Audio Style Guide
Framework for maintaining consistent audio style across procedurally generated sounds and music.
Core Elements
| Element |
Purpose |
Example |
| Sonic Style |
Overall aesthetic |
Orchestral, Chiptune, Industrial |
| Mood Palette |
Emotional character |
Tense, Triumphant, Mysterious |
| Instrument Palette |
Sound sources |
orchestral.strings.epic, synth.pad.warm |
| Processing Signature |
Effect character |
reverb.hall, distortion.warm |
These combine into Sonic Specifications - structured bundles ensuring audio coherence.
Quick Reference: Sonic Styles
| Style |
Character |
Best For |
| Orchestral |
Rich, cinematic |
RPGs, adventure, drama |
| Chiptune |
Retro, limited |
Retro games, pixel art |
| Electronic |
Modern, synthetic |
Sci-fi, racing |
| Industrial |
Harsh, mechanical |
Horror, action |
| Ambient |
Atmospheric, sparse |
Exploration, puzzle |
| Dark Ambient |
Unsettling, tense |
Horror, mystery |
| Hybrid |
Orchestra + electronics |
AAA, epic |
| Synthwave |
80s, neon |
Retro-futurism |
→ See references/sonic-styles.md for detailed specifications.
Quick Reference: Moods
| Mood |
Key Tendency |
Tempo |
Character |
| Triumphant |
Major |
100-140 |
Resolved, powerful |
| Tense |
Minor/dim |
80-120 |
Unresolved, building |
| Mysterious |
Modal |
60-90 |
Ambiguous, sparse |
| Aggressive |
Minor |
140-180 |
Driving, loud |
| Peaceful |
Major |
60-80 |
Gentle, open |
| Epic |
Major/minor |
80-120 |
Building to massive |
→ See references/mood-parameters.md for full parameter mappings.
Quick Reference: Instrument Notation
category.family.variant
Examples:
orchestral.strings.epic
synth.pad.warm
percussion.electronic.punchy
→ See references/instrument-palettes.md for complete database.
Genre → Style Mapping
| Game Genre |
Primary |
Secondary |
Mood Tendency |
| Fantasy RPG |
Orchestral |
Ambient |
Epic, Mysterious |
| Sci-Fi Shooter |
Electronic |
Hybrid |
Aggressive, Tense |
| Horror |
Dark Ambient |
Industrial |
Eerie, Tense |
| Platformer |
Chiptune |
Acoustic |
Playful, Triumphant |
| Racing |
Electronic |
Synthwave |
Aggressive, Frantic |
| Puzzle |
Ambient |
Lo-Fi |
Peaceful, Mysterious |
| Roguelike |
Synthwave |
Chiptune |
Tense, Playful |
Sonic Specification Format
Complete audio direction bundles use this structure:
# Sonic Specification
game: "Game Title"
style:
primary: Orchestral
secondary: Dark Ambient
mood:
exploration: Mysterious + Melancholic
combat: Aggressive + Epic
menu: Mysterious
instruments:
primary: [orchestral.strings.epic, orchestral.brass.dark]
accent: [orchestral.percussion.timpani]
texture: [synth.pad.evolving]
processing:
reverb: reverb.hall
character: warm, cinematic
mix_priorities:
1: player_feedback
2: dialogue
3: combat_sfx
4: music
5: ambient
Processing Signatures
| Type |
Variants |
Use For |
| Reverb |
none, room, hall, cathedral |
Space/distance |
| Distortion |
none, warm, crunch, heavy |
Character/aggression |
| Filter |
lowpass.warm, highpass.thin |
Distance/radio effect |
→ See references/processing-signatures.md for effect chains.
Usage Workflow
- Check existing direction: Read
.studio/sonic-identity.md
- Match style to genre: Use genre mapping table
- Select moods: Primary + secondary for each context
- Choose instruments: From appropriate palette
- Apply processing: Match to style character
Related Components
/establish-sonic-identity - Create full audio specificationsonic-designer agent - Translate creative intent to specsaudio-coherence-reviewer agent - Validate consistency
1---2name: audio-style-guide3description: Use this skill when generating audio assets (music, SFX, instruments) and you need consistent style. **Triggers:** "audio style", "how should it sound", "sound direction", "music style", "audio mood", "instrument palette", "sonic identity". **Before generating:** Check `.studio/sonic-identity.md` for project audio direction. If none exists and user wants consistency, suggest `/establish-sonic-identity`. **Load references when:** - Detailed style specs → `references/sonic-styles.md` - Mood parameter mappings → `references/mood-parameters.md` - Instrument database → `references/instrument-palettes.md` - Processing/effects chains → `references/processing-signatures.md`4---5
6# Audio Style Guide
7
8Framework for maintaining consistent audio style across procedurally generated sounds and music.
