I had such an amazing experience attending GDC (Game Developers Conference) this year! Met so many talented creatives from all different disciplines of game design (composers, sound designers, developers, writers, artists and more). I even got to demo a small indie RPG game/passion project I’ve been working on called “Vinyl Voyager” to a handful of people. I’m feeling really inspired and looking forward to diving further into the world of game audio and interactive music composition.
In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite things that I encountered:
Game Audio Podcast Morning Meetup
Hosted by Damian Kastbauer and Anton Woldhek, the Game Audio Podcast/ GDC morning meetups have been a great way for me to learn about game audio and get to know the community. If you’re a composer/sound designer and it’s your first year attending GDC, I would highly suggest attending this in the mornings for some daily “inspiration information” and an idea of all the audio-related events going on that week.
If you can’t attend however, you can always listen the live taping of the podcasts at gameaudiopodcast.com or by subscribing on iTunes.
Tribe XR (Virtual DJ Lessons)
Whoah, this is pretty cool. The video probably does a better job of explaining it than I ever could, but basically it’s software that allows you to give virtual DJ lessons through VR technology. I got to try it out in person on the Expo Floor and it’s pretty legit! Still some latency issues with the scratching but still a great learning tool for beginners. They are based here in SF, gonna have to see about becoming a certified virtual DJ mentor!
More info here: tribexr.com
Carousel Con
Hosted by Matthew Marteinsson and various rotating guest speakers, Carousel Con is a series of game-audio related micro-talks led behind the Carousel next to Moscone Center. These meetups have also been an awesome place for me to learn more about game audio and build relationships with others in the industry. Around lunchtime (Wed-Fri) folks will start gathering here to listen to talks about various topics ranging from sound design tips to branding yourself as a composer.
Matthew Marteinsson also hosts a fantastic podcast along with Gordon McGladdery called Beards, Cats & Indie Game Audio. Listen at indiegameaudio.podbean.com or subscribe on iTunes.
NES Maker
Take my money, please! Had to cop this DIY software that allows you to make your own actual Nintendo game. That’s right, it allows you to make a REAL Ninendo game on a REAL NES cartridge. Not sure what I’m gonna do with it yet but thinking about creating a game to go along with my next instrumental album. Merch game bout to be off the chain!
More info here: thenew8bitheroes.com
