Why Indie Games Always Seem To Have The Best Sound Design 

Also not to diminish audio design in TUNIC, it's amazing, but it was done by Power Up Audio and great professionals and is from different league compared to smaller indie-games where audio is done by one person or the solo developer.

The sheer amount of individual sounds that were recorded for the indie game, Unpacking, is worth a mention. The devs used 14,000 audio files for all the different items you can unpack and the surfaces you can place them upon with multiple variations for each combination i.e. "Here's what a bottle of shampoo sounds like when you place it on a carpet, a desk, a counter, a bathroom floor. etc. etc. and here's at least 3 variations of each sound." An absolutely incredible amount of foley work for a cute, little game about unpacking boxes.

Two words: Hollow Knight. You can almost *smell* the area you're in because the ambient noise is so spot on.

Personally I've noticed a lot of indie developers were or are also indie musicians, who probably approach the task of sound design differently.

Tunic's sound design is so intricate there is a hidden language within the sounds themselves. It's wild.

I got a lot of compliments for my plant destruction sounds for CrossCode. They are oddly satisfying and you don't get tired of them, but they're also such a "minor" sound haha It's really cool when people say that tho, when they do appreciate the little things

I really got reminded of Rain World with the rain sound from Dredge. Sounds of everything from the signs of rain starting to the immense rain itself is unsettling to say the least.

i know if fits the design styles, but id be more mindful of including Dave The Diver as an indie game. the big south korean company Nexon absolutely cant be classified as indie, and even the team themselves have said they "don't consider themselves indie, their game just has those vibes"

Three words: The Stanley Parable. It's almost DEVOID of stock sound effects, and its sound design it perfect.

My favorite guy be spitting out bangers like no one's business

Thanks, Marshall, as always for the great video! I've been pondering this topic for a couple of weeks now, and I absolutely agree. I find beauty in the simple sound of everyday things and hear something wonderful in it

I would love to see some content about how you approach sound design and get over the "blank canvas syndrome" . Often the hardest time i have with sound design sometimes is finding a starting point that gives the feeling of "oh i can do this", especially with things out of my normal wheelhouse. Also would love to see some of your more unorthodox techniques that you use regularly, weird things life the eq chain in your anime video, etc.

Pretty cool video, sound design is something I don't pay much attention but every time I watch one of your videos I really appreciate the work and craft behind it.

Hell yeah. I love indie sound design. There are so many hidden gems in there

such a chill episode, really feels like the whole video is just super satisfying ASMR haha. GJ!

Is it christmas morning? Might as well be with another banger video

Simplicity is a key! love your videos!

Excellent video, subbed. I clicked on this because I loved Tunic's sound design. Looking forward to seeing more content.

Team composition, responsibility distribution and revenue share are the hidden aspect that actually allow audio people to work more efficiently.

Just discovered this channel and it’s quickly become one of my favourites!

This video is truly epic. I learned so much. Subscribed!

Comparing audio clips is a nice detail. Great video!

Another awesome video. as always, love your pacing and that you get right into it

Very interesting video as always Marshall! I rarely write comments on RU-vid, but I just wanted to show my long-time appreciation for your content. I work as a game audio teacher at a University in Sweden and the topics of your videos are perfect for students learning about sound design, regardless of prior experience. I especially like your take on the pickaxe sound in Stardew Valley and that the most effective sound material may not come from the literal object at all. Usually, I find it’s better to focus on sound characteristics that works with the intended sound effect. That’s why I rave about door sounds a lot (which has become somewhat of a meme at the school) because doors have such a broad spectrum of sounds, and every door has a unique character. For example, I do a recurring demonstration where I redesign one of the shotgun sounds in Resident Evil 2 Remake with the following sound material: Transient: Kick drum Body: Small car door + Ambulance door Top layer: Piggy bank rattle Decay/Tail: Car pass by Of course, there’s a bit of processing on the individual tracks and groups but the overall mix between these works as a starting point. So, it’s very liberating as a sound designer not to be restricted to the literal object but to sort of ask yourself: “what does a shotgun sound like?” and try to find the sources that evoke that feeling. So, I’ll definitely recommend this video to my students! 😊

As always, such a well produced and insightful video

I very much appreciate your contributions to the art!

Great video, man! One game that really captivated me sound design-wise was Sea of Thieves. The rain sounds and creaky rocks for the grey areas, or the super spacious seagull cries when you’re on a white sand beach. All of it adds to the perfect atmosphere!

