Production context
Canonical source
GDD/06-Art-Audio/02-Audio-Direction.mdDecision markers0 confirmed · 3 recommendations · 2 TBD
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- Not verified for this documentation pass.
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- No explicit GDD links found.
Document contract coverage
Use these required Audio Direction areas during review. The imported GDD below is canonical; items not stated explicitly remain unresolved.
- ReviewVisual Pillars
- ReviewRealism / Stylization Target
- ReviewShape Language
- ReviewMaterial Language
- ReviewColor & Lighting Direction
- ReviewCharacter / Environment / Prop Rules
- ReviewDo / Don’t
- ReviewReference Collections
- ReviewApproval Rules
Canonical GDD content
Audio is a survival-game force multiplier: it carries tension, telegraphs threats, and is a gameplay signal (sound attracts zombies; gunfire reveals you). Treat key sounds as gameplay, not just polish.
Goals
- Tension & dread: sparse, atmospheric ambience punctuated by sudden threat audio.
- Information: players locate zombies, gunfire, footsteps, and vehicles by sound. Spatialized audio is a core readability tool in third person.
- Feedback: weighty gunshots, impactful melee, clear hit/headshot cues, satisfying craft/build/loot sounds.
Categories
| Category | Notes |
|---|---|
| Weapons | Per-weapon fire, reload, dry-fire, melee swings/impacts. Distinct, weighty, distance-attenuated. |
| Zombies | Per-type vocalizations + attack/aggro cues; readable threat audio. Bosses get signature audio. |
| Player/foley | Footsteps (surface-dependent), breathing/exertion (stamina), pain, eat/drink. |
| Survival cues | Low-stat warnings (hunger/thirst/cold), heartbeat at low HP. |
| Building/crafting | Place/upgrade/destroy structure sounds; craft/loot UI sounds. |
| Vehicles | Engine, fuel, damage; loud → aggro radius (Phase 2). |
| Ambience | Region-based beds, wind, distant horde moans, weather (rain is gameplay-visible wetness — ../01-Gameplay/11-Wetness-and-Rain.md; other weather still visual/audio unless designed). |
| UI/music | Restrained music (menus, boss stings, raid tension); minimal in-world music to preserve dread. |
Gameplay-relevant audio — [RECOMMENDATION]
- Noise generates aggro: sprinting, gunfire (louder than suppressed), vehicles, and building generate noise that zombies can hear (ties to ../03-Enemies/01-Zombie-Design.md senses).
- Suppressors/stealth reduce audible range — a meaningful tactical choice.
- Drive these via attenuation + a noise/aggro system, server-authoritative for AI reactions.
Technical — [RECOMMENDATION]
- Use MetaSounds for procedural/variant sound (weapons, footsteps) and Sound Cues where simpler.
- Attenuation/occlusion settings per category; spatialized 3D audio.
- Sound concurrency limits to prevent audio chaos during hordes/firefights (cap simultaneous instances, prioritize nearest/loudest).
- Organize assets under
Content/Lambeer/Audio/per ../05-Technical/03-Content-Folder-Structure.md.
Open items — [TBD]
- Voice chat (proximity vs. squad) — a big tension feature in survival games but adds infra; [TBD].
- Music intensity/dynamic mix system scope.
- Final audio middleware decision (native UE audio vs. Wwise) — default [RECOMMENDATION]: native UE (MetaSounds) for indie scope unless a need forces Wwise.