Creative Game Sound Production (2024)
About the series (13, 20, and 27 of January 2024)
Over the course of three lectures, Rob will guide us through some of the iterative and collaborative approaches for creating sound in video games. Using linear sound production as a touchstone, the series begins with A Game Development Primer for the creative work of sound, followed by Ludic Sound, a deep dive into understanding a design approach that accounts for the presence of a player. The final lecture in the series, Leading with Sound, focuses on the uncertainty, ambiguity and opportunities for sound work in the extremely dynamic conceptual and early production phases of game development.
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A Game Development Primer
Saturday, 13 January 2024 – 5:00pm – 7:00 pm GMT (London)
A Game Development Primer – Creative, Collaborative & Technical Forces
Exploring the notion of game software ‘development’, as opposed to film ‘production’ exposes some fundamental differences in the operation of sound within the process of getting ideas on screen. (Concepts Covered: Software, Iteration, L-Levels, 33% Balance, T-Shaped Sound Designers, Creative Life-Cycles)
51 minutes.
Ludic Sound
Saturday, 20 January 2024 – 5:00pm – 7:00 pm GMT (London)
Ludic Sound – Information in an Emotional Wrapper
The presence of an active ‘player’ in the on-screen experience of video games adds additional complexity to decision-making within sound mixing and design. Using the Triangle of Sound, we will explore the dynamic process of asking questions to find ‘what is the most important thing’ within game sound design, giving especial time and focus to mixing decisions. (Concepts: Game Genres, Mixing, Layered Design, Direction)
46 minutes.
Leading with Sound
Saturday, 27th January, 2024. 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm GMT (London)
Leading with Sound – Migration from the Safety of Post-Production into the Uncertainty of Early-Production
Of the many differences between game development and film production, the presence of sound personnel as full-time employees on game teams from day-one presents clues and opportunities as to how involved in the creative process sound, dialogue, music and mix designers can be. In this final lecture, the work that is imperative in conceptual and pre-production phases is explored as well as the importance of ‘principles’ of sound. (Concepts: Leadership, The Invisible Work of Sound, Creative Alignment, Guiding Principles, Comfort with Ambiguity)
45 minutes.