Sound design is one of those rare areas in independent game design where it usually is left to the last minute, that is unless you are trying to make Guitar Hero Knockoff: Kiss Edition. But for the rest of us, sound design is a usually left until the end because there is such a focus on the programming, the gameplay and the art design. The whole audio aspect is often left behind like Macaulay Culkin in a bad Home Alone sequel. It shouldn't be, though. Sound is an important aspect of a game that, if left to itself, can make even a decent game laughable.

It is important to think about sound design as an extension or enhancement of the gameplay experience. One of the best uses of sound recently in an independent game would be through Braid. An exceptional game in its own right, Braid employed the synchronized reversal of the soundtrack and sound effects to give the player an additional level of awareness to an often confusing and disorienting experience. To the average gamer, this use of sound was barely noticeable and it should be, but play a difficult level of Braid with the sound off (preferably one of the levels where your shadow runs around, or you have the ring with radial time-slowing effects) and you’ll begin to appreciate the hard work that went into the sound design.

No one is asking you to be the next innovator of sound design, and with a shoe-string budget, you most likely will be more worried about the sound’s quality rather than it’s implementation. But with some clever planning, and some sound investments (no pun intended) you can polish that game you’ve been working on so that it shines. There are really only three basic categories of sound design that you’ll have to approach: background music, sound effects, voice work.

The first category, background music, is usually comprised of a bunch of instrumentals that reflect the emotion or mood of the game or level. Your casual puzzle game probably shouldn't have a soundtrack provided by a Pantera cover band. It's good to have a common theme through out these tracks, as you’ll want the different levels feel as though they are part of a whole product. That means that the instrumentals should have the similar instruments and follow a common genre of music. Using a Pantera cover band for a puzzle game is bad, but using that cover band after the previous level had soothing yoga music? Even worse.

There are many creative routes you can take to acquiring music. You could hire a local band to write the music in exchange for notoriety, use royalty-free or stock music (that’s your Google cue), or even write the music yourself. As long as the shoe fits, the possibilities available are endless, and by planning this aspect of the game early on, it might even reveal some interesting gameplay ideas that you would have otherwise missed.

Sound effects are the second category and every good game needs great sound effects. By definition, sound effects are all the little bleeps, clicks, and “umpfs” that occur when the player interacts with the gaming environment. Every game has them, and most games have a ton of them. Just like the background music, the sounds should follow a common theme set by the game. Although it might be a little more satisfying, it would be a little strange if every time Mario spit out a fireball, the player heard a gun shot. It would seem out of place from the other sound effects in the game, and ruin the mood of the game environment. You’ll want to have sounds in the game that enhance the actions that the player can perform in the game. Try to think of shows or movies that have the same feel as your game. It’s a great way to get your bearings. If your main character is cartoony and cheerful you can take some cues from Spongebob, on the other hand, if he wields a meat cleaver and a hockey mask, you might want to rent some horror flicks.

Again, be creative. The game that I am designing mostly takes place outside. I did some research and found a portable recorder for $200 (Zoom H2 if you’re interested), and I’ve been making all my own sound effects. I don’t have to pay anyone to design the sounds, all the sounds are unique and exclusive, and they sound just as good as any that I’ve heard. It was a great investment, and I’m sure it will pay off. This is the kind of out of the box thinking that can really deliver some interesting results. Of course, as previously stated, you can always use stock or royalty effects, or even search for sound effect packages. I personally have not been to impressed with this route, but feel free to give it a try. And finally, this may sound weird at first, but you’d be surprised at what your voice can produce. Sit in front of a microphone long enough, and soon enough something will come out that you’ve never heard before.

The third category is voice-over work. I have never needed to do extended voice work since the game I’m working on isn’t plot-intensive or character-driven, but in my own opinion, games that require any level of extended voice work are way out of their league. If you’re thinking Metal Gear length cut scenes, Final Fantasy size casts, and Lord of the Rings delivery, think again. First, its expensive - you need a recording set-up or a studio. Second, it takes professional talent so you’re talking voice actors. Third, you’ll need a decent script. If your considering hooking up your Xbox headset to that mysterious plug in the back of your computer, forget it. Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and the only way to do voice work right is with money. That’s not to say that voice work shouldn’t be done at all. I found some great services through Google where for a hundred dollars or so, a voice over professional will read a script (and by script, I mean a page or so of dialogue) you send them. You choose the voice style you want, and they’ll e-mail it back to you. They’re great for doing an opening monologue, or your main characters vocal interactions, like “I can’t do that” or “Take that.” Anything past that and you're looking at subtitles and text.

As an amateur game designer, no one is expecting you to blow them awayin the area of sound design but it does have to be thoughtful, and it does have to be professional. If you can achieve that, you’ve just made the gameplay experience that much more enjoyable.