Audio for Games: Planning, Process, and Production

Adaptive Audio

Adaptive audio has been defined and redefined many times since game audio began; currently it is understood as any audio that is nonlinear or nonreactive in a game. For example, in a linear medium such as a cut scene, a movie, or a full-motion video clip, the audio is linear: It doesn't change no matter how many times the medium is played. The same is true when someone is playing a level of a game with a looped piece of music. If the player presses a button and something happens either through sound effects or music, the audio is reactive; however, if the player's actions cause a number of different transitions in the soundtrack, the audio can be classified as adaptive on the game design side, since the game itself is changing ...