GAME AUDIO · TECHNICAL AUDIO · VR
PLUTONIANS
01
Overview
Procedural and parameter-driven audio built natively inside Unreal Engine.
Plutonians was developed across Unreal Engine 5.0, 5.1 and 5.2, with the majority of its mature audio systems developed and refined in UE5.2.
With external audio middleware unavailable to the project, I used MetaSounds to build interactive systems for spacecraft propulsion, weapons, destruction and damage warnings.
The focus was on creating responsive audio systems whose behaviour could change with gameplay rather than relying solely on fixed, pre-rendered assets.
02
Procedural Audio Systems
MetaSounds used as both a sound-design and runtime processing environment.
The systems combine audio sources, synthesis, modulation, signal processing and exposed parameters to create sound that can respond dynamically to gameplay.
Each system was designed around its behaviour in the game, allowing individual components to be controlled and shaped at runtime.
03
Ion Cannon
PROCEDURAL WEAPON SYSTEM
Runtime Power · Tone · Weapon Character
A weapon system designed to change rather than play back as a single fixed sound.
The Ion Cannon's power and tonal character can be manipulated at runtime, allowing the system to produce different levels of intensity while maintaining a consistent sonic identity.
04
Ship Engine
PROCEDURAL PROPULSION SYSTEM
Turbine · Combustion · Afterburner · Runtime Control
A spacecraft engine constructed from interacting sonic components.
The propulsion system was designed around multiple engine components rather than a fixed looping engine recording.
Runtime parameters control elements including turbine, combustion and afterburner behaviour, allowing the propulsion sound to evolve continuously with the state of the spacecraft.
05
Element Destruction
PROCEDURAL EXPLOSION SYSTEM
Variation · Layering · Cinematic Destruction
Five explosion systems create variation across repeated destruction events.
The destruction system uses five distinct explosion systems to create variation while maintaining a consistent cinematic character.
Layered energy, impact and low-frequency elements give each event weight and scale while reducing obvious repetition between destruction events.
06
Damage Warning
PROCEDURAL ALARM SYSTEM
Synthesis · Modulation · Triggered Behaviour
A warning alarm generated procedurally inside MetaSounds.
Rather than relying on a pre-recorded alarm, the damage-warning behaviour is generated within MetaSounds using synthesis, modulation and internally controlled triggering.
This allows the timing and sonic character of the warning to be constructed as part of the system itself.
07
Procedural Gameplay
Procedural audio designed to add depth and responsiveness to the immersive VR experience.
The ship, movement and weapon systems react dynamically during gameplay, creating a responsive soundscape rather than relying solely on fixed linear audio.
PROCEDURAL SHIP ENGINE · GAMEPLAY
Propulsion · Turbine · Boost · Inertia · Roll · Yaw
A multi-layered procedural engine that responds to the movement of the ship.
The ship engine combines procedural propulsion, engine turbine and boost systems to create a responsive sense of power and movement during flight.
Additional alien sweeteners were designed directly within MetaSounds using wavetables sourced from various synthesizers. These layers respond to the ship's inertia, roll and yaw, adding movement and character as the player manoeuvres through space.
Rather than functioning as a single looping engine sound, the system changes dynamically with the behaviour of the ship.
PROCEDURAL WEAPONS · GAMEPLAY
Laser Cannon · Torpedoes · Rail Gun · Ion Cannon
Distinct procedural systems give each weapon its own sonic identity.
Laser Cannon
Rapid energy weapon designed around a sharp,
immediate discharge.
Torpedoes
Heavier weapon sound designed to communicate
launch weight and destructive power.
Rail Gun
High-impact electromagnetic weapon with a more aggressive
mechanical and energy-driven character.
Ion Cannon
Parameter-driven energy weapon whose power and tonal
character can be changed dynamically within MetaSounds.
08
Behind the Sounds
Original source recording combined with procedural sound design.
Alongside the procedural systems, the sound-design process incorporated original field recordings and captured mechanical and industrial material as source material for the game's science-fiction world.
09
Tools & Techniques
SELECTED WORK