TheRetroArcade
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AI's impact on audio production has, of course, become a hot topic in the game music world.
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If you don't pay attention to game credits you may not know the name Alexander Brandon, but you've almost certainly heard his work. The composer of Deus Ex's soundtrack has some 30 years of games to his name as a musician (Unreal, Stormgate), audio director (Wasteland 3, Neverwinter Nights 2), and even voice actor—who could forget his performances as "Flayed Goat" in Pagan Online or "Additional Mudokon Voices" in Oddworld: Soulstorm?
Okay, those last two aren't his most prestigious credits—but the point is, Brandon's list of contributions to game audio run the gamut from legendary to humble, from in-studio director gigs to the sorts of small behind-the-scenes contributions every game needs to get out the door. It's the kind of resume that seems like it'd guarantee you a job. Unless the state of layoffs and hiring in the games industry was, like, terrible, or something.
"My take on things is: Full-time is far less likely, high-paying full-time is probably more competitive than it's ever been," Brandon said in a recent interview with PC Gamer. "I've submitted 50 resumes and gotten one interview in the last year."
Ah. Well then.
Brandon's last full-time role was as the audio director at Stormgate developer Frost Giant, which struggled to pull in players to its StarCraft successor. He was laid off last year, but credited CEO Tim Morten for holding on "till the bitter end in terms of keeping his people employed."
He's hardly alone on the job search: Brandon mentioned that other "unbelievably senior and legendary-status people," like Bungie's former head of audio, have had to make due with contract work as few full-time roles exist for them in triple-A games.
"You have to weigh: 'Yeah, I could get a full-time job, but how long is it going to last?'" he said.
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At this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Brandon co-hosted a roundtable about how AI is impacting audio production for games. He's a member of a Special Interest Group focused on the technology, which he helped co-found after losing a contract job to AI on a mobile game. He describes their goal as being "like Switzerland," with a mission statement centered on providing informat...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
If you don't pay attention to game credits you may not know the name Alexander Brandon, but you've almost certainly heard his work. The composer of Deus Ex's soundtrack has some 30 years of games to his name as a musician (Unreal, Stormgate), audio director (Wasteland 3, Neverwinter Nights 2), and even voice actor—who could forget his performances as "Flayed Goat" in Pagan Online or "Additional Mudokon Voices" in Oddworld: Soulstorm?
Okay, those last two aren't his most prestigious credits—but the point is, Brandon's list of contributions to game audio run the gamut from legendary to humble, from in-studio director gigs to the sorts of small behind-the-scenes contributions every game needs to get out the door. It's the kind of resume that seems like it'd guarantee you a job. Unless the state of layoffs and hiring in the games industry was, like, terrible, or something.
"My take on things is: Full-time is far less likely, high-paying full-time is probably more competitive than it's ever been," Brandon said in a recent interview with PC Gamer. "I've submitted 50 resumes and gotten one interview in the last year."
Ah. Well then.
Brandon's last full-time role was as the audio director at Stormgate developer Frost Giant, which struggled to pull in players to its StarCraft successor. He was laid off last year, but credited CEO Tim Morten for holding on "till the bitter end in terms of keeping his people employed."
He's hardly alone on the job search: Brandon mentioned that other "unbelievably senior and legendary-status people," like Bungie's former head of audio, have had to make due with contract work as few full-time roles exist for them in triple-A games.
"You have to weigh: 'Yeah, I could get a full-time job, but how long is it going to last?'" he said.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
At this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Brandon co-hosted a roundtable about how AI is impacting audio production for games. He's a member of a Special Interest Group focused on the technology, which he helped co-found after losing a contract job to AI on a mobile game. He describes their goal as being "like Switzerland," with a mission statement centered on providing informat...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?