Working in game audio can be quite a fulfilling and amazing career. While games are a lot of fun, a career in games requires dedication and hard work, along with patience and practice. There is a variety of essential skills and tools that should be on your radar to master if you are serious about working in the industry. At the end of this chapter we will direct you to the Sound Lab (companion site) for an in-depth look at the basic essential soft skills and tools required by sound designers and composers looking to get started in the industry. These resources include skills such as looping, required technical knowledge, software and hardware to get started. For now, here are a list of skills essential to sound designers and composers interested in a career in game audio.
Job listings are a great place to start pulling together the skills and experience you should acquire to be an audio designer in the game industry. Most listings are detailed enough to be a good resource and reference. Here we present a list of desired traits from various job postings:
- Passion and enthusiasm for music, sound and games
- Knowledge of sound recording, field recording, Foley, synthesis and editing techniques
- Ability to compose music in a variety of styles
- An understanding of acoustics and spatial sound
- Mastery of a DAW and/or audio editing software
- Critical and analytical listening skills
- Imagination and creativity
- Excellent communication, time management, and organizational skills
- Ability to solidify concepts into material assets
- Ability to work well with a team
- Ability to handle feedback and process it into revisions
- Ability to work well under pressure
- Self-sufficient, with problem-solving abilities
- Knowledge of game engines (e.g. Unity, Unreal)
- Knowledge of audio engines (e.g. Wwise, FMOD)
- Knowledge of collaboration software and tools