Audio Source Magazine Fall 2021 Indie Edition

Page 1

THE

AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE

INDIE EDITION FEATURING

STEVE GREEN DARREN KORB PENKA KOUNEVA WLAD MARHULETS JOHN ROBERT MATZ AUSTIN WINTORY THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE // FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04

Proudly supporting the game audio industry since 2002 audiogang.org

Image from The Pathless


CONTENTS FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04 04 CONTRIBUTORS 07 LETTER FROM LEADERSHIP Sabrina Hutchinson, Vice President of the Game Audio Network Guild, addresses the organization and community.

12

08 WHAT’S THE BUZZ 09 UPCOMING EVENTS IN GAME AUDIO From expos and conferences to G.A.N.G. webinars, we got you covered with some exciting upcoming events.

CONNECTING WITH MYTHGARD COMPOSER: JOHN ROBERT MATZ John Robert Matz reflects on Mythgard and speaks about his approach to the game, the industry, and sharing advice for composers trying to make their mark.

20

COMPOSING FOR GAMES, TV, SPACE AND MORE! Penka Kouneva reflects on the evolution of her career as a composer across a wide variety of amazing projects. 2


30

A CONVERSATION WITH AUDIO LEAD STEVE GREEN FROM GIANT SQUID STUDIOS AND COMPOSER AUSTIN WINTORY

38 GOLD SPONSOR: GAMESOUNDCON 39 GANG AUDIO NETWORK GUILD: DEMO DERBIES

24

CATCHING UP WITH HADES AUDIO DIRECTOR DARREN KORB Hear Darren Korb’s thoughts and learn more about the development process for Hades!

43 BRONZE SPONSOR: MY NAME IS LAMPS 44 OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS 46 AUDIO OF THE YEAR HALL OF FAME 48 SAVE THE DATE: 20TH ANNUAL G.A.N.G. AWARDS

40

AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT INDIE GAMES WITH WLAD MARHULETS FROM UNFOLD GAMES Get a peak inside the development of DARQ, the Unfold Games Awards and hear Wlad Marhulet’s perspective on indie games. 3


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

CONTRIBUTORS CONTRIBUTORS: THE AUDIO SOURCE EDITOR IN CHIEF Savina Ciaramella

EXECUTIVE EDITORS Sabrina Hutchinson Liza Rivera Salta Brian Schmidt

ASSISTANT EDITORS Gabriella Ciaramella Nicole Yazmin

DESIGN

Nicole Yazmin

CONTRIBUTORS Steve Green Darren Korb Penka Kouvena Wlad Marhulets John Robert Matz Austin Wintory

PROOFREADERS Jared Le Doux Kara Ford Tia Maxfield Elizabeth Paich Jack Weiss

4

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

OFFICERS President

Vice President

Executive Director

Treasurer

Brian Schmidt

Sabrina Hutchinson

Savina Ciaramella

Liza Rivera Salta

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Becky Allen

Sabrina Hutchinson

Paul Lipson

Anastasia Devana

Leslie Ann Jones

Shannon Potter

Scott Gershin

Sally-anne Kellaway

Wilbert Roget, II

Jason Hayes

Phil Kovats

Brian Schmidt

Scott Selfon Guy Whitmore

ADVISORY BOARD Andrew Lipian

Jesse Harlin

Nassim Ait-Kaci

Sean Zhao

Austin Wintory

Ken Jacobsen

Penka Kouneva

Shiloh Hobel

Bonnie Bogovich

Kole Hicks

Elvira Bjorkman

Sean Beeson

Channel Chen

Lennie Moore

Richard Jacques

Dren McDonald

Marty O’Donnell

Richard Savery

Max Davidoff-Grey

STAFF Events Producer

Communications Manager

Assistant Communications Manager

Lucas Fehring

Gabriella Ciaramella

Nicole Yazmin

Scholars Alumni Committee Co-Chair

Scholars Alumni Committee Co-Chair

Phillip Klassen

Jared Le Doux

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

5


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

NETWORKING. EDUCATION. ADVOCACY. RECOGNITION.

THE GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD WAS FORMED IN 2002 BY DRIVEN INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS WITH A VISION TO ASSIST THOSE IN THE GAME AUDIO INDUSTRY TO SHARE, CONTINUALLY IMPROVE, AND EVOLVE THEIR CRAFT. AUDIOGANG.ORG

6

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

LETTER FROM THE LEADERSHIP TEAM BY SABRINA HUTCHINSON VICE PRESIDENT Hello Audio Source readers, I hope this finds you very well. It was a privilege to have been elected Vice President of the Game Audio Network Guild in July. I’m honored to be a part of an organization that does so much for the game audio industry, and to have the opportunity to dedicate my efforts toward the organization’s four pillars of networking, advocacy, education, and recognition. 2021 has been another year of profound change for many of us. Some of us have suffered unthinkable losses, others have experienced crushing disappointments and sustained worry and fear. Despite all that has happened, it has been humbling to witness the strength and fortitude of friends and colleagues, whether that was in the form of personal sacrifices approached with a positive spirit and outlook, or those who took action to get additional support during these difficult times. These moments and conversations have given me great inspiration and encouragement. Similarly, I want to express my deep gratitude toward the organizations that support and make up our industry. Their continued efforts in recognizing excellence in music and sound have helped lift our hearts and minds throughout the pandemic. Celebrations are important. Recognition is important. Continuity is important. Community is important. And perhaps never more so than in the past 18 months. To those of you who have re-imagined our industry’s award shows and envisioned new ways to create connection in the midst of this global pandemic, your efforts are truly appreciated. This issue of Audio Source Magazine focuses on indie games and game creators, from nominees and winners at this year’s G.A.N.G. Awards to others who for decades have helped drive our industry forward. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare said, “Though she be but little, she is fierce,” a good reminder that greatness doesn’t

always depend on the budget behind a game. With recognition being one of the four pillars of the Game Audio Network Guild, it is our constant mission to recognize the greatness in our industry, and we hope the conversations and interviews in this issue inspire our readers as they have inspired us.

at GDC March 24th, 2022. It will be tremendous to be back together with everyone at San Francisco’s Moscone Center again. The call for entries will be out in the coming weeks and we look forward to the opportunity to once again recognize excellence in game audio.

