This article was born out of an idea for a GDC audio talk proposal. Another one of my proposals was selected so I thought I’d turn the core idea of this one into a DS post in case it’s of use to the community. Do you use macros in your music/sound production? If the answer is yes, then this article isn’t for you. Given January's theme is all about time management, I feel … [Read more...]
In Memory of Brad Fuller
Earlier this month, the game audio community lost Brad Fuller, a man who was both a pioneer and an inspiration. We reached out to some who knew him to share their thoughts and memories of Brad, and to celebrate his life and contributions to our community. From Don Diekneite: "Brad Fuller, 62, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He passed away after a year-long battle with … [Read more...]
Bellingham Audio in Games Event (BAIGE)
Community spotlight on: the Pacific Northwest, a uniquely concentrated locus of game audio talent goings-on. Every month, Vancouver and Seattle both host up an in- to semi-formal gathering for like-minded designers and composers, usually alternating developer showcases and bar crawls. Lots of cities do these, but it seems like these ours are particularly … [Read more...]
News: Steve Green & Giant Squid Studios – Audio Narratives
As sound designers, our jobs usually entail creating a vivid sonic world to accompany a narrative. But often, the nature of the worlds we are creating presents some unique challenges; there's no doubt this was the case on ABZÛ, an upcoming underwater exploration game from Giant Squid Studios. In a recent blog post, Giant Squid's sound designer Steve Green delves into their … [Read more...]
News: How to Create Horror Sound Effects
In an appropriately seasonal blog post over at A Sound Effect, Asbjoern speaks to Saro Sahihi of SoundBits, a boutique SFX library and sound design company. Saro, who has released some excellent gore SFX libraries, goes in-depth on how to achieve some truly squishy, wrenching, and disgusting gore sounds for all your horror needs. He even touches on some other horror mainstays, … [Read more...]
News: Behind the Scenes with Plants vs. Zombies 2 Neon Mixtape Tour
Considering the newest Plants vs. Zombies 2 release has the word "mixtape" in the name, there was never any doubt that music would play a big role in the game's experience. And as anyone who closely follows PopCap Games and their audio obsession, they're not a company that does something halfway when it comes to sound or music. That's why its a real treat that PvZ2 Neon Mixtape … [Read more...]
Thoughts on Limitations in Game Audio
Rob Bridgett is an audio director at Eidos-Montréal. Leonard Paul is the president of the School of Video Game Audio. Images courtesy of Rob Bridgett & Leonard Paul Nine years ago, we collaborated on an article on the idea of limitations for Gamasutra and wanted to see where our thoughts would take us. This time around, rather than produce another article, this … [Read more...]