Creating/Converting SFX to sound like Flash game SFX?

Audacity 3 Help Forum Windows
1

So I have an idea to create sound effect files that sound like they came from a 2001 Flash game. As such, they would sound lo-fi and/or compressed for websites. The style that I’d like to emulate for this would be the Mata Nui Online Game by Templar Studios.

Is there a plug-in or set thereof that would help me create (or convert existing) sound effects into faux-Flash-quality? Or is there a simpler way to do it?

OS: Windows 10
Software: Audacity 2.3.1

2

Can downsample & lower bit-depth to make existing sound like retro computer game.
e.g. with free plugins like DBlueCrush or MDA Degrade

3

What sort of “retro” game are you referring to, exactly?

4

The degradation is variable: adjust to taste …

5

I checked the second video, which brought me to http://mda.smartelectronix.com/ and its VST plugins. Problem is, they keep crashing/closing Audacity when I use them. Specifically the Degrader.

6

There are several built-in [u]Distortion Effects[/u] so you may not need 3rd-party plug-ins. (Some of the built-in distortion effects don’t sound like distortion but there’s lots to play with and lots of ways to degrade the sound.)

You could also try exporting-as 8-bit WAV and/or reducing the sample rate (“Project Rate” in the lower-left of the Audacity Window). 8-bits and 8kHz is “telephone quality”.

When you lower the bit depth you get (more) quantization noise. Quantization noise is different from “normal noise” because it goes-away with silence, but it “rides on top of” the audio. Like regular noise it’s most noticeable with quiet sounds (just not with no-sound).

When you lower the sample rate you are limiting the high frequencies (just like a low-pass filter). The Nyquist limit is half the sample rate so with an 8kHz sample rate you loose all audio above 4kHz.

You can go-down below 8-bits by reducing the volume. Each bit is 6dB. So for example, use the Amplify effect to reduce the volume by -12dB (or set your “new peak level” to -12dB) and export to 8-bit WAV. You’ll only have 6-bits of real audio data audio. Then you can re-open and re-amplify if it’s not loud enough.

Or, you can try exporting as low-bitrate (low quality) MP3.

7

I get that too: disabling VST plugins whilst they are playing often causes Audacity to crash.
OCENaudio (which is Audacity-like) is more stable when it comes to VST plugins.

8

Check out these links:

http://sfbgames.com/chiptone
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/87829696/

9

It’s less about 8-bit foley and more about 2000/2001-levels of audio quality. I think listening to the gameplay from the Mata Nui Online Game will give you a better idea of what I’m aiming to create.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi_0J_npYEpNZquXhANJbyPBFCv_z-CEF

10

That link goes to a play list, so I’ve no idea which sounds you are referring to. Better if you just attach a couple of short MP3s to your post that typify the kind of sounds that you are after. (See: https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/how-to-post-an-audio-sample/29851/1)

11

Examples from the first video:

  • The ocean background
  • The cutscenes @ 1:50 and 8:00 (e.g. music and “ethereal” sounds from the first; impact, roar and other sound effects from the second)

Examples from the third video:

  • The chamber entrance opening @ ~6:05
  • Sound effects from the mini game @ 6:44 (e.g. the projectiles being kicked around and hitting their targets, the enemy smashing said projectiles)
  • The cutscene @ 8:15 (e.g. the music, the robotic movements, the unearthly hissing from the scorpion creature, the sound that the bronze/brown figure makes when he appears/disappears, and the collapse of the chamber entrance)

Other:

More to follow in this post.