As 2021 winds down, we’re looking ahead with hope. We’ve begun early planning of the 20th annual G.A.N.G. Awards, which will be hosted in person

Until then, I wish you all the best. — SABRINA HUTCHINSON

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

7


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

WHAT’S THE BUZZ

WEBINAR MANIA We have had some incredibly informative, inspiring, and engaging webinars over the last several months!

developed during the pandemic. The panelists also fielded several questions from the audience, ranging from how to approach audio to the future of mixing and recording.

We had a webinar featuring the incredible duo behind the music of Metamorphosis – Mikolai Stroinski and Garry Schyman. This webinar featured an engaging discussion between the two composers. It was fascinating to hear the two discuss working in different time zones, balancing styles, and creating a cohesive sound for the game.

Finally, we had an exhilarating webinar with Tom Salta on the music of Deathloop.

We also hosted a webinar with Paul Leonard Morgan on the differences between scoring games and films. Paul brought to the table informative industry experiences on projects that he has worked on, including Cyberpunk 2077, Limitless, The Grand Tour, and Tales from the Loop. Paul even brought participants on a studio tour, discussing everything from workflow and collaboration to making the final product.

All of these webinars helped to provide rich educational growth opportunities to connect and uplift our community. Be on the lookout for upcoming webinars and events! EVENTS IN SIGHT In November, we have two exciting events planned. First up are the Game Audio Network Guild Demo Derbies! On November 8th, join us virtually at GameSoundCon as

we review some fantastic submissions. At the end of the month, on November 20th, be sure to stop by our webinar with Candy Emberley and Ryan Humphrey! The two will be discussing key concepts and practices in music preparation. Further down the line, be on the lookout for more events, including Game Audio Implementation with Guy Whitmore from Formosa Interactive. Have an idea for a great webinar or other online events you would like to see? Let us know on our socials (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), or send an email to events@audiogang.org! Looking forward to seeing you all at future events soon!

Additionally, we had our webinar on Recording and Mixing during the pandemic with John Kurlander, Leslie Ann Jones, and Frank Wolf. Lucas Fehring, the moderator, guided a rich conversation about how workflows have shifted and 8

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

UPCOMING EVENTS

6 NOV: INDIE LIVE EXPO WINTER 2021 INDIE Live Expo 2021, the digital showcase connecting indie game fans and devs worldwide, which has highlighted more than 800 new indie titles and gained more than 29 million views across three shows, returns later this year with INDIE Live Expo Winter 2021, alongside the INDIE Live Expo Awards show.

15 - 17 NOV: PG CONNECTS DIGITAL NEXT 2021 From Monday, November 15 to Wednesday, November 17, Pocket Gamer Connects will open their virtual doors once again for more talks, panels, careers, networking, indie pitches and more! This time, they’re focusing on the future, and on the potential of new markets, technologies and opportunities around the world.

18 - 19 NOV:

BEYOND GAMES 2021 NOVEMBER

8 - 10 NOV: GAMESOUNDCON GameSoundCon the game music, sound design and virtual reality audio conference normally held annually in Los Angeles, is online for 2021. The largest professional conference on game music and sound design features sessions and panels on the creative, technical and business issues of working on video game music and sound design. Additional sessions cover cuttingedge research, Virtual Reality audio and dialogue. Register now! https://www.gamesoundcon.com

Join over 1200 attendees and 50+ speakers for an all-new conference at the frontier of the interactive entertainment space. Meet professionals from across the creative industries for a week of knowledge-sharing and networking. Make new contacts using our trusted online meeting platform, and select from a schedule of expert video content, curated by the makers of the world-famous Pocket Gamer Connects series of events.

20 NOV 11AM PST: COMPOSER PRESS PRESENTS KEY CONCEPTS OF MUSIC PREPARATION Join us for this Game Audio Network Guild webinar with Candy Emberley and Ryan Humphrey! Many composers lose valuable time and money in recording sessions by not effectively communicating through their scores. By following best practices in music preparation, composers and musicians will spend less time on misunderstandings and more time creating. Covering everything from midi cleanup to the printed page, this webinar will help you create sheet music with greater clarity.

1 DEC - 3 DEC: INDIEGAMEBUSINESS 2021 Ready for 3 days of online meetings with game professionals from all over the world and free lectures as well?

26 - 28 NOV: INDIE GAME FEST 2021 Created in 2019, the Indie Game Fest is a curated, annual event that is held in Cologne, Germany. Indie Game Fest wants to help create visibility and opportunities for gamers, indie studios, publishers, business associates, and more to be able to meet and present themselves and their work.

Join INDIEGAMEBUSINESS for their eighth event featuring a wide variety of business, marketing, and licensing sessions for the first time. Tickets to participate in all sessions are completely free. In addition to the lectures, meet with hundreds of industry leaders. Representatives from developers, publishers, investors, marketing firms and more will be available for meetings.

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

9


CELEBRATING GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

10

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


INDIES

T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

11


CONNECTING WITH

JOHN ROBERT MATZ

12


Z

13


CONNECTING WITH MYTHGARD COMPOSER JOHN ROBERT MATZ Best known for his work on video game scores as diverse as the BAFTA-nominated Gunpoint, Artemis: Spaceship Bridge Simulator, For The King, and the award-winning Fossil Echo, John Robert Matz is a Chicago-based composer, arranger, multi-

instrumentalist, and music educator. Classically trained, he graduated with honors from Elmhurst College, majoring in music education, with an emphasis on brass and vocal performance. As a composer, he has incorporated his multidisciplinary musical training throughout his works, performing a variety of wind, brass, string and percussive instruments in his game and film scores, and using his knowledge to stretch instrumental timbres and find new sounds. John Robert is a member of ASCAP, the Game Audio Network Guild, and the video game brass quintet The Game Brass, and has recently been honored with a nomination for Best Video Game Score for the ASCAP Screen Awards, and in the 2017 G.A.N.G. Awards, winning Best Interactive Score for his work on Fossil Echo, and being named G.A.N.G.’s Rookie of the Year for 2017. In his spare time, he enjoys worrying about his Steam backlog, reading good books, and removing cats from his MIDI controllers. Apart from Mythgard and the recently released Ambition: A Minuet in Power, he is currently working on the second game from the Fossil Echo team, Tchia.

