Over on our exclusive Jumpgate Evolution developer blog, we heard from Producer Herman Peterscheck who wrote about how NetDevil approached music in their space shooting MMO.

A game is by definition an audio/visual experience. It is usually the visual side of things that get the most attention and so little time is spent on the other half of the equation. While visuals are critical for having a successful game, having great audio is very important. To think this deeper, try imagining Star Wars without John Williams' sound track or James Earl Jones' booming Darth Vader voice. Poor audio on top of great video can really deteriorate production value. The trouble with audio is that it generally comes late in the development cycle and all to often as an afterthought. Another difficulty is that while poor visuals tend to be obvious, poor audio tends to be a silent failure. Star Wars with slightly worse music would create a sense that "something is missing" or "something isn't right" whereas a bad special effect is much more likely to be spotted for what it is.

For the full entry, click here.