There are two sound designers and a lead at my development house and
we've recently sat down with our coder(s) to start sketching out ideas
for a real-time mixer. That is, a system that will (somewhat)
intelligently do the mix for us based on parameters that we feed it.

Specifically, the parameters are based on a priority system (A, B, C,
D and E) where priority A sounds are given the most volume in playback
(dialog and weapons, for example) and lesser priority sounds are given
less volume (ambiances, footsteps, etc).

We haven't exactly pinned down the dB values for each level, but we're
thinking -2db attenuation per decreased level in the priority.
Something like:

a = -2db
b = -4db
c = -6db

..and so on.


All the sound assets would be given equal RMS normalization, of
course. The mixer, as I said, just adjusts the playback volume of
those assets.

My primary concern here is with fade times so the changes in volume
don't sound too rapid and, also, with the possibility that volumes are
going to sound perpetually "shifty" and dynamic all the time.

Still, it's a system we're going to test just to see what happens.
With the sheer number of sound assets and competing frequencies, we
have to do create something so it doesn't turn into a cacophony of
audio "grey goo".

What systems and methods have you all worked with in game mixing? It's
an interesting problem in that it's not linear like film and you can't
anticipate every possible permutation of a basic set of sounds.