Where can I find some free sound effects for my commercial games?

[HansJakob (Pwet)]

I’ve just started making a third person shooter. I got it running fine now and now I need some sound effects like wind, birds, rain, you name it…

[Richard_Marklew]

https://www.freesound.org/

[Remade]

for nature souds

Sounds of Nature by xoxos - Synth VST Plugin

game sounds

http://www.bfxr.net/

[HansJakob (Pwet)]

Good info, guys

[sundialsvc4]

And be sure to screen-credit the sources of every sound, somewhere in an “About box” buried within your game. That way, if someone says, “Hey! That’s my sound!,” you can easily correct them.

Anytime you’re dealing with what might be considered by someone to be “their intellectual property,” cover your butt. :yes: Especially when you intend to use your creation as a commercial product.

It is called, “due diligence.” Make written notes of every sound that you used, every image (no matter how small), and so on. Where it came from, what URL you downloaded it from, and the date-and-time when you did it. Make notes of the URL of the pages on the site which say what the “terms of use” for the material are, and of what causes you to conclude that the material may in fact be used commercially without license or compensation. Print and file a copy of those pages, with a date on it. Bury those notes in a filing cabinet where you can find them someday.

That way, when your game becomes the next Angry Birds … … and the opposing lawyers start sniffing around to find someone to sue for something, you’re (more) covered.

I think there’s a lot to be said for buying sounds and images that you intend to use commercially. Drop-in “placeholders” for now, but replace them with purchased assets later. Now, you’ve got a documented purchase transaction that you can point to, as well as a license agreement. The monkey is now upon the supplier’s back to deal with the possibility that “Hey, my copyrighted image/sound was never supposed to be in that ‘public’ collection to begin with, and here’s my US Copyright registration to prove it!” A few dollars spent to buy yourself a more-defensible legal position might be worth it when millions of dollars’ worth of your game have been sold.

[Tryder]

@kaufenpreis"

A few more sources of stock audio:

• sounddogs.com (I’ve bought one or two effects from them)
• soundeffects.com
• Tommy Tallarico

Some free music sites:

• musopen (I’ve used some classical recordings from them)
• open music archive
• Kevin Macleod (his site mentions some of his stuff has shown up in iPhone games)

Finally, here’s a friend of mine who specializes in game audio - composition, effects, and voice recording:

• Tom Hite Sound

Music:
Free Music Archive

For sound FX I’ve used some from here before:
Flash Kit

[HansJakob (Pwet)]

@sundialsvc4

And be sure to screen-credit the sources of every sound, somewhere in an “About box” buried within your game. That way, if someone says, “Hey! That’s my sound!,” you can easily correct them.

Anytime you’re dealing with what might be considered by someone to be “their intellectual property,” cover your butt. :yes: Especially when you intend to use your creation as a commercial product.

It is called, “due diligence.” Make written notes of every sound that you used, every image (no matter how small), and so on. Where it came from, what URL you downloaded it from, and the date-and-time when you did it. Make notes of the URL of the pages on the site which say what the “terms of use” for the material are, and of what causes you to conclude that the material may in fact be used commercially without license or compensation. Print and file a copy of those pages, with a date on it. Bury those notes in a filing cabinet where you can find them someday.

That way, when your game becomes the next Angry Birds … … and the opposing lawyers start sniffing around to find someone to sue for something, you’re (more) covered.

I think there’s a lot to be said for buying sounds and images that you intend to use commercially. Drop-in “placeholders” for now, but replace them with purchased assets later. Now, you’ve got a documented purchase transaction that you can point to, as well as a license agreement. The monkey is now upon the supplier’s back to deal with the possibility that “Hey, my copyrighted image/sound was never supposed to be in that ‘public’ collection to begin with, and here’s my US Copyright registration to prove it!” A few dollars spent to buy yourself a more-defensible legal position might be worth it when millions of dollars’ worth of your game have been sold.

That’s why I always use public domain stuff and always state that I don’t own all of the art used in the project.

With a good knowledge on sound and the right tools, you can just make your own sounds with just a phone microphone. You can always tweak the recording to increase it’s quality.