audio-design

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 4543b3777841 · 20 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publishergamedev-skills GitHub organizationOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source foldergamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills/skills/disciplines/audio-designThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceApache-2.0As the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict4543b3777841A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 11 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Implement game audio practice — bus/mixer architecture and gain in decibels, ducking (sidechain), adaptive/dynamic music via layering and re-sequencing, SFX variation, and beat synchronization. Engine-neutral. Use when…

---
name: audio-design
description: >
  Implement game audio practice — bus/mixer architecture and gain in decibels,
  ducking (sidechain), adaptive/dynamic music via layering and re-sequencing,
  SFX variation, and beat synchronization. Engine-neutral. Use when the user
  mentions audio mixing, audio buses, adaptive/dynamic music, ducking, SFX
  variation, music layers, or syncing gameplay to the beat.
---

# Audio design

Game audio is a **mixing graph plus a music system**. Route every sound through a
small set of buses so you can balance and process groups; make music *react* to
play through layering and re-sequencing rather than looping one track. This skill
teaches the portable practice; bind it to `godot-audio`, Unity's AudioMixer, or
middleware (FMOD/Wwise) for concrete APIs.

## When to use

- Use to design a bus/mixer layout, set group volumes, and apply effects (reverb,
  compression, EQ) to groups of sounds.
- Use to duck music/ambience under dialogue or impacts (sidechain).
- Use to build adaptive music that responds to combat/exploration intensity.
- Use to add SFX variation (pitch/sample randomization) and sync events to a beat.

**When *not* to use:** for the engine's concrete audio nodes/streams, use
`godot-audio` or the engine's audio skill. Loading/streaming and asset import are
engine concerns. For UI sliders that drive bus volume, see the engine UI skill.

## Core workflow

1. **Lay out buses, not per-sound volume.** A typical tree: `Master ← {Music,
   SFX, Ambience, UI, Voice}`. Everything plays into a bus; the player's settings
   sliders map to bus volumes. Never set hundreds of clip volumes by hand.
2. **Work in decibels, not linear.** Perceived loudness is logarithmic. Volume
   controls and automation should operate in dB; convert only at the edges.
3. **Leave headroom.** Mix so the Master peaks below 0 dBFS (aim for a target
   loudness, e.g. around -14 to -16 LUFS for many games) to avoid clipping.
4. **Duck competing sources** with a sidechain compressor (or volume automation):
   when voice/important SFX plays, the music bus dips, then recovers.
5. **Make music adaptive** via *vertical* layering (stems faded in/out) and/or
   *horizontal* re-sequencing (swap segments at musical boundaries). See the
   reference.
6. **Vary repeated SFX** with small random pitch/volume offsets and sample pools
   so footsteps and hits don't sound robotic.
7. **Verify on real output.** Listen on headphones and speakers; check that the
   mix balances, ducking is audible but not pumping, and music transitions land
   on the beat — never assume from the editor meters alone.

## Patterns

### 1. Bus routing and dB gain

```gdscript
# Route sounds to named buses; control GROUPS, not individual clips.
sfx_player.bus = "SFX"
music_player.bus = "Music"

# Map a 0..1 settings slider to decibels (linear_to_db), the perceptual unit.
func set_bus_volume(bus_name: String, slider01: float) -> void:
    var idx := AudioServer.get_bus_index(bus_name)
    var db := linear_to_db(clamp(slider01, 0.0001, 1.0))   # 0 -> silence, 1 -> 0 dB
    AudioServer.set_bus_volume_db(idx, db)
# RIGHT: slider -> dB via linear_to_db. WRONG: assigning slider01 straight as dB
# (a "0.5" would be only +0.5 dB — almost no change — and 0 would be 0 dB, full).
```

### 2. Ducking via sidechain (music dips under voice)

```gdscript
# A compressor on the MUSIC bus, keyed by the VOICE bus, lowers music while
# dialogue plays, then releases. This is "sidechain ducking".
# Setup (engine-specific): add a compressor effect to the Music bus and set its
# sidechain to the Voice bus. Then tune:
#   threshold: level on Voice that triggers ducking (e.g. -30 dB)
#   ratio:     how hard to duck (e.g. 8:1 for a clear dip)
#   attack:    fast (~10 ms) so music gets out of the way promptly
#   release:   slow (~300-500 ms) so it recovers smoothly, not pumping
# No-middleware alternative: tween the Music bus volume down on voice start and
# back up on voice end.
func duck_music(active: bool) -> void:
    var target_db := -12.0 if active else 0.0
    create_tween().tween_method(
        func(v): set_bus_volume_db("Music", v), current_music_db, target_db, 0.25)
```

### 3. SFX variation (kill the "machine gun" repeat)

```gdscript
# Randomize pitch slightly and pick from a sample pool so repeats feel organic.
func play_varied(samples: Array, bus := "SFX") -> void:
    var p := AudioStreamPlayer.new()
    p.stream = samples[randi() % samples.size()]   # rotate through several takes
    p.bus = bus
    p.pitch_scale = randf_range(0.94, 1.06)         # +/- ~6% pitch wobble
    add_child(p); p.play()
    p.finished.connect(p.queue_free)                # clean up one-shots
```

### 4. Beat-synced events (quantize to the music grid)

```gdscript
# Schedule gameplay/visuals on musical time, not frame time, so they land on beat.
const BPM := 120.0
var seconds_per_beat := 60.0 / BPM

func current_beat(playback_position_sec: float) -> int:
    return int(playback_position_sec / seconds_per_beat)

# Quantize an action to the NEXT beat boundary instead of firing immediately.
func time_until_next_beat(pos: float) -> float:
    return seconds_per_beat - fmod(pos, seconds_per_beat)
# Drive timing from the audio playback clock, which is steadier than frame delta.
```

## Pitfalls

- **Treating slider values as dB.** Volume is logarithmic; map `0..1` through
  `linear_to_db` (and back with `db_to_linear`). A linear slider on raw amplitude
  feels like it does nothing until the very bottom.
- **Per-clip volume instead of buses** makes a global balance pass impossible and
  bloats save/settings. Mix on buses.
- **Clipping the master.** Summed sounds exceed 0 dBFS and distort. Leave
  headroom; put a limiter on Master as a safety net, not as the mixer.
- **Pumping ducking**: too-fast release or too-high ratio makes music audibly
  breathe. Lengthen release; lower ratio.
- **Looping a single music track** for the whole game feels flat. Use layers or
  seg

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills
git -C awesome-gamedev-agent-skills checkout 4543b3777841

Works in

1. 2026-10-20
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 4543b3777841

Questions about audio-design

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