Mix
Also said as Mixing, Balance, Snapshot, Bus
The balance of every sound against the others, so that what matters can be heard. In a game it must change as play changes, so groups of sounds get saved sets of levels called snapshots.
Every sound can be great and the game can still be a wall of noise. A mix is a series of decisions about what the player needs to hear now, and what has to give way.
Say it
“Add three mix snapshots. Exploring keeps music up. Combat drops pads by 16 dB and pushes drums and impacts. Dialogue pulls everything down at least 12 dB.”
Where you’ve seen it
Overwatch's "importance system" changes the mix by threat, using whether an enemy is looking at you, shooting at you and how far away it is. A distant enemy aiming at you sits above a nearby one who is not. Scott Lawlor and Tomas Neumann explained it at GDC in 2016.
Not to be confused with mastering
A mix sets each sound against the others. Mastering is the final pass on the whole result, for overall level and tone.