majiayu000 Sound Vision
Establish and maintain sonic coherence through systematic sound direction.
Three Pillars of Game Audio
- Music - Emotional backbone, pacing, identity
- SFX - Feedback, world-building, immersion
- Voice - Narrative, character, instruction
When one dominates inappropriately, the soundscape fails.
Sonic Identity
| Dimension | Spectrum |
|---|---|
| Frequency Balance | Bassy ←→ Airy |
| Texture | Synthetic ←→ Organic |
| Processing | Clean ←→ Distorted |
| Reverb | Dry ←→ Wet |
| Dynamics | Compressed ←→ Wide range |
| Attack | Gradual ←→ Punchy |
Mix Priority Hierarchy
PRIORITY 1 (Never duck):
├── Player damage/death feedback
├── Critical gameplay cues
└── Dialogue (when present)
PRIORITY 2 (Light ducking):
├── Player action feedback
├── Immediate threats
└── Important UI
PRIORITY 3 (Duck for 1-2):
├── Ambient world sounds
├── Background music
└── Environmental effects
PRIORITY 4 (Most flexible):
├── Atmospheric layers
└── Distant sounds
Relative Loudness (Music = 0dB reference)
| Element | Range |
|---|---|
| Player Actions | +2 to +6dB |
| Enemy Attacks | +0 to +4dB |
| Ambient | -6 to -12dB |
| UI Feedback | +0 to +3dB |
| Dialogue | +6 to +10dB |
Audio Design Doc Sections
- Audio Pillars - 3-5 sonic principles
- Reference Audio - Games, films, genres
- Frequency Allocation - Which elements own which ranges
- Mix Priorities - Ducking hierarchy
- Music Direction - Instrumentation, genre, adaptivity
- SFX Language - Attack, decay, processing aesthetic
ZX Considerations
- 8 SFX channels max, 4 music typical
- Balance file size vs quality
- Plan for channel stealing
Store in .studio/sound-direction.md or .studio/creative-direction.md.
References
references/mixing-techniques.md- Technical mixingreferences/adaptive-music.md- Dynamic musicreferences/sound-categories.md- SFX categorization