FROM ROOKIE TO MVP G.A.N.G. Staff (GS): Congratulations on winning the 19th Annual G.A.N.G. Award for Best Original Soundtrack Album for Mythgard. What were some of the highlights working on this project? JOHN: Thank you! It’s a tremendous honor. The nominees this year were outstanding, and I’m still a bit in shock that we took the award. Highlights for me, honestly, are a bit predictable – that feeling when you get to see your music working in context is always near the top. We built a custom interactive music solution that functioned platform-agnostically – running within Unity, functioning on Mac/PC but also on browser and mobile – and finally getting those transitions, triggers, and loops working properly was a wonderful feeling. GS: Can you tell us about your process pursuing this project? Did you provide a custom reel or was it less formal? JOHN: I’ve worked with A Shell in the Pit Audio on several projects in the past, and when they began working on this project, Gordon McGladdery, their studio head, reached out to me. I put together a playlist of cues I’d written previously that I felt were in the ballpark, and he passed it along to the team, along with some descriptions of how I’d approach the unique world of Mythgard. They loved it, and I was on board. GS: Your use of unique sound design and textures, combined with traditional instruments such as piano, made for a very interesting and compelling score. How did you approach designing the musical palette for Mythgard? 14

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE JOHN: Thank you! Mythgard was a unique setting, and, as such, I felt that the instrumentation needed to reflect that. The world is a fusion of mythology and cyberpunk-styled alt-futurism, so I arrived at a textural palette that featured equal parts of Orff-esque large orchestral colors, old-school analogue synths, and an array of more… mystical sounds. We didn’t have the budget for live players outside of my own in-studio capabilities, so I leaned on things that I could do well and make sound good, like recording my own live brass section (horns, trumpets), coming up with unique sounds with analogue synths, and running an array of flutes, reeds, and ethnic woodwinds (duduk, bass clarinet, celtic whistles) through strange batteries of effects and guitar pedals.

GS: What was the collaboration process with the audio team at Rhino Games? Did you meet on a regular basis? How much creative freedom did you have? JOHN: I worked pretty closely with our story team, especially when scoring all of the cutscenes, but really, Rhino is a small company, and pretty much

“IT WAS A VERY FREE, CREATIVE PROCESS, WITH A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY IN APPROACH.”

everything happened on Slack, with me posting works-in-progress and receiving feedback and new material to work with. It was a very free, creative process, with a lot of flexibility in approach. Honestly, the things that were the most formal in structure, with meetings and revisions and such, were our promotional trailers. Everything else was quite freeform. GS: As a composer, you spend a lot of time working in solitude. How do you balance work with your social life? JOHN: *Laughs nervously* Next question, please? In all seriousness, it’s a hard thing to balance, and I’m not particularly good at

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

15


it. I really do lean on social media, talk to folks regularly on Teams and friends on Discord, and carve out time for weekly D&D sessions over video chat. Especially over the last few years, making time to just … say a few nice things to a friend, or check in with someone you care about, has become all the more important. GS: What are some of your favorite genres of games to score and why? JOHN: Oh, this is a hard one. I admit, I do very much enjoy writing things in fantasy worlds, and leaning into magic and beauty, violence, and drama in equal measure is quite fun. That said, I really do enjoy getting to write things that trend more on the mystical, spiritual, relaxed side. Fossil Echo was a joy to write, and Awaceb’s next game allows me to live in that space a bit

“THE BEST BIT OF ADVICE I CAN THINK TO GIVE IS THIS: MAKE FRIENDS” as well. Honestly, I enjoy all sorts of genres, and while I know that’s a bit of a cop-out answer, I appreciate the kaleidoscope of styles, genres, and worlds I’ve gotten to score in my career. GS: What kind of advice do you have for composers trying to make their mark in this industry? JOHN: It’s a tricky thing, working in game audio. Every single person I know who’s “made it” (and I hesitate to count myself in that number just yet) has taken a different path to get there. Sometimes radically different, sometimes flukes of luck, wonderful opportunities, right-placeright-time stuff - things that are not always easy to recreate. Obviously, you should work on your craft, become adept at writing and producing music in a variety of styles, find your own personal compositional voice, build a website, have a demo reel – those are all excellent things to build towards, work on, and Joanna Freschel 16

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

strive for, but the best bit of advice I can think to give is this: Make friends. Not just friends amongst the game developer world, and not just people who seem like they might have jobs for you, but make friends amongst your own colleagues, your peers. “Networking” may be the buzzword of choice, but don’t go into it looking for what people can do for you. Go into it looking to meet new friends and learn things from them. The game

audio community is a weirdly welcoming, encouraging place, and getting to know the people in it as comrades and colleagues instead of, say, rivals, has helped me make more career inroads than anything else. Plus, you know, I’ve made several dear, dear friends in the process. GS: Thank you for giving us the opportunity to talk with you. JOHN: My pleasure!

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

17


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

18

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

19


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

COMPOSING FOR GAMES, TV, SPACE AND BEYOND! A DISCUSSION WITH PENKA KOUNEVA Penka Kouneva is a Hollywood composer whose music has been called “fantastic” (Billboard) and “breathtaking” (NPR). Her credits include Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands and League of Legends, a Harry Potter VR immersive experience, a $30M multimedia exhibit Heroes and Legends at the Kennedy Space Center, numerous mobile games including Rollers of the Realm (Phantom Compass), Cookie Jam 2 (Jam City), ElemenTerra VR game (Freeform Labs) and Mayhem (Chobolabs); and the CW episodic TV series Pandora co-scored with Joe Kraemer. Penka’s film scores include the features Devil’s Whisper, Encounter (Sony Pictures), Aga (the 2020 Oscar contender in Foreign Languages) and the award-winning documentary Zero Gravity. Penka’s composer awards include: Sundance Fellowship, Distinguished Duke Alumna, and the Recognition Award from Game Audio Network Guild. In 2019 Penka was commissioned by Los Angeles Philharmonic for the concert America In Space at the Hollywood Bowl and in January 2020, Penka scored Olay’s Super Bowl TV commercial campaign “Make Space For Women.” G.A.N.G. Staff (GS): You’ve worked on many projects over the years from indie games to AAA games. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what led you to a career creating audio content for games? PENKA: I arrived in Los Angeles in 2000 driven by a passion to work on visual media and to tell stories. My background is classical and eclectic, which opened the biggest door – orchestrating for Steve Jablonsky. In 2008, he gave me a break scoring video games by plugging me to co-compose Transformers and Prince of Persia. GS: You got your start in the game industry as an orchestrator for Steve Jablonsky on the Gears of War franchise. Please share how your career has evolved since then? PENKA: From that point on, I immersed myself in gameplay, and also in composing, learning, orchestrating, and meeting game developers. Friends 20

hired me to score their mobile and PC games. VR is an exciting field and I started scoring immersive VR experiences. My biggest jobs in that field are a NASA theme park Heroes and Legends, and more recently, a Harry Potter immersive experience (which I co-composed with Reuven Herman during the lockdown). My artist album The Woman Astronaut

inspired various creative people to hire me (Joe Kraemer invited me to co-score Pandora, a SciFi episodic series on the CW network; director Paul Salamoff invited me to score his SciFi drama feature film Encounter that Sony released). Through my leadership and friendships in the game biz I scored four mobile games with a studio in Seattle


