Game Audio
Aaron Cui
Hi, I'm Aaron, a classically trained composer with a strong passion for video game sound design and all things game audio.
I am currently an undergraduate music composition student at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.
Biography
Hi! I'm Aaron, a classically trained composer and sound designer currently studying Music Composition at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California with a huge passion for game audio.I love working with all aspects of game audio, from sound design to music to dialogue. I'm particularly passionate about dynamic audio systems that actively respond to player choices.I love games from all kinds of genres. RPGs, Card Games, MOBAs, Metroidvanias, and many more. Some of my favourite games are Journey and Gris.
Masterworks of Horror
Showreel:
Masterworks of Horror: The Prologue is a Real-Time, PvP, Card Battler. Engage in literary battles using cards from famous authors of horror from across the world. Build your Masterworks, defeat your rivals, and become the true master of horror.Masterworks of Horror is a USC Advanced Game Project with a team of over 60 members and was showcased at GDC 2026 and the USC Games Expo. This project uses Unity and Wwise.I served as the audio lead for this project. In this role, I was responsible for:
- Creating all sound effects through a combination of foley and editing
- Choosing, organising, and editing VO takes
- All implementation through Wwise
- Serving as the audio director, ensuring a consistent audio profile for the game
- Integration through Unity, including QA and bug-fixing
- Composing stingers
- Mixed and designed live mixing systems that respond to player choices and game states
- Working with external composers, creating compositional briefs and providing regular feedback
Pass the Fear
PASS THE FEAR is a roguelite bullet-hell shooter. A catastrophic Witch’s Disaster strikes without warning, and chaotic magic forms the ancient Wall of Storms. Its corruption spreads relentlessly across the island. As a demon hunter trapped within, you must find a way to escape before dawn breaks.I worked on Pass the Fear over the summer of 2026 as part of my internship with Yayoi Audio Studio. It has since launched to over 25,000 players on Steam. This project uses Unity and CRI ADX.For this project, I handled the following responsibilities:
- Handled implementation of music through CRI ADX, creating all the involved architecture
- Implemented hundreds of sound effects through CRI ADX, including usage of spatialisation
- Designed live mixing systems to adjust volume during gameplay
- Identifying and fixing audio-related bugs
Other Work
These are some other examples of my work, including work from my internship in 2025 at Giant Interactive Group (巨人网络).
I am currently working on two unannounced USC Games projects, one Advanced Game Project and one MFA Thesis. These are both using Unreal Engine 5 and Wwise. As the audio lead for both projects, I am doing similar tasks to what I did for Masterworks of Horror, as well as handling integration in Unreal Engine.
Cathedral of Blood
Composed for a Bloodborne-like setting and boss battle, implemented in Wwise to capture how it would be realised in a game context (further details can be seen in the video description).The first, purely percussive part of the soundtrack is intended to be a build-up and is skipped, but can be listened to be returning to the start of the video. The second part of the soundtrack is the actual "boss track".
Scherzi on Spring Plains
A less intense battle theme with traditional Chinese folk elements, fitting for common battles with mobs or less narratively important boss characters (further details in description).
A series of musical stingers designed to accompany the emotes of the Queen of Hearts, a character from the game Night of the Full Moon.
PV Score: A rescore of the trailer for the animated series 诡秘之主 (Lord of the Mysteries). While not a game PV, it is reflective of how a game PV may be scored.