I am working on a bunch of 8 bit / 8 bit sounding FX for a game and have been struggling with sounds like 'water splash', 'drink potion' etc. I am using various free 8 bit and chiptune VST synths (Ym, BitBoy, Peach, NESPulse, etc).

I'm wondering if anyone has some suggestions on how I should approach achieving liquid sounds in 8 bit?

Thanks in advance!

Hey,

For watery sounds, using a pitch envelope / quick resonating filter sweep can work wonders.

Here's a link to a little splash sound I created using Bfxr as a reference:
http://www.bfxr.net/?s=7%2C0.5%2C0.05%2C0.4686%2C0.0037%2C0.27%2C0.095%2C0.16%2C0.105%2C%2C0.475%2C%2C0.248%2C%2C0.7953%2C0.4275%2C0.7463%2C0.1956%2C0.788%2C0.629%2C0.663%2C-0.8366%2C%2C-0.9907%2C0.7512%2C0.7521%2C-0.1018%2C0.401%2C%2C-0.3401%2C0.0486%2C-0.5666%2CmasterVolume

Play around with the parameters a bit and I'm sure you'll see what I did there - you'll be able to come up with your own sounds in no time.

If you want to add some spray and spume, combine this with some white noise - a volume envelope will give it some dynamics (flooOOoosh).

Cheers,
Moritz

Thanks for the tips! That web based synth is cool! I've been toying a bit with a pitch envelope but just not sounding right. I'll try messing with Bfxr see what I come up with. My troubles may be partly due to the synths I'm trying to use - the ones I've messed with so far are either so restrictive they may as well be soundFonts, or they lack elements I need - no pitch control, no white noise etc - some don't even have editable envelopes. If I get more 8 bit projects in the future I'll probably have to explore the commercial chiptune synths that are out there.

Thanks again!

Glad I could be of help!

If you're looking for genuine chip sounds, try Plogue Chipsounds - it's more a sampler than a synth, but it has a lot of editing options and features recordings from the most popular chips. (Atari, C64, NES...)

Cheers, Moritz

Edit:
The reply editor on this forum... is it just me and my browser, or does it keep messing up other people's posts too?