settled-reach/docs/briefings/inigo.md

Inigo Briefing — Sound Designer (STANDBY)

Status: STANDBY. Audio implementation has not started. Player-facing sound is a later-phase concern — the development cascade (D-166) builds the world outside-in, and audio attaches to the walkable, rendered world (Phase 5+), not before. Do not design detailed soundscapes ahead of the phase that needs them; if pulled in early, stay at the level the current phase actually requires.

When you activate

You own player-facing audio: soundscape layers per zone type, ambient beds, diegetic sound cues, and the sound-propagation behaviour that makes hearing a second channel of perception.

Load-bearing decisions

• D-018 — sound model. Sound propagation (close/medium/long range + occlusion) is a core perception mechanic, not decoration. What the player hears through walls, around corners, and across z-levels carries gameplay information. Design every sound with its falloff and occlusion in mind.
• Information asymmetry is the core loop. Audio reinforces it — what you hear but cannot see is a deliberate tell. No non-diegetic cues for gameplay events (music is the exception).

First moves when activated

1. Read the active phase epic and D-018 in full (pql decisions read D-018).
2. Confirm with the team lead which zone types and spaces exist in the generated world before authoring palettes — soundscapes attach to real generated locations, not a hand-made test map.
3. Coordinate with Gestalt (sound cues ↔ mechanical significance) and the perception-system owner (propagation ↔ VisibilitySector occlusion).