Binaural recording in Amnesia

[Ramsey]

Before you read my proposition for this idea of mine, I would like you to know that my knowledge behind the real usage and development of Binaural recording is slim to nothing, so I really don't know if it is possible in a video game or if it's just really hard. This is just a idea, a concept that the developers might consider using.

First off, for those who do not know what Binaural recording is, I shall provide a couple links for your convince:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_recording - Wikipedia article.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA - Virtual Barbershop, an amazing example of well-done Binaural recording. Read the video description and follow the rules, you'll be amazed. By the way, to fully understand this idea, everyone must listen to that video before you read on.

Ok, so now that you have experienced the awesomeness of Binaural recording, I want you to imagine if Penumbra had used that type of recording for the series. Yes, it would be amazing, ridiculous, an entire other-worldly, reality-bending experience for your mind. Now watch the new Amnesia trailer. Just think of that with Binaural Recording! It would be the most immersive, realistic, and horrifying simulation you will ever come about, at least as of now. It would break boundaries.

The only real cons I could see with this is the requirement of headphones. Of course you could still play the game without headphones, as Binaural recording does not have any bad effects if played through speakers, but to get the true intensity of the game you would need headphones. And really, is that so hard? I play video games with headphones most of the time anyway, it helps me drain out the reality of real life and fully divulge into the game's universe and atmosphere.

Again, I do not know if this is possible with Amnesia, or any game in general. I don't really know the sciences behind it or the means of getting a Binaural recorder, but I can tell you that no matter the cost, it will be a worthy investment. The least you, the devs that is, can do is look into it, at least. Just check it out and see if it would be possible. Personally, I would wait an extra couple months for release if it had this implanted.

Discuss.

I have also added a poll to get results.

[Jakob Rosenblatt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA - Virtual Barbershop, an amazing example of well-done Binaural recording.

Astounding! Another nice one: a thunder storm [1]

Edit: Ok, Frictional Games, grab a dummy head and do all the recordings again! [You could even use side effects like "inside-head localization" for special effects; e.g. the players own voice when he is thinking]

[1] http://binauralsound.blogspot.com/2007/0...storm.html [play it in loops]

[Sepai]

Correct me if I'm wrong....from the way I understand the way it work i don't think it will work in 3d Game

If you record the sound to be on the left side of course it will sound like it came from the left side but you want it to come from the right side you have to make a new recording cause the one you made will sound like it's coming from the left side.

so for to use it every sound made will have to be recorded as a left, right, front, back, above, below but what if you want the sound is in front but slightly to the left that would mean more recordings.
now add in the unpredictable of player movements and coding engine to pick the right file to play based on where the sound coming from.

it opens to many cans of worms

oh I forgot to factor in distancing

now the effect it self is cool in it's self imaging watching a movie with that effect in it :o

[Sexbad]

What about playing the sound in the game and having two sound receivers on each side of the player character's head? If that makes any sense.

[Thomas]

I remember play the old Sega CD game Cobra Command which had this kind of audio. It was really nice!

However, it is only useable for static sound source and not for a 3D environments.

That said, there are software that does simulate this in realtime and I think some sound cards are supposed to be doing something similar. Might look into it and see if there is some lib that is possible to plug in to the engine and that does not cost a fortune.

[Jakob Rosenblatt]

Correct me if I'm wrong....from the way I understand the way it work i don't think it will work in 3d Game

Yes, it seems to be nearly impossible to do binaural recordings for a 3D environment if the player is allowed to move around free.

But (a) maybe it is possible to do binaural recordings for certain directions and distances and use interpolation for the rest, or (b) maybe it is even possible to simulate real binaural recording by using a "virtual" dummy head.

[Ramsey]

My friends, I present to you: EAX 5.

http://www.creative.com/soundblaster/tec...lcome.aspx

EAX 5 is the new advancement in audio. And yes, they had implanted it into real time, 3D video games. It is simply Binaural recording that has been upgraded and coded to fit into video games, along with realistic effects to go with it like underwater and realistic sound waves. I researched it a bit and found the website. Listen to the demos and try to imagine it as Amnesia.

Again, I'm not sure about the price or even how it works, but the point is that it works. Check around the website and see how it can be used, it could be a great addition to Amnesia.

[nofsky]

I've been dreaming about binaural sounds in games ever since I first tried that virtual barbershop recording several years ago. But I can see how implementing it in games would be tricky. You'd need to have two "sound recievers" in the game, one for each ear that would go to the respective left/right channel. But they also need to be directional to some degree. That wouldn't be able to simulate a true binaural recording but maybe it would be good enough?

I'm sure it will end up in 3D games eventually, though. It seems like a natural progression.

[Ramsey]

I'm sure it will end up in 3D games eventually, though. It seems like a natural progression.

Read the post above yours.

[naturon]

For cut-scenes this seems entirely plausible and perhaps possible, but I don't really think that this can be implemented into a fully dynamic 3D world. Yet, anyway.