Introduction

This chapter provides brief history of the development of games audio and its technology. Tohru lwatani's Pac-Man, the first game to incorporate a cut scene, enjoyed its most musical times during these scenes, since typically the simultaneous playback of sound and player interaction was typically too taxing on the old processors, but cinematics were less demanding. Most video games music at the time of the early arcade hits included one- or two-channel tunes either as quick title themes or two- to three-second in-game loops. Video games music may initially have been viewed as a gimmick, but it was soon to be taken more seriously. Sound in games was slow to develop, however, as PCs in particular were considered business machines, and audio was not seen to have many business applications, and was therefore not a priority for computer developers. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.