Create an immersive soundscape

1. Mission overview

In this Audio Mission, you will learn the fundamentals of implementing different types of audio into Unity scenes. You’ll learn how to set the tone with background music, how to add realism with sound effects, and even how to implement spatial audio in a 3D scene.

When you watch the video demos throughout this tutorial, make sure to turn on your computer’s sound!

2. Open the kitchen scene and enter Play mode

In this step, you'll just explore the silent kitchen scene.

This scene is already set up with a script, attached to the Main Camera, that will work in Play mode. This script allows the user (you, for now) to easily explore the environment with the WASD keys and listen to the sounds in the scene from a first-person perspective.

By default, the Main Camera will have an Audio Listener component on it, which acts like the player’s ears. When the Audio Listener component is far away from a sound, it should be quieter. When the Audio Listener component is closer to a sound, it should be louder. With this component, the camera acts both as the player’s eyes and ears in the scene.

In fact, Unity does not even allow you to have more than one active Audio Listener component in a scene. With multiple sets of “ears” in different locations, at what volume would you play a sound?

Instructions

1. In the Project window, in the _Unity Essentials > Scenes folder, locate and open the 3_Kitchen_Audio_Scene.

2. In the Scene view, use Flythrough mode (right-click + WASD) or the Frame, Orbit, Zoom technique to give yourself a good view of the interior of the kitchen.

3. Enter Play mode to preview the silent kitchen scene, then use the WASD keys to move forward, backward, and to turn left and right. To look up and down, use your mouse.

If you are you using your mouse to look up and down and the cursor moves off to the edge of your screen during Play mode, don’t worry – that’s expected.

4. Once you feel comfortable navigating with this pre-built player controller script and have explored the silent kitchen scene, exit Play mode.

5. In the Hierarchy window, select the Main Camera GameObject, then locate its Audio Listener component.

3. Add a pot to the stove

Now you’ll add a pot to the stove in the kitchen. The pot comes equipped with a particle system for the steam and for the bubbling, boiling water.

Instructions

1. In the Project window, navigate to _Unity Essentials > Prefabs > Kitchen.

2. Click and drag the Boiling_Pot prefab onto the stove in the Scene view.

Notice the distinctive icons that cover the pot. These represent the particle systems for the steam and bubbles.

3. Frame and orbit around the pot in the Scene view to get a close look at it and to center it carefully over one of the burners.

If you want, enter Play mode and approach the pot to see the boiling water and steam in action.

4. Add a boiling sound

Now it’s time to add an Audio Source component, which will simulate the sound of boiling water. In Unity, an Audio Source component acts as the origin of sound in your virtual environment.

Instructions

1. In the Hierarchy window, select the Boiling_Pot GameObject.

2. In the Inspector window, select Add Component and enter “Audio Source” to add it to the selected object.

3. In the new Audio Source component, locate the Audio Resource property.

This is where you specify the actual sound file you want to play. Unity allows only one clip per Audio Source.

4. Use the Object picker (⊙) for the Audio Resource property to browse all available audio clips in your project, then select the Bubbling_Water audio clip from the list provided.

5. To make the clip play on repeat, enable the Loop property in the Audio Source component.

6. Enter Play mode to test the new audio.

The sound should play, but it will maintain the same volume regardless of the camera's position relative to the source, which sounds unnatural — you’ll fix that next.

5. Make it a 3D Audio Source

In real life, sounds change in volume in each ear based on your distance and direction relative to the sound source.

By default, audio in a Unity scene is 2D Audio, which means that it stays the same regardless of the listener's position or orientation in the game world.

3D Audio, on the other hand, is spatialized: the sound changes based on the listener's position and orientation relative to the Audio Source, mimicking how sound behaves in the real world.

Let's make the Boiling_Pot audio clip a 3D experience!

Instructions

1. In the Boiling Pot GameObject’s Audio Source component, locate the Spatial Blend property and drag the slider from 0 (fully 2D) to 1 (fully 3D).