Just 2 minutes in I felt that your channel is top quality and subbed! 4 minutes in and I feel assured I made the right choice. Can't wait to get into more of your videos!

great vide man this is dope! keep it up i played through the whooole game of dredged and i didnt even notice these sunds!

I love the sounds in HOB. The game rewards the player for completing an area with an intricate cutscene that just feels so satisfying to see and hear;

Great vid as always, Marshall. I'mma play tunic, sounds incredible.

Great video! Love your stuff!😊

always with great videos

this video was very well done and I totally agree with what you had to say, I'm mostly a casual gamer but I always love attention to detail and little things like sound design. Makes me very grateful to have the gift of hearing

Good vid, bt to answer the title : they don't. Most indie games have very minimal sound design, and the only reason we think otherwise is because of biased povs. We only ever bring up SD when it's outstanding (already 5 different pieces of content on tunic alone accross the web, probably following the GDC talk), therefore creating a false image of perfection. Anyway love your content.

Thanks for this great video!

Fantastic video thank you!

you put a ton of work into this and it was really helpful to me as a hobby gamedev

Beautiful video!

great video!

I love your Videos, very wholesome.

Really enjoyed that!

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BFNl_GnF-gA.html I did a remix for the H3 remix contest last week that wasn't selected for the show but thought I'd share it in case you guys want to hear it!

Nice Marshall, thanks :)

Love the potion craft example, been a long time fan of the game and its sound design is sooooo satisfying.

I'd love to hear about who inspires you and what/how you learn from them. I would also love to learn how you organize your personal library of samples

would love to see the workflow!

I have no idea what questions I should make regarding this course, but I definitely need it!

Would love to see exactly what ur workflow looks like in that video, like after introducing us to everything u design seomthing small in real time, because all of your videos on patreon have u explain once it's done I think it would be nice to see ur design process as it happens. That being said designing sometimes takes hours if not days or weeks so it would have to be for something small and it wouldn't be perfect but I'm sure it would be intresting !!

actually very interesting thank you very much !

I loved Inscryption’s sounds, when you put the cursor on the cards, they made so satisfying noises.

amazing video

2:40 That popping sound reminds me of the pops in Townscaper whenever you place or destroy a structure piece like a building or path.

The sound design and music of Siege Engine boss fight in Tunic deeply shocked me while I was playing the game, it's one of the my best sound experiences of battle scene.

Unpacking is great example of dedication in getting the correct sound while making sense to the game art style. I also love Two Dots (Android), because the audio design is completely tied to the level music, both made by amazing experimental .musicians

"Implementation is part of the design", these are such important words!

Love the Sly Cooper shoutout :)

I'm obsessed with that one scroll menu sound in hades, its so satisfying! I think bc it has a musical pitch

What a great video! I particularly loved your analysis on Dredge, which might also be because I love that game. I’m interested in what you think about audio tools used more frequently in Indie Development versus tools in the AAA realm. Are there any that come to mind? I feel like some tools that were more scarce for Indie developers and were more common in AAA have become accessible to beginner developers in the past years!

would love to see that patreon video and would definitely pay $10 for it. Honestly I'm so inexperienced that I don't even know where to start but I'm extremely intimidated by any post processing. I have jaw issues that make clicking sounds when I speak and I used to spend so much time removing them manually in audacity because I didn't know what else to do that I spent thousands of dollars fixing my jaw issues instead lol and I am now permanently scared of post processing to any degree. TMI lol but daw, interfaces, and workflow would be great to see!

rain world does a really good job of using sound to make the world feel a certain feeling

Yo thank you!

Almost all of the games in here all some of my all time favorites

Love when someone speaks of sound narrative rather then sound tech, thank You for your work!!! Do you know any literature (prose) with greatly designed sound narrative? I think if you can make someone hear world by raw text, then You will be also able to more precisly work with sound itself, but there are not many known positions that use this kind of narrative. I am aware only of two such titles,: The Peregrine by John Baker (specific title, it's a science book about birds written in prose) and Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu Miyashita

more examples: in Dicey Dungeons, I really love the sound effect of clicking a locked dice. It's a dice you can't interact with, so have no reason to click it, but it has such a nice metallic sound effect. And in Unpacking, I really love the sound effects of opening and closing all the closets and cabinets. They are incredibly homey and cozy - which is exactly the vibe the game wants to be, and I love them.

"What's the most threatening rain sound?" Ominous rumbling.

You should check out rain world, it has some of the best and most immersive sound design I've ever seen! :)

Can’t wait to get to sound design part for my game about the physics of poop.

