u/Emotional-Kale7272

Hello Unity,

After around 10 months of development, and four months since the last public test, I have finally uploaded a major new public beta of DAWG - Digital Audio Workstation Game.

The original idea was to build a real music making environment inside a game, not just a rhythm game or a basic sequencer with a few audio clips. The latest version is finally much closer to my goal.

DAWG is built in Unity and C#, with a custom real time DSP engine using Burst Compiler. All instruments and effects are generated and processed live rather than relying on pre-rendered musical loops. Full on stress test of the DSP is only eating around 30% of the audio CPU on the 5950x.

The current beta includes:

• Custom subtractive, FM and wavetable synthesis
• Eight drum tracks and multiple playable instruments
• Per-instrument DSP and effects
• Send/return and live performance FX
• MIDI keyboard and controller support
• Custom real-time visualisation through the DSP chain
• Cross-platform multiplayer sync of the clock, transport, patterns and parameters
• A new pixel-art Story Mode built around learning music production

Lots of work went into optimisation and keeping the audio stable while running the UI, shaders, visualisations and gameplay, as well as maintaining consistent behaviour across desktop and mobile builds.

The public beta is free and I would really appreciate hones feedback , especially regarding the performance and any other mistake you can spot. I am also interested in whether the game explains itself well enough to someone opening it for the first time and what do you think about the idea and the execution in general.

Free public beta: https://dawg-tools.itch.io/dawg-digital-audio-workstation-game

Feedback and honest ratings can also be left directly on itch. Please don't hold back because it is an indie project ;)

Thanks!

Hello C#!

After around 10 months of development, and four months since the previous public test, I have finally released a major new beta of DAWG - Digital Audio Workstation Game.

DAWG is an attempt to build a proper music production environment inside a game, not just a rhythm game or a simple sequencer. The project is written in C# with Unity, while the real-time audio engine uses custom DSP engine that is fully Bursted.

The current version includes:

• Custom subtractive, FM and wavetable synthesis
• Multiple realtime DSP chains
• Per-instrument and send/return effects
• Live performance effects
• MIDI controller support
• A DAW style sequencer and piano roll
• Custom realtime visualization of the complete DSP chain
• Cross-platform multiplayer with sync of the clock, patterns and DSP parameters
• A new pixel art Story Mode built around the DSP system

A large part of the challenge has been keeping the codebase manageable while combining real-time audio, UI, serialization, MIDI, multiplayer, multiple platforms and game logic in one application.

The new public beta is free and I would really appreciate some honest feedback from other C# developers. You do not need to know anything about music production to test it. I am also interested in whether the application makes sense to someone seeing it for the first time.

Download: https://dawg-tools.itch.io/dawg-digital-audio-workstation-game

You can leave feedback or a rating directly or comment here. Please do not hold back because it is an indie project, the critical feedback is usually the most useful.

Thanks!

I’m making a pixel-art bedroom of an inspiring music producer and need some urgent professional advice.

Are floor and desktop racks mandatory, or should I implement a four-sided synth altar from the bed so the player has 360° access to every oscillator without standing up?

How many synths do I need before actually making music becomes optional? Also, what is the officially approved r/synthesizercirclejerk studio animal: cat, dog, or succulent?

The animation is still a work in progress. The DAW is purely decorative.

Hey,

would any beatmakers be interested in joining forces when making beats? I am working on my DAW and I have added full multiplayer support for up to 4 players sharing a session - locally over wi-Fi or Steam. For anyone interested please check other videos on Youtube to see how session looks in full screen.

DAWG - Digital Audio Workstation Game - Multiplayer reveal

Really interested what beatmakers think of Jamming mode - Multiplayer. Any ideas how to name this mode?

I recorded a quick session where I play with basic DSP settings in the DAW I am developing.

Basically testing the musicality of the audio engine and individual components including the updated real time visualisation.

DAWG

It is not meant to show final patch, more how the patch or preset building looks.,Looking for any input on the visualisation or sound quality.

Hey,

I’ve been building a real time music engine inside Unity as a long term audio/DSP project, and I’d love some technical feedback from people who care about signal flow and architecture.

DAWG - Jamming in DIY DAW made in Unity

DAWG - DIgital Audio Workstation Game is a music tool where you can make beats, layer instruments, play with FX and learn about music production along the way.

Today I had a good jamming session that I wanted to shared with r/synthdiy.

Some technical details:

• Custom real time DSP running inside Unity
• PolyBLEP, FM, WT, noise oscillators
• TPT SVF filters
• Custom gain staging
• Per voice envelopes, modulation, filter movement, pitch behavior
• FX control through touch UI and MPU style controls
• MIDI support, including hardware MIDI, Bluetooth MIDI, and MIDI clock send
• Multi platform support with the same engine targeting desktop, mobile, and Steam Deck
• Beginner friendly tutorial and UI layers so users do not need to understand synthesis to start making loops

Idea was to have an adaptable DAW meant for beginners, street musicans & expirienced users wanting a chill session while trying something new. Instead of scrolling, offer people something new, fun and creative to do instead...

Unity is great as a cross platform engine, UI system, and game host, but it is not a DAW engine.

Currently I am working on burst compilers for the C# DSP code. For Unity this means assembly like native code and performance, that should help reduce the DSP load when playing multiple voices on the sustained notes.

Still a long way to go, but todays session filled me with some hope that project is going in the right direction.

Support the project by WL it on Steam

I’m particularly interested in feedback on:

• Architecting DSP systems inside non audio native engines
• Clean ways to expose complex DSP without overwhelming the UI
• Any red flags you spot (musical theory, logic mistakes, UI, DSP,...)

Would love to discuss design and I can also share some of the techniques used.

Thanks for checking the DAWG 🙌