9
10## Core Elements
11
12| Element | Purpose | Example |
13|---------|---------|---------|
14| **Sonic Style** | Overall aesthetic | Orchestral, Chiptune, Industrial |
15| **Mood Palette** | Emotional character | Tense, Triumphant, Mysterious |
16| **Instrument Palette** | Sound sources | `orchestral.strings.epic`, `synth.pad.warm` |
17| **Processing Signature** | Effect character | `reverb.hall`, `distortion.warm` |
18
19These combine into **Sonic Specifications** - structured bundles ensuring audio coherence.
20
21---
22
23## Quick Reference: Sonic Styles
24
25| Style | Character | Best For |
26|-------|-----------|----------|
27| Orchestral | Rich, cinematic | RPGs, adventure, drama |
28| Chiptune | Retro, limited | Retro games, pixel art |
29| Electronic | Modern, synthetic | Sci-fi, racing |
30| Industrial | Harsh, mechanical | Horror, action |
31| Ambient | Atmospheric, sparse | Exploration, puzzle |
32| Dark Ambient | Unsettling, tense | Horror, mystery |
33| Hybrid | Orchestra + electronics | AAA, epic |
34| Synthwave | 80s, neon | Retro-futurism |
35
36→ See `references/sonic-styles.md` for detailed specifications.
37
38---
39
40## Quick Reference: Moods
41
42| Mood | Key Tendency | Tempo | Character |
43|------|--------------|-------|-----------|
44| Triumphant | Major | 100-140 | Resolved, powerful |
45| Tense | Minor/dim | 80-120 | Unresolved, building |
46| Mysterious | Modal | 60-90 | Ambiguous, sparse |
47| Aggressive | Minor | 140-180 | Driving, loud |
48| Peaceful | Major | 60-80 | Gentle, open |
49| Epic | Major/minor | 80-120 | Building to massive |
50
51→ See `references/mood-parameters.md` for full parameter mappings.
52
53---
54
55## Quick Reference: Instrument Notation
56
57```
58category.family.variant
59
60Examples:
61 orchestral.strings.epic
62 synth.pad.warm
63 percussion.electronic.punchy
64```
65
66→ See `references/instrument-palettes.md` for complete database.
67
68---
69
70## Genre → Style Mapping
71
72| Game Genre | Primary | Secondary | Mood Tendency |
73|------------|---------|-----------|---------------|
74| Fantasy RPG | Orchestral | Ambient | Epic, Mysterious |
75| Sci-Fi Shooter | Electronic | Hybrid | Aggressive, Tense |
76| Horror | Dark Ambient | Industrial | Eerie, Tense |
77| Platformer | Chiptune | Acoustic | Playful, Triumphant |
78| Racing | Electronic | Synthwave | Aggressive, Frantic |
79| Puzzle | Ambient | Lo-Fi | Peaceful, Mysterious |
80| Roguelike | Synthwave | Chiptune | Tense, Playful |
81
82---
83
84## Sonic Specification Format
85
86Complete audio direction bundles use this structure:
87
88```yaml
89# Sonic Specification
90game: "Game Title"
91
92style:
93 primary: Orchestral
94 secondary: Dark Ambient
95
96mood:
97 exploration: Mysterious + Melancholic
98 combat: Aggressive + Epic
99 menu: Mysterious
100
101instruments:
102 primary: [orchestral.strings.epic, orchestral.brass.dark]
103 accent: [orchestral.percussion.timpani]
104 texture: [synth.pad.evolving]
105
106processing:
107 reverb: reverb.hall
108 character: warm, cinematic
109
110mix_priorities:
111 1: player_feedback
112 2: dialogue
113 3: combat_sfx
114 4: music
115 5: ambient
116```
117
118---
119
120## Processing Signatures
121
122| Type | Variants | Use For |
123|------|----------|---------|
124| Reverb | none, room, hall, cathedral | Space/distance |
125| Distortion | none, warm, crunch, heavy | Character/aggression |
126| Filter | lowpass.warm, highpass.thin | Distance/radio effect |
127
128→ See `references/processing-signatures.md` for effect chains.
129
130---
131
132## Usage Workflow
133
1341. **Check existing direction:** Read `.studio/sonic-identity.md`
1352. **Match style to genre:** Use genre mapping table
1363. **Select moods:** Primary + secondary for each context
1374. **Choose instruments:** From appropriate palette
1385. **Apply processing:** Match to style character
139
140## Related Components
141
142- `/establish-sonic-identity` - Create full audio specification
143- `sonic-designer` agent - Translate creative intent to specs
144- `audio-coherence-reviewer` agent - Validate consistency
majiayu000