Tunic was such a surprise for me when I first played it

Game with amazing audio design at least in my opinion is against the storm. As a game where everything revolves around cycles of rainfall you start out having just very chill musik with some "raindrop notes" but in. you open a glade an you get a choir simulating the villagers awwing at the new discovery, so everything verly relaxed good audio ques to tell you when something happens... until the storm hits and the music gets more threatening even more so when your villagers lose their resolve. mix that with your time limit of the round and the sometimes less than perfect conditions you find yourself in and it really draws you in. there have been many times where after storm season was over i breathed a sigh of relief and tried to improve my village for the next storm so i wouldn't have to deal with its consequences

Love the video as usual (and the sound design for Tunic is one of my favorites)..... On an unrelated note, I was wondering if you have experimented with a plugin called Synplant 2; I was watching one of your older videos on Japanese sounds and found that you can synthesize hundreds of sounds in this (or any) style instantaneously by loading an example sound effect into the plugin. Also, you can see exactly how the sound is synthesized in case you want to create a similar patch in another plugin. After trying to make specifically Japanese-style effects for hours/days/months, it is kind of insane that I can now reverse-engineer just about any sound and quickly generate copyright-dodging variations (for now). Seems like a giant, messy lawsuit waiting to happen in a few years. I'd love to hear your take on the plugin if you've played around with it! Or just to see what creative applications you come up with while using it!

I love lifeformeds work on the ost of tunic.

Love to hear what your thoughts on how simulator sound design works whether it be something like gran tourismo flight simulator or farm sims

YAY TUNIC

You should give "SIGNALIS" a try if you haven't already! Has a ton of fantastic cassette futurism going on.

you really got my ass @ 3:32

The DS Nintendo games like the mario rpgs that were on there (like partners in time) had great sound design

I'm not a sound designer or expert. I'm just a casual gamer who also appreciates Foley artists. I'm much more impressed when I learn a sound is one or two simple elements. Sure, there are times where a perfectly balanced mix of 20 different samples might be the right call, but I personally think it's a lot cooler to learn that the unsettling bone crunch noise is just someone biting celery. It seems much more creative and makes me look at celery different 😂

Just an apropos from the end of the video but CP2077 sounds pretty amazing, and it has some great systems as well. Low how ambiences, walla and loop groups work and how much it improves the feel of the city

I read somewhere that when Link cooks,the tunes he hummed are based on loads classic Nintendo games music.

i found stardew samples on reddit! in a really old sample pack of like 90s stuff.

Tunic sound design reminds me of cult of the lamb and deaths door (at least from what I heard; I haven’t played tunic yet)

Is there a plug in that allows you to work with pitch variation in your DAW? I know how to use it on Wwise, but I haven't find that tool on my DAW. Thank you and keep it up with the great content!

It's strange to assume TUNIC could've have absolutely boring save sound since one of its inspiration is Dark Souls and maybe it is a coincidence, but Dark Souls have a very similar "loud" save sound.

Any advice you might give for someone who's doing solo or near-solo game development as a hobby and has no experience in sound design? Perhaps where one's limited time and energy might be best spent, or what basic design principles/concepts might be particularly beneficial to study?

".. cuter, less violent designs," 1:58 (shark attack)

Thanks so much for the video! It was very helpful for me. As a solo dev I feel like there should be a seperate section for those like me. Indies, with teams - how big they might be - should not compared to solo devs. And this Scuba-Sushi-Game was made by an orchestrated Indie-Studio, as far as I learned. Stay curious!

i feel like you did understate breath of the wilds sound design a little but i get your point especially since you showed the crit sound effect right after saying it's only one sound the overall idea makes sense but it was kind of hard to ignore the attention to detail in every other sound aspect (see hidden sound design of botw) and also you instantly disproving yourself while (admittedly only one of two) cooking noises. again its understandable but those really stick out to me

