About this retro SFX generator

The SFX Generator synthesises 8-bit style sound effects from scratch, in the sfxr tradition: you pick a category, then randomise and mutate until something sounds right, rather than hunting through a sample library.

It is the fastest way to fill a prototype with placeholder audio, and often the placeholders are good enough to ship — a coin pickup or a laser is a waveform with an envelope, not a recording.

How to use it

Pick a category: pickup or coin, laser or shoot, explosion, powerup, hit or hurt, jump, blip or select, or a plain tone.
Press randomise to generate a fresh sound in that category.
Press mutate to nudge the current sound slightly instead of replacing it — this is how you converge on the one you want.
Adjust the synthesis parameters by hand once it is close. With auto-play on, every change is audible immediately.
Export the WAV, or copy the JSON so the exact sound can be regenerated later.

Formats and options

Exports 16-bit WAV at either 44,100 Hz or 22,050 Hz — the lower rate is smaller and suits the aesthetic.
Copy the parameters as JSON, and load a JSON back in to recover a sound.
Save sounds into the browser to build up a set.
Nothing is uploaded and no sample library is downloaded; the audio is generated in the page.