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

– Meow Match, Survival Z, Aqua Blast and DragonStrike. These were stylistically diverse, fun and musically inspiring collaborations. Two of these games happened in year 2020; they have a special place in my heart for helping me survive 2020. In the 2010’s friends whom I met at GDC or at various international game conferences hired me to score iOS games (Rollers of the Realm, etc) GS: What are some of the positive changes you’ve seen in the game industry over the past 15 years? PENKA: More diverse stories and genres, amazing immersive experiences, stunning masterful music. I’m honored to orchestrate for Neal Acree and Adam Burgess on a few Blizzard franchises. To my ears and soul, these massive scores are modern music at its very best. I’ve also witnessed genuine efforts to seek out and champion diverse voices, and in that regard Brian Schmidt’s sustained and proactive efforts (via the GANG scholarships, Game Sound Con and more) are unparalleled. But let me also speak about the one aspect that is everlasting. In all creative industries, having a community of friends is the only way we get referred to meaningful scoring jobs that propel us upwards. I’ve been cultivating relationships proactively and generously for two decades; recently I’ve been seeing the fruits of my efforts. Every job that pushed me forward (and also had a solid budget) had come to me via referrals - via my community of friends and supporters. GS: You produced a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, then scored your first season of Pandora for The CW Network last year, and you also have scored a multimedia exhibit about the American astronauts at the Kennedy Space Center. Did you seek out these diverse projects intentionally, or did it happen organically?

“In all creative industries, having a community of friends is the only way we get referred to meaningful scoring jobs that propel us forward” GS: You’re very involved in the industry as a board member of GDC and an advisory board member of G.A.N.G. You also make time to mentor others. How do you balance your service to our industry with your demanding work schedule? PENKA: I am an immigrant from Bulgaria who came to the US 31 years ago with 150 bucks in my pocket and no relatives. Many people opened life-changing doors for me – my Duke University mentor composer Stephen Jaffe, orchestrator Bruce Fowler, Steve Jablonsky, my brilliant mentor and manager Victor Rodriguez. It’s a sacred duty and honor to give back to the community that has lifted me and supported me so generously. Over the years, I’ve collected tons of resources, handouts, blogs which I generously share, but my most important message is to encourage young composers to pursue their dreams. GS: What’s next for you? PENKA: A big unannounced title in the spring of 2022. Recently, a feature documentary Zero Gravity got awards and festival buzz – the soundtrack will be coming out soon. If you a Grammy voter, please consider Amy Andersson’s WOMEN WARRIORS in “Classical Compendium” – I have 7 tracks on it. And I’m always visualizing receiving new scoring projects! GS: It’s been a pleasure talking with you, and we appreciate all of your contributions to our community!

PENKA: Becoming a game composer was the most important pursuit – not only I became a better composer, but I also connected with great people. Scoring the NASA exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center came from my friendship with a game audio colleague, Jesse James Allen who referred me for consideration. The idea of a concert celebrating the astronauts with excerpts from Hollywood space movies came to my mind after I co-produced a sold-out orchestral concert of video game music in my hometown, Sofia, Bulgaria. The concert celebrated orchestral video game scores as the heirs of the classical symphonic tradition. Later, composer Joe Kraemer invited me to co-score Pandora because he had heard my orchestral album The Woman Astronaut. Yes, in our biz everything happens very organically. Like a flower growing in a garden that you have cultivated and watered for decades.

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

21


THE

LEADING ORGANIZATION IN

GAME AUDIO JOIN US. www.audiogang.org 22


RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOT A MEMBER?

JOIN TODAY. Supporting the game music and sound community since 2002

23


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

CATCHING UP WITH HADES AUDIO DIRECTOR DARREN KORB 24

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

25


CATCHING UP WITH HADES AUDIO DIRECTOR

DARREN KORB

G.A.N.G. Staff (GS): Supergiant Games swept the G.A.N.G. Awards this year in the Indie category for Hades, including award wins for Best Audio for an Indie Game, Best Sound Design for an Indie Game, and Best Dialogue for an Indie Game. Congratulations! What were some of the factors that contributed to the great success of Hades? DARREN: Thank you!! It’s been pretty surreal to see the incredible response to Hades. I think the fact that this is a game people can really lose themselves in, and that there are so many interesting characters to connect with is something that seems to have resonated with people. Even though the setting and characters are fantastical, Zag’s struggle is relatable. Everyone can understand navigating complicated family relationships.

“EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND NAVIGATING COMPLICATED FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS”

Darren Korb is the award-winning composer and musician behind the scores for Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades. As Audio Director at Supergiant Games, Darren is responsible for all of the music, sound effects, and voiceover recording at the studio. He also voices Zagreus and Skelly in Supergiant’s latest game, Hades.

