Mantle

A game that focuses on narrative, seeking ways to guide players into believing different design ideas.

2025 Game Audio 10 month

Tech Stack

  • Unity
  • Logic Pro
  • Recording
  • Perforce
  • Sound Design

My Role

  • Sound Design

Team

  • 1 Sound Designer
Mantle game screenshot showcasing narrative-driven gameplay and visual style
Mantle

Overview

Mantle is a USC MFA Thesis game project that has a development duration of over a year.

As the lead sound designer of the team, I am in charge of designing all the sound effects appearing in the game. Over one year of development, I designed over 100 sound effects and ambience for the game.

Special shoutout to Bryan, the leader of our Mantle team, Short Circuit.

Spreadsheet showing organized audio asset list with sound descriptions and implementation notes
Audio Asset List

Working

We established an audio asset list before we ever started working on the sounds. The list specifies all the sounds that we need, as well as the descriptions of the sounds, where they should appear in the game, and other audio-related notes.

The asset list is constantly updated so that the information we receive is the latest and fits what the game is currently like.

We have also created our own audio file sharing system and naming conventions to facilitate the game development process.

Logic Pro session showing sound design workflow with audio tracks and plugins
Audio Creation

Audio Creation

The whole production of Mantle is done by using Logic Pro. I incorporated audio files from either copyright-free sources or my recordings, and also my self-created synthesized sounds using plugins, such as Vital. I modified, edited, and arranged all audio so that it fit the game's feel.

Mantle team booth at USC Games Expo with players trying the demo
USC Games Expo

Expo

We showcased this game at the annual USC Games Expo, where hundreds of people stopped by our booth, tasting our expo-specialized demo.

The audio aspect of this game, specifically, has received many positive comments, and people commonly believe that the sound effects helped them with understanding the gameplay as well as the narrative better.

The game is now released on Steam. Download Mantle and stay tuned for any future updates!

"The sound design and music for this game goes above and beyond which made every fight extra enjoyable."

— Steam Review

Development Log

Explore the Project