World 2 / Quest 08

Sound Boss

Build a Sound Lab. Make every sound out of math. Wire them into your game.

You’ll learn

• How code turns numbers into sound (pitch, length, shape)
• How to tune a sound by asking for exact changes
• The five sounds almost every game needs
• How to wire sounds to moments in a game

Briefing

Start prompt

Steps

1. 1

   Open the Sound Lab

   Coach makes a page called sound-lab.html with five buttons. Open it through your Studio Server link (add /sound-lab.html to the end). Click every button. Some will sound great. Some will sound like a broken robot. That's the starting point.

   Say this to Coach

   Make the Sound Lab page from the template in my studio folder. Give me the link to open it through the Studio Server. Then explain in kid words what 'pitch' and 'length' mean for a sound.

   Copy
2. 2

   Tune the jump

   A jump sound usually goes up — low to high, fast. Play it. Then ask for an exact change: higher, longer, more of a boing. Full Picture works here too: what it sounds like now, what you want, how you'll know.

   Say this to Coach

   The jump sound right now sounds flat and a bit boring. Make it start lower and slide up higher, and make it a little shorter. I'll click it and tell you.

   Copy
3. 3

   Tune the coin and the hit

   A coin is two quick high notes (ding-DING). A hit is short, low, and rough. Tune each one — one at a time — until it makes you nod. Ask Coach what "wave shape" means and try changing it: square sounds like old Nintendo, triangle is softer, sawtooth is buzzy.

   Say this to Coach

   Change the coin sound to two quick notes where the second is higher. Then change the hit sound's wave shape to 'square' and make it shorter and lower. One at a time — coin first.

   Copy
4. 4

   The explosion

   Explosions aren't notes — they're noise that fades out. Ask Coach to make the explosion out of noise instead of a tone, and to make it fade. Then make it BIG.

   Say this to Coach

   Make the explosion out of random noise instead of a note, starting loud and fading out over half a second. Then give it a low rumble underneath.

   Copy
5. 5

   Wire sounds to moments

   Now the real job. Tell Coach exactly when each sound plays in your game. Be specific — the moment matters more than the sound. Do them one at a time and test each.

   Say this to Coach

   Wire the sounds into my game, one at a time. First: play the coin sound the exact moment the player touches a pickup. I'll test. Then the hit sound when the player touches an obstacle. Then the explosion on game over.

   Copy
6. 6

   The sound boss's check

   Play your game with your eyes closed for 30 seconds. Can you tell what's happening just from the sounds? If two sounds are too similar, that's the next fix. Then checkpoint 'sound-done'.

   Say this to Coach

   I played with my eyes closed. The sounds that were confusing were the coin and the power-up — they sound almost the same. Make them more different from each other. Then save a checkpoint called 'sound-done'.

   Copy

Side quests +10 XP each

Stuck?

• No sound at all? Click the page once first — browsers stay silent until you click.
• Sound plays way too many times (like a machine gun)? Say what you see: "The coin sound plays over and over while I'm touching the pickup."
• It's too loud or too quiet? Ask for the volume as a number: "Make the hit sound half as loud."

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