26

GS: You contributed a tremendous amount of your own talent to the audio for Hades, including voiceover for multiple characters, original music, and sound effects. In what order did you tackle the audio and why? DARREN: I tend to start with the music for a project. This aspect really helps me explore the tone of the game we are making, and figure out what the textures of the world are

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

going to be. Once I have an idea of that aspect, the sound design falls into place much more naturally. That being said, each aspect of the audio is developed over the course of the project. I’ll work a bit on music, then VO, then SFX, and round and round over the course of the entire project. GS: With so many demands, how were you able to manage all of the audio asset requirements and scheduling, while also contributing creatively? Can you tell us about your creative and organizational process, including systems and platforms? DARREN: After an initial experimental phase during pre-production, once we moved properly into production, I had a fairly regular cadence of a music piece or two every month, along with VO sessions and some SFX work. I was mainly focused on small internal milestones, and tried not to worry too much about overall work scope, since that didn’t really even become clear until much later in the project. It’s mostly about answering the question “What does the game need most urgently?” over and over again until... it doesn’t need anything urgently, I suppose! I really like bouncing between different disciplines. I find it creatively

“IT’S MOSTLY ABOUT ANSWERING THE QUESTION ‘WHAT DOES THE GAME NEED MOST URGENTLY’ OVER AND OVER AGAIN” refreshing to do a bit of music, then SFX, then VO, and by the time I get back to music again, I’m excited to get back to work on it. This helps me stay productive, since I can use other types of work as “breaks” sometimes. I have my work organized in Basecamp tasks. I’ll try to mix in big tasks that take weeks with some smaller, easy-to-check-off tasks to help me feel like I’m accomplishing things. GS: Where did you get your musical inspiration for Hades? Was it from storyboards, the story itself, or any other visuals? DARREN: At the beginning of a project, I’m usually developing the musical style concurrently with many of the other aspects of the game, so much of that initial experimentation comes from high level ideas about the tone and setting. For Hades, I looked to various mediterranean instruments to help me establish some Greek vibes, and the underworld setting led me directly to metal (because it comes from hell, obviously), and to express some of the quirk and lightness of the game’s tone, I pulled in a theremin-like sound for a bit of “Halloween music” vibes. GS: Ashley Barrett has been a long time collaborator of yours. Can you talk about the partnership and why she was a great choice for this project?

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

27


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD DARREN: Ashley and I grew up doing musical theater at the same place in San Jose, though we met much later through mutual friends when I needed a demo singer for a project I was working on, and she was recommended to me. She kicked butt on that, so when I was writing “Build That Wall” for Bastion, her voice immediately came to mind. We’ve been working together since! I find her voice to have a really special texture to it, and we’ve been doing this long enough now that I feel like I can write specifically for her voice. GS: What were some of the challenges you and your team faced on this project? DARREN: Releasing Hades into Early Access was certainly a new thing for us. It was totally essential to the game turning out how it did, but was really challenging too! The cadence of constant updates could be pretty intense. It certainly kept us honest. We had a few weeks at the beginning of each cycle, after the previous update had been released, where we could break everything and add new features, and then we had to put it all back together and make sure it was as bug-free as possible, polish it up and kick it out the door. Oh, there was also a global pandemic that happened six months before the end of the project... GS: Were there any unexpected wins? DARREN: I think we were all pleasantly surprised by how well Early Access worked in helping us tune Hades, and lean into the stuff that was working the best, and shy away from things that maybe weren’t working as well. GS: You and Ashley gave at least a few live (virtual) performances of the music of Hades this year, including the 19th G.A.N.G. Awards. Can you talk about what it’s been like to perform virtually and the response you’ve received? DARREN: The virtual performance thing is weird! Since Ashley and I were doing them together, I’d record my instrument parts

28

and vocals, then I’d pass that over to Ashley and she’d record her parts, then I’d stitch them together. It was fun to work on, and to be able to get an opportunity to perform in any capacity, even if it wasn’t “live” exactly. The response has been very kind! GS: 2021 has been another challenging year for everyone. On a more personal note, what have you done to stay healthy, connected, and inspired? DARREN: I decided I should probably...do exercise? I ended up getting a Peloton, so I’ve been trying to do that on a regular basis, walk the dogs, etc. I’m always playing a bunch of games, watching movies/shows, and listening to new music. I think that

“I THINK WE WERE ALL PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY HOW WELL EARLY ACCESS WORKED IN HELPING US TUNE HADES” stuff really helps me understand my creative preoccupations, which tend to manifest themselves as inspiration for me. I’ve also been working on an album with a garage rock band I have with a couple friends, so that’s been fun! GS: We’ve heard you’re quite a foodie. What are your top three restaurant recommendations in the Bay Area? DARREN: Oh gosh, that’s tough. I really dig this place called

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

Ajanta in Berkeley. Really awesome Indian food. There’s a place in Hayes Valley in SF that closed during the pandemic, sadly, called Mazzat, which had incredible Lebanese food. I really love this place near UC Berkeley called Urbann Turbann, where they’ll essentially make an Indian burrito that’s wrapped in a thin naan bread, and consistently blows my mind. GS: Can you tell us what’s next for you? DARREN: Mostly figuring out what’s next for us over at Supergiant. I’m hoping to finish up that album with my band, Control Group, and release that before the end of the year! GS: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

29


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

30

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

A CONVERSATION WITH AUDIO LEAD STEVE GREEN FROM GIANT SQUID STUDIOS AND COMPOSER AUSTIN WINTORY

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

31


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

A COVERSATION WITH AUDIO LEAD STEVE GREEN FROM GIANT SQUID STUDIOS AND COMPOSER AUSTIN WINTORY Steve Green has six years of experience designing audio for award-winning titles such as What

Remains of Edith Finch, 12 Minutes, and ABZÛ. When he isn’t immersed

in audio, he’s playing video games, spoiling his two cats, or riding his motorcycle.

G.A.N.G. Staff (GS): The Pathless won Best Music for an Indie Game this year at the G.A.N.G. Awards, and the score proved to be another masterpiece composed by Austin Wintory (Journey, ABZÛ, Erica, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate). What is your approach for each new project with Austin, and what is it like working together? STEVE: Working with Austin is always interesting as I’ve never worked on two identical music systems for him yet. He finds new ways with each game to push my knowledge base and understandings of Wwise, or how music can work in a game. To be honest I’m grateful for this as I have very little musical understanding myself. I can’t compose myself out of a bag. So, to prepare myself for working with Austin, I tend to make as broad of strokes as possible in any music system I set up, and focus on the system after countless meetings and time spent reading his notes, documents, and meeting with the team in question. The Pathless, for example, utilized a “reduction” system wherein the more times a player heard a track, the more we would remove from the piece. After spending so long in a certain piece, it would have so many stems removed, it would feel like a new track. GS: Giant Squid Studios was founded by Matt Nava, the art director behind the award-winning games Flower and Journey. Can you tell us what your typical day is like working with Matt and the team? STEVE: Working with Matt has always been amazing. I couldn’t speak any more highly of him as he has a very

