This year's featured keynote speaker will be Marty O'Donnell, creator of perhaps the most iconic game soundtrack of the recent era with his work on HALO. O'Donnell, formerly audio director at Bungie, now with his own studio, will talk about stimulating creativity, the video game business, and what it was like to collaborate with Sir Paul McCartney on the upcoming game Destiny.
Other speakers at GameSoundCon 2014 include Guy Whitmore, PopCap Games, and Paul Lipson, 343 Industries, and more than two dozen other composers and sound designers whose resumes include Grammy nominations and AAA titles. Guy Whitmore will discuss the state of the art in real-world interactive music for games and how he has incorporated these techniques into his current workflow. Paul Lipson will explain the interaction between what’s technically possible and the composer’s vision for the game, through the planning, recording and production phases.
“The video game industry has been changing rapidly,” says Brian Schmidt, Executive Director of GameSoundCon. “New consoles have been launched, casual and social games have exploded onto the scene. We’ve put together speakers and sessions this year that reflect the changing challenges of working in videogames for both aspiring and professional composers and sound designers. GameSoundCon continues to be the premier audio event for people who want to understand the creative, technical and business challenges of working in sound for games.”
GameSoundCon comprises four concurrent session tracks. Game Audio Essentials features presentations and panels on essential topics in game audio, specifically designed for professional composers and sound designers who want to expand into games. Game Audio Pro features talks and roundtables for seasoned game audio professionals, while separate sessions providing Hands-on FMOD Studio training and Hands-on WWise training allow attendees to bring their laptops and receive training on creating interactive music and sound effects using the industry’s leading game audio design tools.
Composing music for video games is more than just uploading wave files to an FTP site. Video game sound design requires more than great Pro Tools chops. GameSoundCon teaches the core concepts, practical skills and game audio training to get a music or sound design job in the video game industry.
Focusing on writing music for video games with specialized tools, techniques and creative solutions, Game Audio Pro will feature hands-on workshops in the Latest Game Audio Design Tools for the experienced game audio professionals. Highlights for 2014 include FMOD Studio Training, where FMOD expert Stephan Schutze presents hands-on tutorials on how to use all new FMOD Studio to create interactive sound effects and game music.
The Audiokinetic Wwise Training sessions will lead participants through the process of taking a completely silent game and adding sound to it. Additional Wwise sessions will cover dynamic mixing techniques, a case study on Limbo and an in-depth look at the Interactive Music Platform from the composer's perspective
Other panels and session topics include:
• How to Write and Implement a Video Game Score
• How Creating Music and Sound for Games Differs from Traditional Media
• Essential Game Audio Tech
• Game Music and Sound Design Tools
• Integrating Audio Using Game Engines Such as UDK and Unity
• Navigating the Video Game Music Business
“Now in its fifth year and tenth event, GameSoundCon has established itself as the preeminent event in the audio industry,” Brian Schmidt, founder and executive director, SoundCon, explains. “Whether you are interested in getting in the game space or have been in the game industry for years, GameSoundCon 2014 speakers will provide actionable insights you can use to advance your career.”
Registration is now open through the GameSoundCon website.
www.gamesoundcon.com
