Game music and sound effects tracking: cue sheets, briefs, deliverables and approvals

Why tracking game music and sound effects is hard

Game audio is not one soundtrack. It is hundreds of separate pieces: background music for each area, short stingers for events, ambient beds, interface clicks, and sound effects for every action. Each piece has a context in the game, a length, a loop requirement, a composer or sound designer, several versions, and a final asset in the engine.

The usual failure points are predictable:

• Vague briefs. "Something epic for the boss" produces three demos that all miss, because nobody wrote down where the music plays, how long it lasts or whether it must loop.
• Lost references. The reference tracks that explain the target sound live in a chat message nobody can find.
• Version confusion. boss_theme_v3_final_REAL.wav is in someone's downloads folder, and it is unclear whether it is the demo or the master.
• Missing stems. The master was approved, but the separate stems the audio engineer needs for adaptive mixing were never delivered, or were delivered for an older version.
• No link to the build. Nobody can say which approved cue is actually imported into the game.

Studios often keep their cue list in general-purpose tools that were never built for game production. A list can hold names and statuses, but it cannot hold the audio, play it, version it, or tell you which file is the approved master.

What a music cue sheet for games should contain

In film and TV, a cue sheet is mostly a rights document listing the music used. In game development the term usually means the production list of every piece of music and sound the game needs. A useful one records, per cue:

• A number and a name that never change.
• The type (background music, stinger, sound effect, ambient, interface sound).
• Where it plays and what triggers it.
• The emotional intent.
• Target, minimum and maximum duration, and whether it must loop.
• The delivery format (for example WAV, 48 kHz, 24-bit).
• Reference tracks, with a note on what to take from each.
• The composer, the current status, and every file delivered so far.

How Gameheim tracks music and sound effects

The Music & SFX area (in the Creative section of the sidebar) is a cue sheet with the audio attached. It has two tabs: Cues and Composers.

Cues grouped by type

Each cue has a number (Cue #1, Cue #2 and so on, numbered across the project), a name, a type and an optional composer. The list groups cues into six sections: Background Music, Stingers, Sound Effects, Ambient, UI Sounds and VO Background. Each card shows the cue type, the composer (or Unassigned) and the current status.

A brief the composer can act on

The cue page holds a rich-text Brief and a Constraints panel with Emotional intent, Game context, Duration target, Duration min, Duration max, Loop required and Format required. Under Reference tracks you attach external links or documents already stored in Gameheim, each with a note such as "like this, but darker".

Deliverables: demos, masters and stems

Every file sent for a cue is a deliverable of type Demo, Master or Stem. A stem carries a label (drums, melody, bass). Gameheim versions deliverables automatically: a new demo becomes the next version of the demos, and a new "drums" stem becomes the next version of that stem. Each deliverable plays in an inline waveform player, shows its duration, sample rate and size, and can be flagged Approved. When a cue has stems, Download all stems (ZIP) fetches them in one archive.

A status workflow with a real approval

Every cue moves through seven statuses, from Brief to Imported in UE, with a revision loop in the middle. Most moves are open to anyone who can edit cues, but moving a cue to Approved needs the Music & SFX manage permission, so the final sign-off stays with the audio director. The last step records the depot path of the .uasset in your Unreal Engine project.

A composer roster

The Composers tab lists the composers and studios scoring the project, with Name, Email, Studio, Portfolio URL, Contact info and Notes (genres, instrumentation, availability).

How to track a music cue from brief to Unreal Engine in Gameheim

1. 1

   Add the composer

   Open Music & SFX, switch to the Composers tab and click New composer. Fill in at least the Name, then save.

2. 2

   Create the cue

   In the Cues tab, click New cue. Enter the Cue name, choose the Cue type and the Composer, and tick Loop required if the piece must loop. The cue starts in Brief.

3. 3

   Write the brief and the constraints

   Open the cue and click Edit cue. Write the Brief, then fill Emotional intent, Game context (where it plays and what triggers it), the durations in seconds (Target (s), Min (s), Max (s)) and Format required. Click Save cue.

4. 4

   Attach reference tracks

   Click Add reference. Choose External link and paste the URL, or choose Document and enter the id of a document stored in Gameheim. Add Notes that say what to take from the reference.

5. 5

   Start composition

   In the Status section, click Move to In Composition. The composer now knows the brief is final.

6. 6

   Upload demos

   Click Upload deliverable, pick the audio file, choose Demo as the Deliverable type and click Upload. Each new demo becomes the next version. When there is something to review, click Move to In Review.

7. 7

   Review: approve or ask for a revision

   Listen in the inline player. If the cue needs changes, click Move to Revision Requested, and later Move to In Composition when the composer starts again. When it is right, the audio director clicks Move to Approved.

8. 8

   Collect the master and the stems

   Upload the final file as Master, and each stem as Stem with a Stem label (for example drums, melody, bass). Tick Approved on the deliverables you accept, so the audio engineer knows which files to import.

9. 9

   Queue the cue for Unreal Engine

   Click Move to Ready for Import. The UE Binding section becomes active.

10. 10

    Bind the .uasset and mark it imported

    The audio engineer imports the approved master or stems into Unreal Engine, submits the .uasset to Perforce and copies its depot path. In UE Binding, click Set path, paste the path and click Mark as imported. The cue moves to Imported in UE. The Instructions button repeats this procedure.

    A valid depot path

    //depot/MyGame/Content/Audio/Music/MainTheme/Main_Theme.uasset

Music cue status workflow and permissions

The statuses, the moves allowed out of each one, and the permission each move needs. Permissions appear in the role editor under the Music & SFX resource. LEAD and ADMIN accounts of the organization can perform every step.

Other actions: creating and editing cues, composers and reference tracks needs write. Uploading, approving and deleting deliverables needs deliverable_upload. Deleting a cue or a composer needs manage. Viewing needs read.

How to write a composer brief for a game

A good brief answers the questions a composer would otherwise have to guess. Keep it short and concrete:

• Context: where in the game the music plays, what the player is doing, and what starts and stops it.
• Intent: one or two words for the feeling (tense, uplifting), not a genre list.
• Length and looping: a target duration with a minimum and maximum, and whether the end must loop back to the start without a gap.
• Format: sample rate, bit depth and file type, agreed with whoever imports the audio.
• References: two or three tracks, each with a note on what to take from it (tempo, instrumentation, mood) and what to avoid.
• Stems: which separate layers you need, if the music will be mixed or layered at runtime.

In Unreal Engine, imported audio files become Sound Wave assets, and music or effects are often played through Sound Cues or MetaSounds that combine and vary them. Epic describes the Sound Cue nodes in the Sound Cue reference. Agreeing on stems and loop points in the brief avoids re-exports once the engineer starts building those assets.

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions