Adding Sounds for web-based apps/games (where to start?)

[dc257]

I've used Adobe Animate to put together some educational games and activities fur students (something I think Animate is perfectly suited to BTW - as you can apply Javascript to give interactivity, whilst exploiting the visual creativity of using an on-screen editor for graphical elements). I have used various methods in the past for incorporating sound into these activities without really knowing if I'm choosing the best options. For example, which file formats are most suitable? Should I call them externally from a separate sound file when needed, or import the sounds directly into Animate's timeline? 

Some of the factors I'm thinking about are...

• Compatibility and accessibility (needs to work on all/most browsers). 
• Speed (will there be a 'lag' between clicking and the sound playing?)
• Sound quality vs File size (are some file types out of the question for use in games for being too large/too poor quality?) 
• Do sounds need to be preloaded in any way? (If so, how?)

I understand it's a vague question, but I'm open to learning and looking for pointers. Are there any standard best practices in this area? Any advice/thoughts/tips on this would be gratefully received! 

[kglad]

1.  sound quality vs file size is a developer decision.  ie, there's no right/wrong

2.  i'm not aware of any browser compatibility issues.

3. loading sounds dynamically reduces initial loading speed but delays sound play until the loading is complete, and again is a developer decision.

4. the easiest way to preload is to just import the sounds into animate during development.

[dc257]

Thanks for your response. At the moment, I'm using AAC as my preferred sound format. However, I'm calling them from a separate folder using Javascript because as far as I'm aware Animate won't let me import AAC files directly to the timeline? My main worry is that sounds might not always trigger precisely when they are called - from a click for example (especially when a user has a slow connection).

I ruled out WAVs as a result of file size. With MP3s, I had trouble looping background tracks seamlessly (which admittedly may be a fault with something I've done rather than the file format). I chose AAC because the quality vs size was just right for my requirements (sounds pretty good even at lower bitrates).

Always good to hear others' opinions, as I work alone and sometimes wonder "am I doing this right!?". Thanks again!

[kglad]

you can always preload sounds to be used later and thereby minimize or eliminate delayed play.