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Creative Craft

Audio Production Playbook: Crafting Sonic Identities for Games

Best practices from CEGA's audio guild on composing adaptive soundtracks, building VO pipelines, and mixing UI audio cues.

December 5, 2023 6 min read audio • sound-design
RN
Rizwan NoorAudio Director
Audio Production Playbook: Crafting Sonic Identities for Games

Define Your Sonic Palette

We start every project with a sonic mood board that maps instrumentation, tempo ranges, and emotional beats. This shared language keeps composers and designers aligned.

Adaptive scores built in middleware like FMOD allow music to respond to player actions in real time, deepening immersion.

Voice Over Pipelines

Casting local talent adds authenticity. We maintain pronunciation guides and localisation scripts so VO remains consistent across languages.

Remote recording kits, combined with CEGA's treated booths, enable hybrid production without compromising quality.

Mixing for Clarity

UI sounds should reinforce feedback without overwhelming the mix. We create decibel guardrails for each layer—UI, FX, dialogue, ambience—to maintain clarity.

Final mixes ship with accessibility presets, including dynamic range compression for mobile players and high-contrast mixes for hearing-impaired gamers.

Key Takeaways

  • Sonic mood boards anchor creative direction across teams.
  • Hybrid VO pipelines balance authenticity with flexibility.
  • Accessibility presets widen your audience and improve retention.
Audio Production Playbook: Crafting Sonic Identities for Games | CEGA Knowledge Hub | CEGA