32

“THE PATHLESS, FOR EXAMPLE, UTILIZED A ‘REDUCTION’ SYSTEM WHEREIN THE MORE TIMES A PLAYER HEARD A TRACK, THE MORE WE WOULD REMOVE FROM THE PIECE” similar aesthetic to what I love in games. To me, it’s like minimalism with a purpose. Everything he makes has such a purpose behind it (Austin has a similar mindset, I feel like, as well). However, Matt has always embraced experimentation, and allowing audio to take the lead when it comes to decision making. With ABZÛ for example, we created a “radio drama” style to help figure out the feeling and flow of the cavern level. The Pathless had a few examples as well during the chase scenes where the music was partially timed or built to match the feelings of the chases. We even adjusted some flying moments to fit music feelings and durations. GS: You have a very impressive career history. You were enrolled in Michigan Technological University’s Visual and Performing Arts Department when you applied for a job at Giant Squid without knowing anyone there. As soon as you graduated, you hit the ground running on ABZÛ as the sound director. Have you had the opportunity to mentor any recent graduates interested in game audio? If so, would you tell us about the experience?

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

Giant Squid will continue to push the line in emotional works of art. Giant Squid is simply one of the most unique game developers out there. – STEVE GREEN

STEVE: As far as Michigan Tech goes, I’ve spoken to a number of students both as a group and on an individual basis. Either talking about the gaming industry as a whole and what I’ve learned and my experiences within have been like, but also teaching how to use Wwise. Generally I’m an open book when it comes to talking and sharing what I’ve learned in Wwise, Michigan Tech student or not, mainly because I’m an immense proponent of sharing knowledge. Sharing what we’ve learned only helps make games better. GS: You’ve worked on some very cool projects. How has your role evolved over time? Have you developed any new and unique skills since your first project? STEVE: I’ve been extremely lucky to have worked on what I have. For ABZÛ, I recall I was given the option of Fmod or Wwise. I had chosen Wwise because at the time I understood it’s musical workflow better than FMOD’s. Knowing I’d be working with Austin, I wanted to make sure I could do whatever he may have asked of me at the time. Apparently, I just so happened to have chosen a good combination as immediately after, I was brought onto What Remains of Edith Finch as the Lead Sound Designer. They were using Wwise and UE4 as well, making me a great fit for it. Since then the combination of Wwise and UE4 has been so prominent, and I had learned the pair so early on, I feel like I became fairly valuable. In an effort to not lose my edge, lately I’ve been attempting to dive more and more

into the technical side of things, as well as attempting to get my Fmod knowledge up to speed with my Wwise knowledge. I always want to be useful. I’ve always been willing to take on whatever skillset I need in order to make the rest of my team’s lives easier. GS: Giant Squid is certainly a cutting edge developer. You’ve had great success with new IPs, which is attractive to publishers. Can you tell us about your partnership with Annapurna Interactive? STEVE: I feel extremely lucky to have a great personal relationship with Annapurna. Edith Finch was one of Annapurna’s first shipped titles. The Giant Sparrow and Annapurna teams were so close to one another, they’d come visit us nearly every week. I got to know them very well in that time, and after Edith Finch shipped, many of the devs went to work, if not directly at Annapurna, then with other Annapurna published studios. It got to the point for me that Annapurna can reach out to me to help out with any of their projects that may need my support, advice, or playtesting. They take really good care of their studios and developers. I’ve been extremely lucky, in general, to have worked with developers and publishers who have taken care of me for that matter. GS: What’s on the horizon for Giant Squid? STEVE: Giant Squid will continue to push the line in emotional works of art. Giant Squid is simply one of the most unique game developers out there in my opinion.

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

A COVERSATION WITH AUDIO LEAD STEVE GREEN FROM GIANT SQUID STUDIOS AND COMPOSER AUSTIN WINTORY PART OF ‘CONVEYING THE VISION’ IS MAKING SURE THAT I CONSTANTLY CREATE MATERIAL THAT REFLECTS IT. I PREFER TO LET THE MUSIC DO THE TALKING INSTEAD OF SIMPLY TALKING ABOUT IT.

GS: You’ve been quoted as trying out many “novel ideas,” which makes for an interesting process with extraordinary results. How do you convey your vision effectively to the audio team while you’re still developing concepts for the score? AUSTIN: I guess part of “conveying the vision” is making sure that I constantly create material that reflects it. I prefer to let the music do the talking instead of simply talking about it. But more importantly, it’s rarely about truly selling a vision so much as growing one with the team’s involvement. It’s OUR vision much more than mine, by the time the game ships.

G.A.N.G. Staff (GS): You’ve worked with this team before on highly successful titles. What’s the recipe for a productive and gratifying collaboration? AUSTIN: The key with Giant Squid is that they invite a very long-running and transparent collaboration. Matt Nava, the creative director, has invited me to be part of all their productions from day 1, which gives me a chance to see the development and evolution 34

of every idea from the earliest phases. This in turn allows time for experimenting with the music on a level that’d be impossible otherwise. Beyond that, they also invite my participation in just about every aspect of the game. Playtesting builds, giving feedback on all the systems, the writing / narrative, all of it. The team in turn all are encouraged to weigh in on the music. The result is something very tightly-knit and, in a sense, “homegrown.”

GS: You’re very generous with your time and are constantly giving back to the community. You’ve mentored countless up-andcoming composers and have been a speaker at many conferences over the years. Would you like to share some words of wisdom about composing for games? AUSTIN: I’m not sure what to offer up as a single answer to that! But I would say that for me, scoring games comes from a place of loving games. I love the ways we can tell unique stories through them, I love

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

the way we can experience art (of all types … musical, visual, narrative, etc.) through them, and I love the teams that make them. It’s a truly 20th or 21st century expression that we’ve barely begun playing with. I find it’s very easy to deal with the hardships of this career when remembering just how fortunate we are to have the chance to be part of this incredible art form! GS: Thank you for your time, and we look forward to your future projects! WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

35


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

ARE

YOU

CONNECTED

WITH US?

