itch.io

For the reverb: absolutely, it can be as sophisticated as you want! Hard panning is pretty rare in the real world. Sound naturally reflects, and our bodies and minds are tuned to pick up on what it tells us about the space around us. There are plenty of tricks like switching reverb impulses when entering spaces of different sizes or materials, or adjusting early reflections when near obstacles just as you describe. For a project like this I’d personally keep it super simple, but adding acoustic realism to game environments in general can certainly improve their accessibility for all (who can hear it).