LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

OPERATIONS MANAGER, CODY MATTHEW JOHNSON

CONTRIBUTORS: THE AUDIO SOURCE

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Cody Matthew Johnson

EXECUTIVE EDITORS

Brian Schmidt Savina Ciaramella Liza Rivera Salta

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Gabriella Ciaramella

DESIGN

Cody Matthew Johnson Crystal Yang

CONTRIBUTORS

Adam Fligsten Asbjoern Andersen Brian Schmidt Chase Bethea Sabrina Hutchinson Savina Ciaramella

SPECIAL THANKS

Abigial Johnson Allison Wright Clark Andrew Lipian A Sound Effect Decca Record US Digital Entertainment World Expo First Artists Management Formosa Interactive The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, Inc. Joshua Mosley Laryssa Okada Lightspeed & Quantum Studios Music Marketing Nicole Yazmin Jacobus Pyramind Rachel Robison ReelCrafter Skydance Interactive soundsnap soundtrec TiMi Studios Tom Salta Masterclass

This year has certainly felt like a movie or at times like our favorite resident video game. It has not been without its trials and tribulation, that is something we can all agree on.

We’re all praying to the universe for the clock not to roll past midnight and into the 13th hour of 2020 and for this year to end

[insert favorite social distancing cliché]

There’s no doubt this year also reinforced a strong sense of community within our world of game audio, from regular messaging, tweet threads, or after hours GameSoundCon Altspace VR hang outs (see screenshot on the next page), the year was not short on our ability to adapt and stay connected.

We’ve also had a lot of time to think about what we value, both as individual people and as a community. For the organization, we value acceptance, inclusion, diversity, and abundance, to name a few. We’re constantly looking inwards to find more value for our members and the community at large and are rigorously working towards doing just that.

What does adding value and creating abundance look like for Game Audio Network Guild? It looks like increased representation, both in our membership and at our annual awards. It looks like expanding our offering of digital events to cater to our ever-growing and globalized membership, not just those in major US cities. It looks like more diversity initiatves. It looks like more accessible mixers and social events. It looks like an updated board of game audio jobs.

OK - great! So what is in store for 2021? A true master never shares their secrets, but luckily this is a game audio nonprofit and we’re happy to fill in our friends and members about some of the ambitious plans in the pipeline. First, we’re excited to significantly expanded the award categories for the Game Audio Network Guild Awards - now with 31 categories and greater principle parity. You’ll find new categories for dialogue, sound design, implementation, indie games, and many more.

Second, the organization is working towards a comprehensive rebuild of the website. We’ve already given the website a bit of a design update, courtesy of Crystal Yang Design, but it’s the season to turn it up to eleven. The main goal is streamlining a low friction and flexible membership experience -- allow of various payment options, profile settings, membership management, and more for both members and sponsors alike. A new site will be a new platform for ongoing initiatves

Be well. Reach out! Don’t be a stranger :) — CODY MATTHEW JOHNSON