2. Enter Play mode again to test your new 3D spatial audio effect. Move closer and farther away, and be sure to experience the stereo effect by rotating your view left and right relative to the boiling pot.

3. Exit Play mode.

6. Add background music

In this step you'll add background music, which will set the emotional tone of your scene. The track you select can completely alter the ambiance of the scene, whether it's a calm classical piece, something more upbeat, or even something a little spooky.

The boiling pot is meant to mimic real-world 3D sound coming from the environment. Background music, on the other hand, isn’t produced by anything in the environment and is purely used to enhance the overall atmosphere of the scene.

Let's set a mood in this scene with some background music.

Instructions

1. In the Hierarchy window, right-click in the empty space and select Audio > Audio Source.

This will create a new GameObject that only has a Transform component and an Audio Source component.

2. Rename the GameObject “Background Music” for clarity.

3. In the Project window, browse the available music options in the _Unity Essentials > Audio > Music folder.

You can preview the selected music in the Preview panel at the bottom of the Inspector window.

4. In the Background Music GameObject’s Audio Source component, set the Audio Resource to your desired music, then enable Loop.

5. Adjust the Audio Source’s Volume property to a more subtle level, like 0.1 - 0.5, to ensure the background music doesn't overpower other sound in the scene.

6. Keep the Spatial Blend of this Audio Source component as the default 2D so that the background music's presence is consistent throughout the scene without positional changes.

7. Enter Play mode to test your background music and how it interacts with the sound of the boiling pot.

You may want to change the volume of the boiling pot or the music to get the balance just right.

Note: Remember to save your scene often with Ctrl+S (macOS: Cmd+S).

7. Add random bird sounds outside

To further enrich the soundscape of your kitchen scene, next you'll add the ambient sound of birds chirping outside.

You'll achieve this effect by positioning Audio Sources outside the kitchen, such as near a window or in an adjacent outdoor area, and using a custom script to play bird chirping sounds at random intervals.

This randomness mimics the natural behavior of birds, making the scene more immersive and lifelike.

Instructions

1. Create a new Audio Source in your scene and position it where you'd like the sound of a bird to originate, such as outside a window or near an imaginary tree.

2. Rename this Audio Source something descriptive, like “Bird_1”.

3. Assign the SFX_Bird_1 sound as the Audio Resource of the source, then make sure to set the Spatial Blend to 1.0 (full 3D).

4. To avoid the bird sound playing immediately as the scene loads, disable the Play on Awake property.

5. Select Add Component, then search for and add a component named “Play Sound at Random Intervals”.

We've provided this simple script so that you can play an audio clip at random time intervals. If you want, adjust the properties to change the minimum and maximum seconds.

6. Enter Play mode to hear the bird chirping at random intervals.

7. Duplicate this Audio Source for additional birds. Rename each Audio Source accordingly (for example, “Bird_2”, “Bird_3”, etc.), and position them at different points around the exterior of the kitchen.

8. For each new bird sound source, choose a different bird chirping sound to vary the soundscape.

9. Enter Play mode to appreciate the level of immersion that is added to the scene with this natural-sounding ambient audio.

10. Save your scene.

8. Review and proceed to next tutorial

Congratulations on enriching your kitchen scene with immersive audio. From the subtle boiling pot on the stove to the serene background music and the lively chirping of birds outside, each audio element you've added plays a crucial role in bringing your scene to life.

Here are some of the things you learned how to do along the way:

• Explain the purpose of an Audio Source.

• Explain the purpose of an Audio Listener.

• Add a source of sound in the scene with an Audio Source component.

• Explain the difference between 2D and 3D (spatialized) audio.

• Change 2D audio into 3D sound for realistic spatial effects.

• Add background music to a 3D scene.

• Layer different types of audio to create a rich soundscape.
  

Instructions

Proceed to the next tutorial, which includes optional challenges to further develop your skills, explore new concepts, and improve your project.