PhantomImage

Thanks, I'll check it out! I can't imagine the interface is any worse than VOPM, which is what I've been using.

I've tried doing a few low-frequency noise-like sounds, including Revenge of Shinobi's thunder sound, and I haven't been able to get any of them to translate to FM8 at all. I think I'm just going to set them aside for now. I don't want to include sounds that require accurate emulation, since it limits how effective a teaching tool they can be. Maybe some day I'll do a deep dive into the 2612, but for now I think I have to stick to more traditional FM sounds.

I'm not gonna bump this every time I update, I just wanted to say that I added my first Genesis/Mega Drive sounds! It took some time to work out a method for recreating them in FM8, but now that I've got the technique down I'll be able to add more without much difficulty. I've already gotten started on sounds from Ristar, Rocket Knight Adventures, and Decap Attack, but I'd love some suggestions for more games to look at!

I'm definitely going to move up to 16-bit sounds eventually. The combination of low-res samples and retro melodic sound design has always made the SNES my favorite sounding system, and FM is one of those daunting, tough-to-crack types of synthesis that I want to explore in depth. The article I'm working on at the moment is actually about making seamless loops, which will be important if I'm going to talk about SNES sounds. I started with NES games because the simplicity of the 2A03 makes a thorough analysis possible, and lets me develop my technique for actually transcribing the individual sounds. The Pacman sounds are the first I've done that weren't based on a very simple set of waveforms, and it was significantly more difficult and time-consuming (though also more rewarding and educational!) Finding ways to mimic the samples used in SNES games or to reverse engineer FM patches for Sega games is going to be a challenge, but I'm excited to see how far I can get with it. And I totally agree that there was a very long lazy period of game sound design. As the industry's gotten bigger and as cheaper technologies and accessible learning resources have emerged, the average level of sound design skill behind development has increased. Hopefully, I can add something to the growing pool of educational material.

Thanks! I'm trying to add one or two games a week, in addition to other posts on various sound design techniques. If retro SFX aren't your thing, how about robot voices? Or guns? Or DIYing some absorptive panels on the cheap?

Hello! I'm new here. I've been a sound designer in games for a few years now (partly inspired by a talk djpretzel gave at my university) and I thought my latest project might interest the OC Remix community. I've been deconstructing classic sound effects, putting them into musical notation and MIDI, and analyzing what makes them work in-game. So far, I've put up sounds from Mario, Zelda, Metal Gear, and Pacman, and I've got lots more in mind for future updates. If you've got a second, I'd love it if you took a look!