Wall of text incoming: Whenever the topic is brought up i'm always mentioning how back then in the PS1 era, general sound design and music composition were always top notch and memorable because the dev teams needed that extra oomph that shoved the experience to a higher level with the limited graphical capabilities that these consoles usually offered. take a look at the PS1 games like Medal of Honor and it's sequel MoH:Underground The soundtrack of both games kicks the notch up to eleven setting mood, tone and atmoshpere to the otherwise sometimes grey and dark levels, the sound effects of the guns and foley interactions between the objectives and level objects is satisfying, since the game is made by dreamworks and is family friendly, the feedback you get from hitting your enemies first and foremost is sound, then the rich variety of animations. when you hit someone on the helmet, a chunky metal DING signals the helmet popping off of their heads, or a smudgy chafing sound when a bullet hits the body. when hitting wood you can hear the fibers of the wood getting split apart and when breaking said wooden objects they break apart in a fascinating over the top manner with chunks the box or crate flying all over the place with audio complimenting the visual side of things. The sound design in both Medal of Honor games felt like you were playing a movie in real time, and the foley team did an outstanding job at creating the sounds for the main menu as it is a VERY intricately crafted interactive menu, the options menu brings up a table with a morse machine, a typewriter or box records and notes as options, you can highlight each option and pressing X on them plays the sound you'd expect from them instead of settling for a generic sound for entering different menus. I highly recommend checking them out a few more great examples are: Small Soldiers (PS1): again, great soundtrack that fits the fantasy tribal mood set by the movie's tribes, very nice stylized sound effects which suit every action, didn't do my research but in memory i remember the game felt like a tribute to Spielberg's hollywood sound design which is always nice, because 90's hollywood is something that needs to come back audio-wise Spyro the Dragon games: just all of them, the general atmosphere of the levels and it's ambiance where sprawling open areas are filled with sounds of birds chirping during the day or crickets and fireflies during the night, with the soundtrack complimenting each mood whenever or wherever it takes place Metal Gear Solid 1: There are multiple sets of the same soundfonts in the game with varying levels of reverb in it, helping it sell the characters occupying actual space inside giant hangars and large concrete bunker rooms, as well as the music composed greatly aiding in that stealthy feel the game is built around on MediEvil (PS1): This game also has that oddly weird but soothing sound design in it like the souls of the defeated enemies leaving their bodies, the sounds of the UI and menu options, and music isn't always present in the levels so the atmospheric ambiance shines through again like in the cemetery where you can hear the wind howl through the field once stepping out of the crypt and such. every sound in this game has been crafted with care to really fit INTO the space they're occupying which again, helps sell the effect that you're inside the said level instead of crisp and clean audio getting ADR'd into the scene

Kinda surprised Stormbound is not included in this episode. That game is my best audio - visual experience.

Love harry love

I fully agree with this video sound design is so important in a game it can make or break a game

Dredge has my favorite sound design right now. It makes me so nostalgic for the maritime communities I grew up around

So glad you mentioned the Stardew Valley pick axe sound. My girlfriend played that game a lot and while it's not something that interests me gameplay-wise, I always thought that the pick axe sound was so satisfying and perfect for the game

Hey, your video just popped up to my homepage, and I wondering, since I love DOTA 2, can you see it or analyize it? because for me DOTA 2 is so statisfying when comes into the sound of a character using their abilities or just consume thing. Thank you!

Try playing Devil Daggers scary and very well designed sound

Man Potion Craft is such a slog but I kept going back to it for reasons unknown

as a sound designer, I think I'll offer my two cents: it seems like with smaller, sometimes single-person teams, Indie games tend to have a "less is more" approach simply because they don't have the manpower to pump out a crazy, sci-fi, fm-to-sync OTT-laiden, ultra-compressed masterpiece, beacuse they simply can't. And that's not bad. If you sat me in front of the sound design from a game like borderlands and asked me how to recreate it, I would look at you and laugh. I don't have access to actual firearms like that dev team did, and the cool sci-fi noises are really just the right combination of wavetable and fx, so recreating them accurately is nearly impossible. An indie dev team usually doesn't have the resources to do something crazy and over the top, and if the team doesn't have a dedicated sound designer, hiring one is probably out of the budget. Thus, there is one solution that everyone likes, and everyone can enjoy: Foley sounds. Foley is where you take stuff from real life and then interact with them in a way that produces a sound that you want. Anyone with a smartphone that's less than 10 years old has a microphone good enough to record audio, and having fun in your kitchen making fun noises with all of the tools that surround you creates a super cute, down-to-earth feel that a lot of people resonate with right now. Think of it this way: AAA games are like the dubstep of the sound design world. They have super complicated pre-rendered, insanely contrived and complicaed sounds that have been post-processed to shit. Indie games are more like early dubstep from the likes of coki, sleepnet, joker ,and skream. the production on songs by those people are a lot less complicated, because why would it need to be? at the time, from 2001-2007, the techniques people use nowadays to make modern riddim and tearout were simply out of the picture, so artists just didn't do it. Sound is shaped by your enviroment, and with video games, this still reigns true.

Not an indie game, but I want to shout out Sen's video "Elden Ring Sound Design - Elden Beast": there's a lot of cool stuff in there that you maybe don't consciously recognize ingame.

because most of indie developers are prefer passion over money, while AAA developers are always about money.