Overview

If you’re coming from a music background then you’ll likely associate the word “sound design” with synthesis.

Synthesisers are amazing tools to achieve all kinds of interesting soundscapes, from the classic 8-bit arcade sounds to ethereal ambiences to huge destructive lasers, they are a powerful and flexible way to reinforce recorded sounds or create new sounds from scratch.

Learning some of the basics will let you pick up any hardware or software synth out there and find yourself at home with it very quickly.

What Is Synthesis & How Does It Work?

I’m going to spare you my explanation and instead let you enjoy this amazing hands-on learning experience put together by Ableton: https://learningsynths.ableton.com/

Now that you know how the basics work, I recommend reading this guide by Black Ghost Audio, which will give you deeper insight into some of the different types of synthesis, such as wavetable and granular synthesis, that get used a lot in sound design for games: https://www.blackghostaudio.com/blog/the-beginners-guide-to-audio-synthesis

At this point, you might be asking yourself: “Are only certain synths any good for sound design?”

The answer is that you can get some cool sounds out of pretty much anything, but there are three software synthesisers that are particularly popular in the game audio community.

They are incredibly powerful, and might look a bit daunting to start off with, but have active communities of their own, with plenty of tutorials out there.

Of course, as with everything else in this guide, practical application - playing around and experimenting for yourself - will help you learn and discover how things sound.

If you’re not sure which one to pick then I suggest starting with Vital, however, all three have free trials so why not give it a go and see which one you like best yourself?

Phase Plant

Phase Plant is a semi-modular synth that offers an incredible amount of control over its routing and architecture. It also has extremely powerful modulation controls, making it a beast for sound design.

It’s available as a one-time purchase or a rent-to-own style subscription. You can find out more about it here: https://kilohearts.com/products/phase_plant

Here is a great overview by Andrew Huang that covers all of Phase Plant's key features:
https://youtu.be/-GvapBwcUDI

Serum

This highly versatile wavetable synth is considered something of a modern classic. It retails for $189 (USD), but you can rent-to-own it via Splice.

It’s a beast for sound design and is used by many audio professionals. You can find out more about it here: https://xferrecords.com/products/serum

Here is a great overview by InspirAspir that will introduce you to all of its features:
https://youtu.be/5kdXo6rXL74

If you want to dive in a bit deeper into what Serum can do, then check out this detailed tutorial series by Zen World: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrqs7vRFQ4rbeHxoDJHDGL3UkHgbcLZ62

Vital

Vital is a relatively new arrival to the world of synthesisers but has already made some waves with newcomers and veterans alike.

This powerhouse of a synth offers a basic free version, with both outright-purchase and subscription options available for access to more presets, wavetables and additional content.

It’s absolutely amazing for sound design and you can find out more about it on their site:
https://vital.audio/

This is a fantastic overview by In The Mix to get you started with Vital:
https://youtu.be/7qQX6YGBQEA

And ff that’s not enough for you then this 2-hour tutorial from Dash Glitch is filled with incredible tips, and will definitely satisfy your curiosity: https://youtu.be/VPlrniT3des

Presets

Presets can be a controversial topic, with some folks calling it ‘cheating’ not to make all of your sounds from scratch, but they are there for a reason and can be a great source of inspiration and starting point for your own creativity.

They are also useful for learning new techniques, as analysing a preset you like and trying to reverse-engineer it will allow you to understand how it works and use it in future projects.

Additionally, they are a great way to save time when you have little to spare.

Game Audio Application

Synthesis can play an important part in the context of game audio in two areas:

1. Asset creation for implementation

   This is a fancy way of describing the process of making sounds with synthesisers that will then get implemented into the game - synths can be an effective way to add additional layers to your sounds, for when real-world recordings aren’t quite cutting it.

2. Procedural audio

   This is the term for sounds that are created in real time while you are playing the game. Synthesis is often used to create these sounds and alter them through game parameters, allowing the sound to react to in-game events or the player’s input.

   Here is a great article summing up the topic:
   https://splice.com/blog/procedural-audio-video-games/

If you play the original Super Mario Bros or other games from that era, you will notice that all sound effects were made using synthesis.

This is because hardware limitations at the time meant that it wasn’t possible to store and playback pre-made audio files.

Instead, they used specialised computer chips built into the consoles that were able to synthesise and play sounds in real time, based on instructions given by the game.

If gaming/computer history interests you, this article by Audeze is well worth your time:
https://www.audeze.com/blogs/audeze-journal/behind-the-bit

Additionally, check out this awesome article & video by Almalibre Studios, demonstrating how the Super Mario Bros sound effects were created: https://almalibrestudios.com/the-sounds-of-super-mario-bros/

Lastly, here are some other useful tutorials for a number of sound design techniques that are often used in game audio:

Making Lazer Sounds in Massive by Akash Thakkar:
https://youtu.be/TVmkbtVwlJo

Serum Sound Design Tutorial: Chargeup Patch by Carlye Nyte:
https://youtu.be/35zFi4mkL5w

Bass Resampling Tutorial by Icon Collective:
https://youtu.be/9-JKZP2jky8

Some of My Favourite Serum Patches by Calye Nyte:
https://youtu.be/aW2talWfJGI

Want to learn more about game audio?
Check out our Learning Roadmap!