play by ear: sound design for games | sharon kho, gwen guo
TRANSCRIPT
Play by Ear: Sound Design for Games
Sharon Kho and Gwen Guo Co-founders, IMBA Interactive
About Us• A small game audio company based in Singapore • Provide top-notch audio for game dev studios • Build game audio communities in this region
“An outsource-inhouse team”
A PARADOX?
Taipei Game Jam experience
‘Technical’ Team ‘Creative’ Team
Mostly programmers An all-rounded team
Prototyped multiple ideas Went with one single idea
Prioritise mechanics Prioritise narrative
Less game industry experience More game industry experience
How did the sound designer manage this?
?CREATIVE
TEAMTECHNICAL
TEAM
How did the sound designer manage this?
PRODUCTION PIPELINE
CREATIVE OWNERSHIP
KNOWLEDGESHARING
CREATIVE OWNERSHIP
IMBA CLIENT
Who does it belong to?
IMBA CLIENT
CREATIVE OWNERSHIP
Defining creative boundaries
Constants - Established IP - Target audience - Characters - Deadlines - Implementation - Music
Variables - Art style - Theme - Game designers
IMBA CLIENT
CREATIVE OWNERSHIPDefining creative boundaries
CONSTANT - Art style - Game designer
VARIABLE - Audio direction - Timeline - Implementation
SHARED KNOWLEDGE
Who? What?When?
Where? Why? How?
SHARED KNOWLEDGE
SHARED KNOWLEDGE
• PROJECT BASICS • Age group and demographic • Genre and Platform • Where are you/dev team located or based off? • Why are you making this game?
SHARED KNOWLEDGE
• TECHNICAL BASICS • How is the budget for audio like? • What is the game going to be developed on? • Tools and Middleware? • Filesize budget • When are the milestones and deadlines?
SHARED KNOWLEDGE
• GOING DEEPER • What do we want the players to experience? • Why are going in this creative direction? • Is there any other media we can take reference
from? • Your company’s branding and/or culture?
SHARED KNOWLEDGE
• THE TEAM • Who are the audio programmers • Who is the game designer? • Who are the animators?
PIPELINE
• Production Pipeline • Tools and Processes
• Communication Pipeline • Managing Expectations • Conflict Resolution
HOW?
PRODUCTION
Sound Asset (SFX,
VOICE, MUSIC)
Editing/Manipulating of the Sound
Asset Repository
Recorded Sound
(Ambience, Foley, Voice, Musicians)
Game Engine
Middle-ware
QA and Testing
IMPLEMENTATION
Audio Production Pipeline
Communication
Audio Dept. Your Players
Game Dev. Product Owner
Art Dept.
Other Depts.
Communication
Audio Dept.
Game Dev. Product Owner
Art Dept.
Other Depts.
Your Players😍😄
SIMPLE
DeveloperSound
Designer
Audio Team
Project manager
Artists/Animators
Game Designer Composer
Sound Designer
ImplementorProgrammers Producer
FULL BLOWN
Keeping the “pipes” clean
Promptness Honesty Clarity Be kind
Audio Team Project managerProducer
Manage Expectations
Individual A Individual B
Conclusion• Determine Creative Boundaries
• No such thing as TMI
• Establish/Tailor a Production and Communication pipeline that fits the project and team.
• Basically, no such thing as a “One Size Fits All” strategy
