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Star Power (Composer, Slide20XX)
Katelyn Isaacson (Sound Designer & Vocalist, Freelance)
D'Anthoni Wooten (Composer, Freelance)
Danny Baranowsky (Composer, Brace Yourself Games)
Location: Room 314, South Hall
Date: Thursday, March 23
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Audio Pass
Topic: Audio
Format: Roundtable
Vault Recording: Not Recorded
Audience Level: All
In addition to their obvious role as the creators of a game's music and sound, audio professionals have a lot of other specialties to fill. Depending on the project, the size of the dev team, and their space in it, game audio pros may be expected to handle aspects of marketing, game design, social media management, playtesting, and more. However, there is one role that is pivotal to creating a product with a clear and engaging sonic identity, yet is often overlooked; that of creative director. On smaller projects where specialization is limited and a game's audio department may be as small as a single person, many composers and sound designers default to a reactive mode, waiting for a team or studio lead to tell them what assets to make and how they should sound. In this two-day roundtable, we'll be hosting a discussion on how audio professionals can step into more of a hands-on, leadership role on their next project. On day one, we'll talk about how composers and sound designers can help lead a dev team's creative direction from the ground up, with insights on how to make audio a foundational part of a game's play, design, and identity, and why that matters. Day two will feature thoughts on how, when, and where to relay these ideas to your team, with a focus on interdisciplinary communication and tips on how to relate complex sonic ideas to people who may not speak "audio" as fluently.
Attendees will gain new and expanded perspectives in what the role of a game audio professional is and should be. They will learn why many in their field default to a passive role in their work, and how to overcome this mentality. They'll be encouraged to see their job as a driving force in the creative direction of any game they're a part of, they'll be equipped with the tools and techniques to examine what a game's audio needs are from the ground up, and they'll learn how to effectively and confidently communicate these ideas with teammates in non-audio disciplines.
This talk is aimed at game audio professionals who are seeking a deeper understanding of how to best perform their role on game development teams and game developers of other disciplines who want a firmer knowledge of the creative aspect of audio design.