Aims: Over the course of the next year I would like to have as much experience in sound design as I possibly can. This includes all film, animation and game projects that require music and sound effects. One of my strongest skills is composing, and I have always wanted to work with video games. A lot of people I know aim to become a sound engineer in the game industry because there is money in it, however they’re quite technical and often lacking in creativity. My strength is writing music, and I hope to compose some for a video game project as I am very enthusiastic about them.
Obstacles: One thing that has been a problem in the past is my inability to compose a wide range of genres. I hope to take on different styles as a challenge, and research the different elements that make up each musical style, for example Blues music using ‘Slide Guitar’, or dubstep being a certain tempo. However, I have worked on various projects over the years and gathered more of an understanding of creating different music, and always rise to the challenge of writing something new. A lot of people have informed me that composers often fail to understand the way a game works, and can’t get their head round sounds triggering within the game depending on the players actions. I have been playing games since an early age and have completed hundreds of them, so this really is not an issue for me.
Objectives: Ever since I started writing music I have been searching for jobs within games companies that enable me to use my compositional skills and have had very little luck. My biggest objective of all is to write music for a video game project, and perhaps the sound effects too.
Methods: The simplest way of searching for game sound design jobs is the internet, but it tends to be a ‘first come first served’ type situation. For example a lot of people make projects on a site called New Grounds, and post their adverts up on forums. The problem is that the project leader settles on the first person to reply, and leaves everyone else out in the dark, so unless I happen to be on the net at the right time I won’t be a part of any projects.One of my main focus’ will be getting a website up and running that shows off my talent as a sound designer. This could be a massive struggle if I decide to make the website myself instead of paying to do it for me. Either way, I would like to have a digital portfolio allowing the public to look through my work and seeing if they’d like to hire me.
Expected Outcomes: By the end of the year I hopefully will have written and recorded music for a games company, and have a website showing off my portfolio. I will have learned about many different styles and have the ability to
Adam Denby 