Audio Design

Audio Design — Sound, Music & Sonic Identity

Design the audio layer that makes games feel alive — from satisfying SFX to adaptive soundtracks to immersive ambience.

Inputs

• Game concept and art direction (use /game-concept and /art-direction for reference)
• Platform and performance constraints
• Audio budget (original composition vs. licensed vs. procedural)
• Engine audio capabilities (FMOD, Wwise, built-in)

Step 1: Audio Pillars

Define 3-4 sonic principles that guide every audio decision:

Example — Fantasy Action RPG:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Pillar 1: WEIGHT                           │
│  → Every hit, step, and action feels heavy  │
│                                             │
│  Pillar 2: LIVING WORLD                     │
│  → Environments sound inhabited and dynamic │
│                                             │
│  Pillar 3: EMOTIONAL ARC                    │
│  → Music mirrors the player's journey       │
│                                             │
│  Pillar 4: CLARITY                          │
│  → Gameplay-critical sounds cut through mix │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Step 2: Music Direction

Music Style Definition

## Music Brief

**Genre/Style:** [orchestral, synth, chiptune, ambient, rock, hybrid]
**Reference tracks:** [3-5 existing tracks that capture the target feel]
**Instrumentation:** [key instruments / synths / sound sources]
**Tempo range:** [BPM range for exploration, combat, menus]
**Key/Scale:** [if applicable — minor for dark, major for uplifting]

Music Map

Assign music to game states:

Adaptive Music System

LAYER-BASED ADAPTIVE MUSIC:
  Layer 0: Ambient pad (always playing)
  Layer 1: Melodic theme (exploration)
  Layer 2: Percussion (tension/combat proximity)
  Layer 3: Full arrangement (active combat)
  Layer 4: Boss-specific layer (boss encounters)

  Triggers:
    Enter danger zone    → Add Layer 2
    Enemy aggro          → Add Layer 3, increase tempo
    Enemy defeated       → Remove Layer 3 over 4 beats
    Leave danger zone    → Remove Layer 2 over 8 beats
    Boss encounter       → Replace Layer 3 with Layer 4

HORIZONTAL RESEQUENCING:
  Track divided into segments that play in different orders
  based on game state:
    Explore: A → B → C → A → B → D (calm variants)
    Combat:  E → F → E → G (intense variants)
    Transition segments bridge between states

Step 3: Sound Effects Design

SFX Categories

PLAYER SFX:
  ├── Movement (footsteps, landing, jumping, climbing)
  ├── Combat (swing, impact, block, parry, reload)
  ├── Abilities (cast, charge, activate, cooldown)
  ├── Feedback (damage taken, heal, level up, death)
  └── UI (menu hover, select, back, error, notification)

WORLD SFX:
  ├── Environment (wind, water, fire, machinery)
  ├── Objects (doors, chests, switches, breakables)
  ├── NPCs (voice, footsteps, combat, reactions)
  ├── Creatures (idle, alert, attack, death)
  └── Weather (rain, thunder, snow crunch, storm)

SYSTEM SFX:
  ├── UI navigation (hover, click, tab switch)
  ├── Notifications (quest complete, achievement, save)
  ├── Transition (screen fade, loading, menu open/close)
  └── Error (invalid action, out of ammo, locked door)

SFX Design Sheet Template

## Sound: [Name]
**Category:** [Player / World / System]
**Trigger:** [What causes this sound to play]
**Duration:** [Length in seconds]
**Variations:** [Number of random alternatives to prevent repetition]
**Priority:** [1-5, where 1 = must play, 5 = can be culled]
**3D/2D:** [Spatialized or flat]
**Attenuation:** [Falloff distance if 3D]
**Pitch variance:** [±X% randomization]
**Layer composition:** [What sub-sounds make up this SFX]

The 3-Layer SFX Method

Every important SFX should have 3 layers:

Layer 1: BODY — The core of the sound (sword slash = metallic swipe)
Layer 2: SWEETENER — The satisfying detail (slash = whoosh of air)
Layer 3: IMPACT — The consequence (slash = flesh/armor contact)

Combined with:
  Pitch variance: ±5-15% per play
  Volume variance: ±2-4 dB per play
  Variant count: 3-5 recordings per sound
  → Prevents "machine gun effect" (repetitive identical sounds)

Step 4: Ambient Soundscape

Ambience Construction

BASE LAYER: Continuous tone (room tone, wind, hum)
  ↑ Always playing, very low volume

EVENT LAYER: Random one-shots (bird call, creak, drip)
  ↑ 5-30 second random intervals, varies per zone

PROXIMITY LAYER: Position-based emitters (waterfall, fire, forge)
  ↑ 3D spatialized, volume by distance

REACTIVE LAYER: State-based changes (time of day, weather, player action)
  ↑ Crossfade between variants

Zone example — Forest:
  Base: Wind through leaves (loop)
  Events: Bird calls (10-20s), branch snap (30-60s), insect buzz (5-15s)
  Proximity: River (3D, 20m range), campfire (3D, 8m range)
  Reactive: Day → birdsong, Night → crickets + owl, Rain → drips on canopy

Step 5: Audio Mix

Mix Priority Stack

PRIORITY 1 (never duck):  Player combat SFX, critical alerts
PRIORITY 2 (slight duck):  Enemy combat SFX, voice/dialogue
PRIORITY 3 (moderate duck): Music, ambient events
PRIORITY 4 (heavy duck):   Background ambience, distant sounds
PRIORITY 5 (cull first):   Environmental detail, decorative SFX

DUCKING RULES:
  When Priority 1 plays → Duck Priority 3-5 by 3-6 dB
  During dialogue → Duck music by 6-9 dB, pause ambient events
  In menus → Fade gameplay audio to 20%, play menu music

Voice Count Budget

Step 6: Audio Asset List

Create a master spreadsheet:

Output

Save to artifacts/game-design/[project-name]-audio.md

Guidelines

• Sound is 50% of the experience — budget accordingly, not as an afterthought
• Silence is a sound design tool — the absence of sound creates tension better than any SFX
• Record/source more variations than you think you need — repetition kills immersion
• Mix at the volume your players will use, on the hardware they'll use
• Test with headphones AND speakers — spatial audio behaves very differently
• Cross-reference /mechanics-design — every mechanic needs audio feedback
• Cross-reference /ui-ux-design — every UI interaction needs a sound