36

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

FOLLOW US TODAY INSTAGRAM - @GAMEAUDIONETWORKGUILD FACEBOOK - THE GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD TWITTER - GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD YOUTUBE - GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD TWITCH - AUDIOGANGORG WEBSITE - AUDIOGANG.ORG

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

37


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

GOLD SPONSOR:

GAMESOUNDCON

GAMESOUNDCON NOVEMBER 8-10, ONLINE

GameSoundCon returns ONLINE on November 8-10, 2021 for three days of game music, sound design, dialogue and more. GameSoundCon is the industry’s largest professional conference on sound for video games, bringing the game audio community and all its disciplines together since 2009. With three packed days and 50-plus sessions fully dedicated to game music, sound, dialogue, education, research and more, GameSoundCon will inspire anyone working in or interested in game audio, whether you have decades of AAA experience, or are just getting started. 38

Attendees include composers, sound designers, dialogue specialists, audio educators, programmers and researchers in interactive audio and game technology, and anyone else with an interest and passion for game audio. Game Audio Network Guild members receive a 10% discount for GameSoundCon! G.A.N.G. members can redeem this discount by going to the Game Audio Network Guild member perks page to get the discount code. See you there!

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD:

DEMO DERBIES

UNPARALLELED OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY

- INSPIRING ARTISTS

On November 8th, the Game Audio Network Guild Demo Derbies will take place! What is a “Demo Derby”? It is one of the highest rated and longest running annual sessions at the Game Developers Conference. This year we are hosting the Derbies at GameSoundCon. Participants submitted examples of their music or sound design work, and a panel of game audio experts will review each submission and provide constructive feedback. Music submissions are up to 90 seconds in length, and sound design

submissions are up to two minutes in length. The demos are reviewed by seasoned music and sound design experts. This year’s music panel consists of Paul Lipson, Austin Wintory, and Tom Salta. The Sound Design panel consists of Shannon Potter, Scott Gershin, and Elise Baldwin.

“LONGEST RUNNING ANNUAL SESSIONS AT THE GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE”

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

39


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT INDIE G WLAD MARHULETS FROM UNF A GRADUATE OF THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL AND A FORMER COMPOSITION STUDENT OF OSCAR AND PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING JOHN CORIGLIANO, WLAD HAS WORKED ON SUCH FILMS AS AMBITION, DIRECTED BY BOB SHAYE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY); HITMAN: AGENT 47, STARRING RUPERT FRIEND AND ZACHARY QUINTO, MARSHAL FROM DETROIT, STARRING EMINEM; THE GIVER, STARRING JEFF BRIDGES AND MERYL STREEP; NOVEMBER MAN, STARRING PIERCE BROSNAN; SABOTAGE, STARRING ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER; AND OTHERS. A FEW YEARS AGO, WLAD STARTED HIS OWN VIDEO GAME DEVELOPMENT COMPANY. HIS FIRST GAME, DARQ, WAS RELEASED ON PC, PS4, PS5, XBOX ONE, XBOX SERIES S|X AND NINTENDO SWITCH TO BOTH COMMERCIAL SUCCESS AND CRITICAL ACCLAIM. HAVING WON A NUMBER OF AWARDS, IT BECAME THE 42ND MOST SHARED PC VIDEO GAME OF 2019 (METACRITIC). G.A.N.G. Staff (GS): Please tell us about your background and musical upbringing. WLAD: I was born in Belarus and relocated to Poland at a very early age. My father was a music lover and an amateur songwriter. My brother, on the other hand, was a world famous musician by the time he was 6. I had no interest in music until I turned 16, when I finally decided to give it a try. I was lucky to have gotten accepted to a local music school without knowing a thing about music. My instrument of choice was the clarinet, although I was interested in music composition above all else. It took an incredible amount of work to make up for the years of music education I had missed out on, but ultimately, I did manage to write quite a lot of music in that period. It was a time of indescribable struggle, as my family ended up falling apart. We went bankrupt and couldn’t afford food and utilities. I’ll spare you the details, but to this day I have a memory of having to wear layers of winter clothing at night – it was the only way to fall asleep. During this challenging time, I borrowed a bit of money and went to New York to audition for The Juilliard School to study composition with my favorite composer, John Corigliano. I had only studied music for a couple of years at that time – I knew my chances were nonexistent, but I was desperate. I found myself

40

in the middle of Manhattan in March of 2007 with $300 of borrowed cash in my pocket. I spoke no English – literally, zero. There were periods during which I was nearly homeless and starved for days. Long story short, with a lot of struggle and much luck, I was accepted to The Juilliard School as a full scholarship student to study composition exclusively with John Corigliano. It changed my life forever and I couldn’t be more grateful to him for giving me this chance. After graduation, I was fortunate to have been introduced to Sam Schwartz (of The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency) by John Corigliano himself. This allowed me to start working in the film industry soon after moving to Los Angeles. I loved working in film and I’m incredibly thankful to my agents for creating opportunities for me that would have been out of my reach otherwise. GS: You shared that when you first got started in this industry, you didn’t know anything about game development. How did the formation of Unfold Games come about and what were your expectations? WLAD: I was in the early stages of my film scoring career when I decided to try something new. In late 2015 I had a month off in between film gigs. I decided to download the Unity engine and play with it a little bit. I had no intention of creating a commercial game at first – it was supposed to be just a hobby. I knew

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

GAMES WITH FOLD GAMES nothing about game development, but learning about it made me feel like a kid in a candy store. Coding, 3D modeling, texturing, animation, game design...I was glued to the computer screen for weeks watching tutorials and trying things out. A month later, I had a little prototype of a game. Without giving it much thought, I called it DARQ. A friend of mine liked it and encouraged me to put together a trailer so I could upload it on Steam Greenlight. While Steam Greenlight is no longer around, at the time it was a platform that allowed Steam users to vote for games they were interested in purchasing in the future. To my utter surprise, my little game prototype became one of the 10 most upvoted titles on the platform. The game got covered by major media outlets and I started receiving offers from game publishers. Soon enough, game development became more than just a hobby. That’s how Unfold Games was born – unexpectedly and out of the blue. I describe the process of going from knowing nothing about video game development to launching DARQ to both commercial success and critical acclaim in my book GAMEDEV: 10 Steps to Making Your First Game Successful.” I’m proud to say the book was praised by Forbes as their “favorite book on game development by far.” GS: What are the challenges around getting funded for an indie project? How did you succeed in getting funding for DARQ, which was recently named one of the 10 Best Horror Games on PS5? WLAD: When I started working on DARQ, I had about 3 months’ worth of savings. I received quite a few funding

