8. Working with Audio Effects

• Pre-requisite: this is the example (7. BlockBreaker game with texture) we are building off from.
• You can start with this template source file (resulting source code from previous example), and here is the result the source code for this example.
• Here is the mapping between keyboard and the controller.
• For details of working with audio files and the organization of the source code folder, please refer to the library documentation.

Goals: In this tutorial we want to experience:

• Working with audio effects!

• XnaAssignmentBase.PlayACue: function.

1. Including aduio resources: Under the Solution Explorer, open the Content tab,
   • Right-mouse-click on the Resources folder:
     • Add new folder: Audio.
        
   • Now, go to Explore (the XP file navigation tool)
     • navigate to root folder of this tutorial and to: 9.AudiEffect/AudioFiles
     • In this folder you will find:

     GameAudio.xap	Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT) data file. This is the file we will include into our project for all the sound cues.
     BallDie.wav	Defines: BallDie audio cue. We will use this cue to indicate a ball has expired.
     Bounce.wav	Defines: Bounce audio cue. We will use this cue to indicate when the ball bounce off the paddle.
     Break.wav	Defines: Break audio cue. We will use this cue to indicate when a block is broken.
     Wall.wav	Defines: Wall audio cue. We will use this cue to indicate when the wall bounces off the wall.

     • While still in Explore copy all of the above files to your newly create subfolder:
          SourceCode/SimpleXNA/Contrent/Resources/Audio
       NOTE: Perform the copy operation in the Explore and not the IDE.
        
   • Now go back to the IDE:
     • Right-Mouse-Click over the Resources/Audio subfolder
     • "Add" ... "Existing Itme"
     : select the XACT data file: GameAudio.xap this data file contains all the proper description of the above audio cues.
   • Now, we are ready to use the above cues in our project.
    
   
   
2. Bounce cue:
   • Paddle.cs::BounceBall:  Upon detecting successful paddle-ball intersection, add in the following line:
     • XnaAssignmentBase .PlayACue(0.2f, "Bounce");
   • The above line says, play the "NewBall" cue for 0.5 second.
   
    
3. Break cue:
   • Paddle.cs::BounceBall:  Upon detecting successful paddle-ball intersection, add in the following line:

     • XnaAssignmentBase.PlayACue(0.2f, "Break");
        

4. Wall and BallDie cues:
   • Ball.cs::Update: When detecting the ball is colliding with the wall and falls below the application window.

     • XnaAssignmentBase.PlayACue(0.2f, "Wall");

Please refer to the library documentation for more details on working with audio effects. The most important point to repeat here is, we only have one output channel, and thus we should use audio as a cue when an event happens (bouncing). Working with the XnaAssignmentBase library, we cannot have a constant music playing in the background.