Game audio

Skill aiskillstore/marketplace/skills/sickn33/game-audio

Game audio principles. Sound design, music integration, adaptive audio systems.From its SKILL.md

Install

npx -y skills add aiskillstore/marketplace --skill game-audio

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

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SKILL.md

5.2 KB, ~1.3k tokens by cl100k_base, as published. Nobody here has run it

Game Audio Principles

Sound design and music integration for immersive game experiences.

1. Audio Category System

Category Definitions

Category	Behavior	Examples
Music	Looping, crossfade, ducking	BGM, combat music
SFX	One-shot, 3D positioned	Footsteps, impacts
Ambient	Looping, background layer	Wind, crowd, forest
UI	Immediate, non-3D	Button clicks, notifications
Voice	Priority, ducking trigger	Dialogue, announcer

Priority Hierarchy

When sounds compete for channels:

1. Voice (highest - always audible)
2. Player SFX (feedback critical)
3. Enemy SFX (gameplay important)
4. Music (mood, but duckable)
5. Ambient (lowest - can drop)

2. Sound Design Decisions

SFX Creation Approach

Approach	When to Use	Trade-offs
Recording	Realistic needs	High quality, time intensive
Synthesis	Sci-fi, retro, UI	Unique, requires skill
Library samples	Fast production	Common sounds, licensing
Layering	Complex sounds	Best results, more work

Layering Structure

Layer	Purpose	Example: Gunshot
Attack	Initial transient	Click, snap
Body	Main character	Boom, blast
Tail	Decay, room	Reverb, echo
Sweetener	Special sauce	Shell casing, mechanical

3. Music Integration

Music State System

Game State → Music Response
│
├── Menu → Calm, loopable theme
├── Exploration → Ambient, atmospheric
├── Combat detected → Transition to tension
├── Combat engaged → Full battle music
├── Victory → Stinger + calm transition
├── Defeat → Somber stinger
└── Boss → Unique, multi-phase track

Transition Techniques

Technique	Use When	Feel
Crossfade	Smooth mood shift	Gradual
Stinger	Immediate event	Dramatic
Stem mixing	Dynamic intensity	Seamless
Beat-synced	Rhythmic gameplay	Musical
Queue point	Next natural break	Clean

4. Adaptive Audio Decisions

Intensity Parameters

Parameter	Affects	Example
Threat level	Music intensity	Enemy count
Health	Filter, reverb	Low health = muffled
Speed	Tempo, energy	Racing speed
Environment	Reverb, EQ	Cave vs outdoor
Time of day	Mood, volume	Night = quieter

Vertical vs Horizontal

System	What Changes	Best For
Vertical (layers)	Add/remove instrument layers	Intensity scaling
Horizontal (segments)	Different music sections	State changes
Combined	Both	AAA adaptive scores

5. 3D Audio Decisions

Spatialization

Element	3D Positioned?	Reason
Player footsteps	No (or subtle)	Always audible
Enemy footsteps	Yes	Directional awareness
Gunfire	Yes	Combat awareness
Music	No	Mood, non-diegetic
Ambient zone	Yes (area)	Environmental
UI sounds	No	Interface feedback

Distance Behavior

Distance	Sound Behavior
Near	Full volume, full frequency
Medium	Volume falloff, high-freq rolloff
Far	Low volume, low-pass filter
Max	Silent or ambient hint

6. Platform Considerations

Format Selection

Platform	Recommended Format	Reason
PC	OGG Vorbis, WAV	Quality, no licensing
Console	Platform-specific	Certification
Mobile	MP3, AAC	Size, compatibility
Web	WebM/Opus, MP3 fallback	Browser support

Memory Budget

Game Type	Audio Budget	Strategy
Mobile casual	10-50 MB	Compressed, fewer variants
PC indie	100-500 MB	Quality focus
AAA	1+ GB	Full quality, many variants

7. Mix Hierarchy

Volume Balance Reference

Category	Relative Level	Notes
Voice	0 dB (reference)	Always clear
Player SFX	-3 to -6 dB	Prominent but not harsh
Music	-6 to -12 dB	Foundation, ducks for voice
Enemy SFX	-6 to -9 dB	Important but not dominant
Ambient	-12 to -18 dB	Subtle background

Ducking Rules

When	Duck What	Amount
Voice plays	Music, Ambient	-6 to -9 dB
Explosion	All except explosion	Brief duck
Menu open	Gameplay audio	-3 to -6 dB

8. Anti-Patterns

Don't	Do
Play same sound repeatedly	Use variations (3-5 per sound)
Max volume everything	Use proper mix hierarchy
Ignore silence	Silence creates contrast
One music track loops forever	Provide variety, transitions
Skip audio in prototype	Placeholder audio matters

Remember: 50% of the game experience is audio. A muted game loses half its soul.

What ships with it

Read from the repository

Just SKILL.md. No reference files, no scripts.

Gives 0 of the 12 instructions most video audio skills give in ~1.3k tokens

Counted across 619 of the 725 authors here whose files we hold, read 2026-09-06

Read product marketing context firstin 13 of 619, across 7 files
Define the core visual thesis in one sentencein 11 of 619, across 3 files
Break the concept into 3 to 6 scenesin 11 of 619, across 3 files
Render the smallest working version firstin 11 of 619, across 3 files
Start with a low-quality smoke test renderin 11 of 619, across 3 files
Add captions for accessibility and engagementin 11 of 619, across 5 files
Write the scene outline before writing codein 11 of 619, across 3 files
Specify subject, action, camera, style, and moodin 11 of 619, across 5 files
Decide what each scene provesin 10 of 619, across 2 files
Export one clean thumbnail framein 10 of 619, across 2 files
Pick the right tool for the jobin 10 of 619, across 4 files
Run the test suite before proposing a fixin 8 of 619, across 7 files

Said here and by no other author read

Include placeholder audio early

Grouped from the skills themselves: near-identical wordings counted once, and counted by distinct author, so one author publishing three of these counts once. Length counted with cl100k_base; the agent that loads this file may tokenize it differently.