In the run-up to this month's reverb theme, former contributor Damian Kastbauer suggested we re-run this article he put together discussing the game Crackdown for XBOX. The article may be two years old, but the content remains undeniably relevant. Never one to ignore good suggestions, here we are... One area that has been gaining ground since the early days of EAX on the PC … [Read more...]
Ariel Gross Interview
This is an interview with our guest poster for November - Ariel Gross, Audio Director of game development studio Volition Inc, which produces such PC and console titles as the Saint's Row and Red Faction series. Check out Ariel's introduction post, and his blog 'I Feel Like a Fraud and So Can You!' Can you tell us a little about how you got into audio, and your audio career … [Read more...]
Room Tone = Emotional Tone: The Importance of Hearing Ambience
am·bi·ence noun /ˈambēəns/ ambiances, plural; ambiences, plural The character and atmosphere of a place - the relaxed ambience of the cocktail lounge is popular with guests Background noise added to a musical recording to give the impression that it was recorded live Wherever you may be reading this article, stop whatever you are doing, and … [Read more...]
Interview with Leonard J. Paul, of the School of Video Game Audio
With the rise in popularity of sound design, and game audio as a career choice among audio engineers, there is a growing call for formal training and education courses that will prepare prospective professionals accordingly. Last week, I posted this open call for students to enrol in the School of Video Game Audio. The co-founder of the School, Leonard J. Paul, has been kind … [Read more...]
School of Video Game Audio Now Open
The first online school for learning how to create professional audio for video games has just announced that it is accepting applications for its first course from July to August 2012. The application deadline of Friday June 29, 2012 is rapidly approaching and is limited to ten students, so make sure to have a look at the details on their application page … [Read more...]
Develop Audio Special Roundup
UK games industry website Develop-Online has posted a series of special articles and interviews with various members of the audio production community on game audio. This Audio Special discusses a broad range of subjects such as voice production and localisation, audio implementation, generative audio, sound libraries and the importance of setting and maintaining standards … [Read more...]
Max Payne vs. Mazda, and the Sounds of Violence
IGN have posted an article on game audio, focusing discussion on Max Payne 3 and Forza Motorsport 4. Various members of Rockstar's audio teams are interviewed ( Nick Warseck, audio lead at Rockstar New England and Steve Donohoe, lead audio designer at Rockstar Toronto ) , along with Nick Wiswell and Adam Wilson of Turn 10. An excerpt of the article is below Max … [Read more...]