Realistic collision sounds of 3d objects

ondesic

When I watch games like Angry Birds or games with rolling dice, I take for granted how good they sound until I try to create something similar. I have a 3D cube that is thrown into box and knows around until it settles flat. Just triggering a sound on each collision doesn't sound right. Very mechanical. Any thoughts on how to make this realistic?

Calinou

I have a 3D cube that is thrown into box and knows around until it settles flat. Just triggering a sound on each collision doesn't sound right. Very mechanical. Any thoughts on how to make this realistic?

I think this is a decent approach, but you need to do a few things to make it sound more natural:

Change the sound's volume depending on the impact force.
Randomize the pitch slightly (try a range like 0.95-1.05). You could also vary the pitch based on impact force, depending on the kind of sound played.
Use a few random variants (between 2 and 4) to avoid using the same sound all the time.

dotted

Is the base sfx "good" (ie does it sound like what you want)?

Placing the sfx in 3d space can make a difference.

If the sfx is a mono sound and is not played in 3d, it won't feel stereo because it isn't.

Calinou's suggestion of a random set of variants will make a big difference. Not even foot falls sound the same from left to right.