When we think about games, the first thing that comes to our mind are their visuals, story or game play. But what is a good game without good music? Without the sound of footsteps or a car without it’s roaring engine? This is where sound design comes in. We are going to show you what a Game Sound Designer is and what part he plays in video game creation.
What is Sound Design?
Sound design is the art and practice of creating soundtracks for a variety of games. Sound effects are used for all kind of different parts throughout a game:
- Audio responses while navigating through the UI (Clicking, hovering,..)
- Ambient sounds (Birds, wind, water…)
- Character sound effects (Attacks, footsteps, clothing,..)
- Audio clues (Puzzles melodies, pick up sounds…)
- …
By using sound design you can set the mood, create & enhance realism and give the player a feeling of satisfaction. After all, who doesn’t like the sound of opening a chest in Zelda or simply collecting coins in various Super Mario games?
What does a Game Sound Designer do?
Unlike to a composer, a sound designer focuses on sound effects and how to implement them into the game.
They are often considered a jack-of-all-traits and are in charge of:
- Producing and designing sounds from scratch
- Recording and implementing dialogues
- Building up a sound library
- Fine tuning sounds using digital audio software (DAW)
- Editing, mixing and mastering soundtracks
- …
If you’re aiming to work at smaller companies, it can be that you are also going to be an audio lead and/or composer at the same time. You’ll be working closely together with designers and programmers alike to make sure the sound fits all their needs.
What kind of skills do I need as a Game Sound Designer?
While having a great passion for music & sounds, you also need to be very creative and interested in video games in general.
Here are some useful skills a Game Sound Designer should acquirer before diving into the game industry:
- Excellent knowledge of sound engineering & music
- Basic composing skills
- Knowledge of gameplay and platforms
- Insight of Game Engines
- Good communication skills
- …
Being able to compose is not a necessity for a sound designer. A way more valuable skill to have if you want to land a job in the game industry is knowing how to code and implement the sounds into the game engine. Especially in smaller studios this is a very common task for the sound designer. The bigger the company the more specialized your job is going to be, so make sure to research exactly what you’ll be doing at certain studios.
How do I get a job as a Game Sound Designer?
Getting into the game industry as a sound designer can be very tough so having a degree in audio engineering or some similar field will enhance your changes greatly.
Since it’s not necessary to have visited a college or university with the main focus on music, your portfolio still needs to stand out from the crowd, so here are some useful tips:
- Go for quality of work, not quantity
- Focus on games and not movies
- Show demos that include a game engine workflow
- Build your portfolio around the company you want to apply to
- Make sure it looks professional & up to date
- …
AAA games and indie studios have a very different approach towards sound design, so make sure to tailor your portfolio according to the company’s needs. If you have some coding experience, don’t be afraid to show off your skills. Game studios love people who are proactive and show a variety of different skills that can be useful for them.
What kind of programs should a Game Sound Designer look into?
As a Game Sound Designer you need to look into various programs to create the perfect sound for your game like:
- Digital audio software (Logic pro, Sound Forge,..)
- Audio implementation software (Wwise, FMod,..)
- Game Engines (Unreal, Unity,..)
- …
As a sound designer it’s of course important to have a good grasp of different kinds of DAWs but knowing how to code or how to implement the sound into a Game Engine are very valuable skills that make you stand out from the crowd.
How much money does a Game Sound Designer make?
Those numbers can vary greatly depending on the company, genre, style, experience, skills etc. but according to Zippia a Game Sound Designer makes between $42k – $120k and the average income is around $71k per year.
Sound design really adds to the game, but if you want to look at a bad example of how game design is done, click here:
The Day Before Disaster – A Game Studios Worst Nightmare
Leave a Reply