Multiplayer Gaming Audio Challenges: Navigating Sound in Competitive and Social Play
Audio in multiplayer games is essential for creating immersive and seamless experiences, but it’s often an afterthought in game development – especially the voice communication aspect. Discord dominates the out-of-game voice chat experience among gamers. But what if you want an in-game experience that leverages positional audio and other game features, such as communications devices that are built into the game. Vivox is the go-to SDK use by game studios to make this easier, just as WWise is the go-to for in-game sound design. But it’s not necessarily straightforward to use these tools together. And there are lingering issues with background noise, performance, and cross platform issues. Here, we explore some of the core challenges in multiplayer gaming audio and why a thoughtful approach is essential.
Industry Leaders and Their Audio Solutions
Vivox, owned by Unity, is a widely SDK integrated into games like League of Legends, PUBG, and Fortnite. It offers in-game voice chat with low latency and 3D positional audio. Discord, on the other hand, is a separate app, so it doesn’t take advantage of in-game features and positional audio, though Discord seems to be making further inroads to offer a more comprehensive in-game solution. Both platforms have set high standards for in-game audio, yet challenges remain for developers building games or apps that operate alongside them.
Audio Challenges in Multiplayer Games
Background Noise and Audio Leakage: One common issue in multiplayer gaming is microphone bleed—the leakage of background sounds like in-game music, which can disrupt communication. Filtering out unwanted sounds without affecting game performance is complex, especially with players using different setups. Game developers are now exploring noise suppression algorithms and AI-driven solutions to isolate voice from background noise, but it’s often the case that these let all human voice detection pass through, a problem for music with lyrics or other people talking in the background, for example. Echo suppression solutions and specific speaker identification are alternatives that can be considered in parallel for an optimal user experience.
Performance Constraints: Processing high-quality audio and ML-based noise filters or voice changers alongside graphics-intensive gameplay can drain system resources, causing fps drops, latency, and other issues. Mobile devices face even greater constraints due to limited CPU and battery life. In these scenarios, real-time voice communication can lag or drop out. Solutions like lightweight audio codecs and adaptive audio quality adjustments help, but the balance between quality and performance remains a challenge.
Integration Difficulties: Tools like WWise provide sophisticated options for in-game sound design, while Vivox is ideal for real-time voice. Combining these tools might seem straightforward, but technical issues often make it more challenging. Latency issues, audio balancing, and platform-specific limitations require careful handling to ensure a smooth experience for players.
Why Audio Should Be a Priority
Many game developers underestimate the importance of audio, viewing it as secondary to graphics or gameplay mechanics. However, poor audio can disrupt player engagement and even lead to player churn. A well-integrated audio experience—including clear voice comms, well-mixed in-game sounds, and smooth performance across platforms—can significantly enhance gameplay immersion and keep players engaged longer. Not only that, but audio can actually impact the player’s performance during the games, especially while playing first person shooter games like Valorant and CS: GO.
Innovations and Future Solutions
Synervoz has addressed these audio challenges in gaming use cases through the provision of its products and services. Switchboard has streamlined integration with various audio SDKs including Vivox, enhancing audio clarity and synchronization without compromising game performance. By focusing on high-quality audio and flexible integration, Synervoz empowers developers to create immersive, responsive multiplayer experiences that rival in-person interactions.
The audio landscape in multiplayer gaming is evolving, and the metaverse is following a similar trajectory. Developers who recognize the importance of audio and prioritize it will be rewarded with improved user engagement and retention.