about the control structures and methods to control content, the better informed and effective he will be at creating content. Advanced users of Pure Data could even construct a platform independent prototype sound driver linked to the game via MIDI or TCP/IP.