Freesound Forums

I am trying to create sound effects for a game. I have to make sound effects much like the Star Fox games. I can not find anything to start from. Can anyone tell me how to create sound effects from scratch? I am using Audacity.

Hello "Nbs Dark",

well, creating Sounds in general is a creative and sometimes difficult process. You need a Software or Hardware Synthesizer for it or an existing Sound that you can edit and modify.

i can't tell you in a few words, how to become a good sound designer, but i can recommend you a good book:

:arrow: Synthesizer Programming by Peter Georges (available at Wizoo)

The Book tells you, how to become a Sound Designer - from the first steps to creating a complete Demo Soundset for a Synthesizer.

There are Lessons in the Book, that go deeper and deeper into the Art of Sound Design and - on a CD-Rom - there is a free Software Synthesizer for Windows and Macintosh included on which you will work - but - of course, you'll learn, how to create any Sound on any Synth and not only on that Softsynth.

Hope it helps,
Soundfull Greetings,
Ingo

(this may be a stupid question) Is this for music or sound effects for games? I was herd to stay with a WAV editor.

Hello,

the simple answer is: it is for both.
Any Sound that you can imagine, you should be able to recreate on a Synthesizer (or with other Tools) after the Course.

Hope it helps,
Ingo

thanks i will get right on finding one!

To help you find the Book ; here is the URL:

:arrow: http://www.wizoobooks.com/product_info.php?language=en&products_id=224

Happy Sound-programming!
Ingo

Hello,

For "ambient" or "animal" sounds, you are probably better off using samples (with or without manipulation).
www.freesound.org is a great source of all kinds of sounds and is the first place I look if I am after animal sounds (eagle squeaks, cats, dogs,... anything). - Just make sure you credit the creator of the sound in your work.

Other ambient sounds such as cars, doorbells, airplanes, telephones... are sometimes easy to record/sample using suitable equipment. Depending what you are after, you might get away with a not to expensive digital recorder, or even a microphone and a laptop.
Again, plenty of such sounds available at www.freesound.org that might suit what you are after.

More artificial sounds such as computer and videogame beeps, laser pistols, UFO engines and so on can more often be synthesized. There are a number of programs that can do this and many are free and can be downloaded from the internet. Most of these programs are plug-ins that will work as add-ons to other programs.
You will need a DAW program or a sound editor that can support VST or other plug-in standard. I believe Audacity supports VST but check the manual.
Also please note that most VST instruments are designed for music not special effects. Although some can be used to create special effects by using creative (and often extreme) settings, many cannot: for example, you are unlikely to get a lot of FX sounds from a VST instrument which was created as a piano or bass guitar simulator...
Your best bet on VSTs will probably be either ones that have been specifically created as FX generators or some sort of modular synth VST (as these offer the greatest flexibility in terms of sound programming).
Finaly, still on the subject of VST plug-ins. Try this website:
http://www.xoxos.net/vst/vst.html
Most of the stuff is freeware and there are specific VST "instruments" for generating interesting FX sounds (such as squeaky hinges, or thunder).

If you are stuck trying to obtain a particular sound and all else fails, you can issue a sound request on the appropriate forum and I am sure someone will come to your help.

Have fun!

thanks that helps a lot!