pixelheros/.claude/docs/templates/sound-bible.md

Sound Bible: [Project Name]

Audio Vision

Sonic Identity

[Describe the overall audio personality of the game in 2-3 sentences. What does the game "sound like"? What emotions should the audio evoke?]

Audio Pillars

1. [Pillar 1]: [How this pillar manifests in audio]
2. [Pillar 2]: [How this pillar manifests in audio]
3. [Pillar 3]: [How this pillar manifests in audio]

Reference Games / Media

Reference	What to Take From It	What to Avoid
[Game/Film 1]	[Specific audio quality to emulate]	[What doesn't fit our vision]
[Game/Film 2]	[Specific audio quality to emulate]	[What doesn't fit our vision]

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Music Direction

Style and Genre

[Primary musical style, instrumentation palette, tempo ranges]

Instrumentation Palette

• Core instruments: [List the primary instruments/synths that define the sound]
• Accent instruments: [Used for emphasis, transitions, special moments]
• Avoid: [Instruments or styles that do NOT fit the game]

Adaptive Music System

Game State	Music Behavior	Transition
Exploration	[Tempo, energy, instrumentation]	[How it transitions to next state]
Combat	[Tempo, energy, instrumentation]	[Trigger condition and crossfade time]
Stealth/Tension	[Tempo, energy, instrumentation]	[Trigger and transition]
Victory/Reward	[Stinger or transition behavior]	[Return to exploration]
Menu/UI	[Style for menus]	[Fade on game start]

Music Rules

• [Rule about looping, e.g., "All exploration tracks must loop seamlessly after 2-4 minutes"]
• [Rule about silence, e.g., "Allow 10-15 seconds of silence between exploration loops"]
• [Rule about intensity, e.g., "Combat music must reach full intensity within 3 seconds of combat start"]
• [Rule about transitions, e.g., "All music transitions use 1.5 second crossfades"]

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Sound Effects

SFX Palette

Category	Description	Style Notes
Player Actions	[Movement, attacks, abilities]	[Punchy, responsive, front-of-mix]
Enemy Actions	[Attacks, abilities, death]	[Distinct from player, slightly recessed]
UI	[Button clicks, menu transitions, notifications]	[Clean, subtle, never annoying on repeat]
Environment	[Ambient loops, weather, objects]	[Immersive, layered, spatial]
Feedback	[Damage taken, item pickup, level up]	[Clear, satisfying, non-fatiguing]

Audio Feedback Priority

When multiple sounds compete, this priority determines what plays:

1. Player damage / critical warnings (always audible)
2. Player actions (attacks, abilities)
3. Enemy actions (nearby enemies first)
4. UI feedback
5. Environment / ambient

SFX Rules

• [Rule about repetition, e.g., "Every SFX with >3 plays/minute needs 3+ variations"]
• [Rule about spatial audio, e.g., "All gameplay SFX must be 3D positioned, UI SFX are 2D"]
• [Rule about ducking, e.g., "Player hit SFX ducks all other SFX by 3dB for 200ms"]
• [Rule about response time, e.g., "Action SFX must trigger within 1 frame of the action"]

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Mixing

Mix Bus Structure

Bus	Content	Target Level
Master	Everything	0 dB
Music	All music tracks	[target dBFS]
SFX	All sound effects	[target dBFS]
Dialogue	All voice/narration	[target dBFS]
UI	All interface sounds	[target dBFS]
Ambient	Environment loops	[target dBFS]

Mixing Rules

• Dialogue always takes priority — duck music and SFX during dialogue
• Music should be felt, not dominate — if players can't hear SFX over music, music is too loud
• Master output must never clip — use a limiter on the master bus
• All volumes must be adjustable by the player (per bus)
• Default mix should sound good on both speakers and headphones

Dynamic Range

• [Specify loudness targets, e.g., "Target -14 LUFS integrated, -1 dBTP true peak"]
• [Specify compression policy, e.g., "Light compression on SFX bus, no compression on music"]

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Technical Specifications

Format Requirements

Type	Format	Sample Rate	Bit Depth	Notes
Music	[OGG/WAV]	[44.1/48 kHz]	[16/24 bit]	[Streaming from disk]
SFX	[WAV/OGG]	[44.1/48 kHz]	[16 bit]	[Loaded into memory]
Ambient	[OGG]	[44.1 kHz]	[16 bit]	[Streaming, loopable]
Dialogue	[OGG/WAV]	[44.1 kHz]	[16 bit]	[Streaming]

Naming Convention

[category]_[subcategory]_[name]_[variation].ext

• Example: sfx_weapon_sword_swing_01.wav
• Example: music_exploration_forest_loop.ogg
• Example: amb_environment_cave_drip_loop.ogg

Memory Budget

• Total audio memory: [target, e.g., 128 MB]
• SFX pool: [target]
• Music streaming buffer: [target]
• Voice streaming buffer: [target]

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Accessibility

• All critical audio cues must have visual alternatives (subtitles, screen flash, icon)
• Mono audio option for hearing-impaired players
• Separate volume controls for all buses
• Option to disable sudden loud sounds
• Subtitle support for all dialogue with speaker identification