Audio playground

"We almost call it the Matrix of Doom because with the amount of surface types we have in the game vs. the amount of object that we have in the game coliding with each other and against the environment, we will be generating hundreds, and indeed thousands, of sound tracks to try to cover up this matrix."

- Jay Weinland

The audio playground is a sandbox used by Bungie Studios to experiment with sound effects during the development of Halo 2. It consists of a large enclosed space of varied terrain in which the player can test hitting objects and gunfire against the floor and walls, which represent particular surfaces. The surfaces' names are frequently written in the texture pattern. Audio playgrounds have been shown to come in variants for "solid steel", "dirt", "room", ice, water, and reportedly can feature virtually every substance in the game.