GAME AUDIO · SOUND DESIGN · MUSIC
POND SCUM:
A GOTHIC SWAMP TALE
01
Overview
Original sound design and music created for the strange, gothic world of Pond Scum.
I created the game's sound effects using a combination of synthesis, processing and original organic recordings.
The sound palette was built around the game's creatures, movement, collectibles and mechanical elements, with the final assets prepared for use inside Unity.
Sound design work was produced using Ableton Live and Cubase.
02
Sound Design
Organic source material transformed into character, environmental and interactive sound.
Original recordings were used alongside synthesis and processing to build sounds with a more physical and unpredictable character.
This approach helped give the game its own sonic identity rather than relying entirely on pre-existing sound libraries.
03
Swamp Foley
Recorded, transformed and layered for movement through the swamp.
Swamp footsteps began with practical foley recording, using wet material and physical movement to create the underlying texture.
Additional swamp and drain recordings were manipulated through granular processing in Pigments, creating wet, unstable textures that could be layered into the final footstep design.
FIELD RECORDING
Practical Foley
GRANULAR PROCESSING
Swamp & Drain Textures
SOUND CONSTRUCTION
Footstep Layers
DESIGNED RESULT
Swamp Footsteps
Final footstep variations assembled and played from the Cubase sound-design session.
04
Spider Demon
CREATURE SOUND DESIGN
Movement · Crawling · Vocalisations
05
Interactive Elements
GAMEPLAY SOUND DESIGN
Cat Thwomp · Golden Tooth · Rolling Spikes
Real-world recordings used directly as source material.
The Cat Thwomp vocal source was created from an original recording of my own cat, then shaped and processed for use as part of the in-game character sound.
06
Unity Implementation
Audio prepared around the timing and behaviour of the gameplay.
Finished audio assets were integrated using Unity's built-in audio system.
Sounds were prepared around the timing and behaviour of the game's interactive elements rather than being treated as isolated linear effects.
07
Original Music
Original music composed and produced for the world of Pond Scum.
Music for the game's levels was composed in Ableton Live at 200 BPM, then deliberately slowed within Unity using pitch control.
This extended the duration of the music in-game while changing its weight and character. The technique takes inspiration from older tape-based production methods, where material could be recorded at a higher speed and then played back at a lower speed for a different tonal and temporal character.
COMPOSITION & PRODUCTION
200 BPM Source Arrangement
UNITY IMPLEMENTATION
Pitch-Based Playback
The finished music was implemented as looping level audio in Unity, with playback pitch reduced to create the final in-game speed and extend the musical material across longer periods of gameplay. The resulting slower, heavier playback also complemented the game's 90s-inspired character aesthetic.
08
Tools
09
Recognition
Pond Scum was selected as a finalist at the 2024 Australian Game Developer Awards.
Excellence in Emerging
Australian Game Developer Awards · 2024
AUSTRALIAN GAME DEVELOPER AWARDS 2024
Excellence in Emerging · Finalist
AGDA 2024
Awards Ceremony
SELECTED WORK