ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role and functions of middleware. A software has emerged that handles an increasingly larger amount of the heavy lifting between the game engine and the programmer, and sound designer. This software is called middleware. Audio middleware is another type of engine that works along with the core game engine and sits in a sense in between the sound designer and the programmer. 3D is now very commonly used and available in a variety of game engines today. It helps to submerge the player ever deeper into virtual worlds by adding more realism to game environments. FMOD and Wave Works Interactive Sound Engine (WWise) are the most frequently mentioned middleware apps used in game audio, there are a number of other tools available. Middleware engines can give today's sound designer an amazing degree of control over how audio behaves and develops within a game environment.
