add-audio

SKILL.md

Performance Notes

Take your time to do this thoroughly

Quality is more important than speed

Do not skip validation steps

Add Audio

Add procedural music and sound effects to an existing game. BGM uses a Web Audio API step sequencer for looping patterns. SFX use the Web Audio API directly for true one-shot playback. No audio files or npm packages needed — everything is synthesized in the browser.

Instructions

Analyze the game at $ARGUMENTS (or the current directory if no path given).

First, load the game-audio skill to get the full Web Audio patterns and integration guide.

Step 1: Audit

Read src/core/EventBus.js to see what game events exist (flap, score, death, etc.)

Read all scene files to understand the game flow (gameplay, game over)

Identify what music and SFX would fit the game's genre and mood

Step 2: Plan

Present a table of planned audio:

Event / Scene
Audio Type
Style
Description

GameScene
BGM
Chiptune
Upbeat square wave melody + bass + drums

GameOverScene
BGM
Somber
Slow descending melody

Player action
SFX
Retro
Quick pitch sweep

Score
SFX
Retro
Two-tone ding

Death
SFX
Retro
Descending crushed notes

Explain in plain English: "Background music will automatically loop during each scene. Sound effects will play when you do things like jump, score, or die. The first time you click/tap, the audio system will activate (browsers require a user interaction before playing sound)."

Step 3: Implement

Create src/audio/AudioManager.js — AudioContext init, master gain node, BGM sequencer play/stop

Create src/audio/AudioBridge.js — wires EventBus events to AudioManager for BGM, calls SFX functions directly

Create src/audio/music.js with BGM patterns for each scene (Web Audio step sequencer — note arrays that loop continuously)

Create src/audio/sfx.js with SFX for each event (Web Audio API — OscillatorNode + GainNode + BiquadFilterNode for true one-shot playback)

Add audio events to EventBus.js if not present (AUDIO_INIT, MUSIC_GAMEPLAY, MUSIC_GAMEOVER, MUSIC_STOP, AUDIO_TOGGLE_MUTE)

Wire initAudioBridge() in main.js

Emit AUDIO_INIT on first user interaction (game starts immediately, no menu)

Emit music events at scene transitions and SFX events at game actions

Add mute toggle — AUDIO_TOGGLE_MUTE event, UI button, M key shortcut

Step 4: Verify

Run npm run build to confirm no errors

List all files created/modified

Remind the user: "Click/tap once to activate audio, then you'll hear the music"

Example Usage

Full audio pass

/add-audio examples/flappy-bird

Result: Creates src/audio/AudioManager.js, music.js (gameplay + game-over BGM patterns), sfx.js (flap, score, death, button SFX) → wires via AudioBridge → mute toggle on M key. First click activates audio.

Troubleshooting

No sound plays

Cause: AudioContext not resumed after user interaction (browser autoplay policy).
Fix: Ensure AudioContext.resume() is called on first user input (click/tap/keydown). Check for AUDIO_INIT event wiring.

Audio causes lag spikes

Cause: Creating new OscillatorNodes every frame.
Fix: SFX should be one-shot (create, connect, start, stop). BGM uses a single looping sequencer. Never create nodes in update().

Next Step

Tell the user:

Your game now has music and sound effects! Next, run /game-creator:qa-game to add automated tests that verify your game boots correctly, scenes transition properly, scoring works, and visuals haven't broken.

Pipeline progress: /viral-game → /design-game → /add-audio → /qa-game → /review-game

(This is the /viral-game one-shot pipeline — not the /make-game multi-session, milestone-driven workflow.)