Imagine being able to explore a digital world where the environment (where this article is concerned, sound!) is that realistic that we can't differentiate between the real world and the digital - i.e. the Matrix (but, perhaps, without the agents...). That is the power of real-time audio technology. 

The gaming industry, at the moment, is responsible for the commercial pioneering of interactive audio technologies. In building such audio technologies, they should mimic how we listen to our world, to make the digital world somewhat 'believable' and much like our own. This is done so that we directly relate to the game we are playing, or feel better immersed within it, and video games try and do this to their best ability (e.g. Grand Theft Auto). So what audio technologies are being used at the moment within video games and how far away is real-time audio technology? 

To date, the gaming industry uses a type of audio technology that mimics the behaviour of real-life sound through the use of computer algorithms. This is called procedural audio. Procedural audio allows the computer to instantly generate convincing music - or sound effects - that have been pre-recorded at source. Simply put, a procedural audio system self-generates its audio output (music or sound effects) by making clever use of previously recorded (the important point, here) sound files; I'll briefly explain the technical points of how this works, later. All in all, the most famous example of procedural audio is Hello Games' No Man's Sky.

So, what is procedural audio and why was it created? ​

Real-time audio is the natural response and successor to procedural audio because it allows us to create better user-immersion (aurally) within video games. This is achieved through the instant generation of sound and, unlike procedural audio, through using a system that will generate an infinite number of sounds, within video games, in response to human interaction. Through being able to use an infinite and self-generative audio system we can therefore move closer to how we perceive real-world sounds, as the sounds we encounter in life are never finite or sound the same each time we perceive them. 

Think of the complexity of how we perceive sounds in real-life through the following question: 

'If I place a glass down upon a table, will it always sound the same?'

The answer is quite clearly 'no'.

This is because there are so many real-world (physical) variables at play when we hear the glass being placed, e.g.:

1. The velocity at which we place the glass down;
2. The exact position at which we place the glass down upon the table (affecting table resonance);
3. The exact point of impact where the glass meets the table;
4. Spatial air density when the glass was placed down;
5. Room/space acoustics

All of these elements would affect our aural perception of sound - something which procedural audio systems do not have the capability to consider. Real-time audio technology, however, does. 

Therefore, real-time audio's mission is to create a convincing and sophisticated system that will allow us to hear digital worlds that feel and behave just like our own. Then, and only then, will we be able to feel more immersed within digital worlds. 

 So, how do we achieve real-time audio? ​