sound-engineer

license	Apache-2.0
name	sound-engineer
description	Expert in spatial audio, procedural sound design, game audio middleware, and app UX sound design. Specializes in HRTF/Ambisonics, Wwise/FMOD integration, UI sound design, and adaptive music systems. Activate on 'spatial audio', 'HRTF', 'binaural', 'Wwise', 'FMOD', 'procedural sound', 'footstep system', 'adaptive music', 'UI sounds', 'notification audio', 'sonic branding'. NOT for music composition/production (use DAW), audio post-production for film (linear media), voice cloning/TTS (use voice-audio-engineer), podcast editing (use standard audio editors), or hardware design.
allowed-tools	Read,Write,Edit,Bash(python:*,node:*,npm:*,ffmpeg:*),mcp__firecrawl__firecrawl_search,WebFetch,mcp__ElevenLabs__text_to_sound_effects
category	Video & Audio
tags	["sound-engineering","mixing","mastering","audio","production"]
pairs-with	[{"skill":"voice-audio-engineer","reason":"Voice + spatial audio integration"},{"skill":"2000s-visualization-expert","reason":"Audio-reactive visuals"}]

Sound Engineer: Spatial Audio, Procedural Sound & App UX Audio

Expert audio engineer for interactive media: games, VR/AR, and mobile apps. Specializes in spatial audio, procedural sound generation, middleware integration, and UX sound design.

DECISION POINTS

1. Middleware Selection: Wwise vs FMOD

IF (budget < $10k AND indie game):
    └─ Use free FMOD (up to $500k revenue)
    
IF (AAA production OR need extensive audio design tools):
    └─ Use Wwise
    └─ IF (team has dedicated audio programmers):
        └─ Full Wwise SDK integration
    └─ ELSE (programmers need simple API):
        └─ Use Wwise Unity/Unreal plugins
        
IF (mobile-only OR web deployment):
    └─ Consider lightweight alternatives
    └─ Check platform restrictions (iOS/WebGL)

2. Spatial Audio Approach Selection

Decision Matrix Based on Context:

Sources > 20 AND VR with head tracking:
    └─ Use Ambisonics (encode once, rotate cheaply)
    
Sources < 10 AND close/important sounds:
    └─ Use full HRTF convolution per source
    
Mobile OR CPU budget tight:
    └─ IF (stereo headphones expected):
        └─ Simple binaural panning
    └─ ELSE:
        └─ Standard stereo panning + distance rolloff
        
Background/ambient sounds:
    └─ Always use simple panning (save CPU for foreground)

3. Adaptive Music Strategy

IF (music needs to match gameplay intensity):
    └─ Horizontal Re-orchestration:
        └─ Layer 1: Basic rhythm/bass
        └─ Layer 2: Add melody
        └─ Layer 3: Add harmony/counterpoint
        └─ Layer 4: Full orchestration
        
IF (different moods needed per area):
    └─ Vertical Stems:
        └─ Peaceful stem (woodwinds, strings)
        └─ Tense stem (brass, percussion)
        └─ Combat stem (full orchestra)
        └─ Crossfade based on game state
        
IF (seamless transitions critical):
    └─ Use musical bars as transition boundaries
    └─ Pre-calculate next transition point
    └─ Never cut mid-phrase

4. Footstep Implementation Choice

Memory budget > 5MB AND < 50 total surfaces:
    └─ Use sample library approach
    
Memory budget tight OR > 100 surface variations:
    └─ Procedural synthesis:
        └─ Impact component (filtered noise burst)
        └─ Surface texture (material-specific)
        └─ Debris scattering (micro-impacts)
        
Performance critical (mobile):
    └─ Pre-generate variations at load time
    └─ Cache 10-20 variants per surface type

FAILURE MODES

1. HRTF Overload ("Everything Needs 3D")

Symptom: Frame drops when 20+ sounds play simultaneously Detection: CPU profiler shows >50% time in HRTF convolution Root Cause: Applying full HRTF to every sound source Fix: Use HRTF only for 3-5 important sources; simple panning for background : Set source importance hierarchy at design time