offers from publishers early on and spent a lot of time negotiating, but in the end, I wasn’t able to reach a deal I was excited about. As scary as it was, I ended up politely turning down all offers from publishers. At the same time, I was grateful to have received any offers to begin with – after all, I was a complete newbie and had no clue about game development, not to mention the business side of the game industry. I continued scoring films for a while trying to save as much money as possible while working on DARQ whenever I could. Eventually, I was able to save enough money to work on it full-time. When I say “full-time,” I mean every waking hour. Over 100 hours a week. Many 16-hour workdays. While it might be seen as unhealthy, nobody forced me to do it. The reason I was working every waking hour was because I loved the process that much. While DARQ wasn’t developed completely solo, about 95% of the game was done by me. It’s a terrible way to make a game, but it was the only way I could manage at the time. I kept the development costs low and put in as much “sweat equity” as possible. After the successful PC launch, I teamed up with Feardemic – a publishing company I absolutely love. They’re a subsidiary of Bloober Team, known for The Medium, Blair Witch, Observer, and Layers of Fear. They did an incredible job porting the game to five consoles. I look forward to our continued collaboration as we continue to develop our second game – this time, with a pretty large team. GS: Can you walk us through the game development life cycle for an indie game? WLAD: Every indie game has a unique story of how it was developed. Every indie developer has a unique set of challenges, so it takes a lot of perseverance and thinking outside the box to overcome them all. Having lived through this process, I see every game release as a miracle. DARQ was no exception. The project was way too ambitious for it to be developed almost entirely solo. I was too inexperienced to handle it the right way and actually started the game from scratch three times trying to reach the quality level I had envisioned. Almost half of the development time was spent trying to gain experience and learn new skills. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I’m glad I did – that’s a great way to learn. Ultimately, it took over 10,000 hours to develop DARQ, which included learning

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

41


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD coding, modeling, animation, texturing, game design, level design, marketing, PR, accounting, law, and business in general. What surprised me the most was that the last 10% of the development takes a very long time. Adding polish, creating a simple pause menu, fixing bugs, testing – all of that can feel like an endless process. Thankfully, it’s extremely rewarding to see the game come to life as these tasks get completed. GS: Indie games are more popular than ever before. What do you attribute this to? WLAD: There are multiple factors. Back in the day, before digital distribution, it was virtually impossible to create a small passion project and have it reach a wide audience. A lot of talented people had no way of showcasing their work to the world. Now, selfpublishing a game is easy (at least on PC and mobile), and social media creates equal opportunity for visibility whether you’re a small indie studio or a large AAA company. Also, every year game engines evolve and offer more and more intuitive features and free educational resources. It’s still very hard and timeconsuming to create a commercially viable video game, but it’s now more accessible than ever before. It’s only natural that we’re seeing a lot of talented people create incredible things using these tools. Last but not least, I think indie games are popular because they tend to offer unique experiences that AAA games often cannot. The bigger the budget, the bigger the need to create a product that appeals to masses. Indie developers can afford to experiment within a small niche and come up with something truly creative and personal. Such games might not always find large player bases, but they often appeal to smaller targeted audiences.

42

GS: You produced your first awards show this year dedicated to indie games called the Unfold Games Awards. Can you tell us about the support from your sponsors and big award wins? WLAD: When developing DARQ, I received a lot of support from the community. I felt it was my duty to try to give back in some way. I partnered up with Intel, Unity, Pixologic, FMOD, Integral Capital, and The McArthur Law Firm to come up with prizes of the total value of over $170,000 (including hardware, software, services, press coverage, and cash). It was important to me to make this award program completely free to enter, as indie developers often cannot afford hefty entry fees. That’s why we’ve received an overwhelming amount of submissions. The competition was judged by industry veterans, famous streamers, and members of the press (GameSpot, IGN, Forbes). As far as I’m aware, Unfold Games Awards is the largest free-to-enter award program for indie games in the world (when it comes to the total prize value). The game that won the Best Game Award, as well as a few awards in other categories, was Before Your Eyes. It’s a true indie masterpiece – give it a try if you haven’t yet. Thank you, Wlad. It’s been a pleasure talking with you!

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

BRONZE SPONSOR:

MY NAME IS LAMPS

Meet our newest Bronze Sponsor, MY NAME IS LAMPS! | Re-recording Mixer | Music Editor | Mixing Engineer | 5 Latin Grammys | Lamps Lampadinha is a Los Angeles based freelancer with extensive experience in the film and music industries. With extensive knowledge and experience, Lamps can help your project flourish. Connect with Lamps today! https://www.mynameislamps.com

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

43


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

MANY THANKS TO DIAMOND

PLATINUM

GOLD

44

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS SILVER

BRONZE

PATRON

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

45


GA M E AUDIO NETWOR K GUILD

AUDIO OF

HALL OF

46

The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog

2021

Death Stranding — Kojima Productions

2020

God of War — SIE Santa Monica Studio

2019

Cuphead — StudioMDHR

2018

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End — Naughty Dog

2017

Ori and the Blind Forest — Moon Studios

2016

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare — Sledgehammer Games

2015

The Last of Us — Naughty Dog

2014

Diablo III — Blizzard Entertainment

2013

Battlefield 3 — DICE

2012

©KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT, 505 GAMES

GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD • THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE • FALL 2021 • ISSUE 04


T HE AUDIO SOUR C E MAGAZINE

THE YEAR

F FAME 2011

Red Dead Redemption — Rockstar Games

2010

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves — Naughty Dog

2009

Dead Space — EA Redwood Shoes

2008

Bioshock — 2K Games, 2K Boston

2007

Gears of War — Epic Games, The Coalition

2006

God of War — SIE Santa Monica Studio

2005

Halo 2 — Bungie

2004

Call of Duty — Infinity Ward

2003

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin — IO Interactive

WWW.AUDIOGANG.ORG

47


THE AUDIO SOURCE MAGAZINE

SAVE THE DATE 20TH ANNUAL GAME AUDIO NETWORK GUILD AWARDS THURSDAY MARCH 24, 2022 MOSCONE CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO

MEMBERSHIP@AUDIOGANG.ORG

A U D I O G A N G . O R G


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.