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
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“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
