Burnout Revenge

I just played this a minute ago to let off some steam,, I'm not pissed about anything in particular I'm just about to get married, which is cool but I'm getting nervous and I just don't know how its really going to play out. Anyway
Burnout Revenge=GOOD!!!

Burnout Revenge Audio/ besides the music which kind of WAY bothers me is the pinnacle of dynamic and well done sound design in a game. The slow down time sound, the boost sound, the crashes. I'm a big fan of debris and I love that you can hear every single debris as it drops on the concrete.
This game captures a sense of speed like no other I like the fact that its not realistic and more representative and the audio goes a long way to sell that sense of speed. The engine sounds are good but whats better is that the ear focus moves during gameplay so its not a constant tone with a few breakables.
I'm not sure how they did it but WOW the sound design mix is fantastic!!!
Like I said earlier my only complaint in the audio package is the music but its not really much of a problem as it can easily be turned off.

mtcs

the I make noises Perspective

This topic has been something thats been on my mind for the last few years and it didn't occur to me to write about it until I stepped in to Lubys yesterday for a late lunch.
There at the door a man twice my age happily greeted me at the door, a woman trying to support children (I'm assuming as she looked a bit motherly) served me my salad, and guy around my age came to my table to ask me how my "Lubys experience was". Now between you and I it was a bit rough yesterday as a group of senior citizens devoured every vegetable and baked item grasping for that last bit of health before heading to the final destination.
It occured to me how lucky I am to be doing what I'm doing. Now despite the occasional ridiculous hours, the stress from having to manage multiple projects, revisions, and the occasional dip in creativity I would never want to do anything outside of games and audio.
It occured to me on a more personal level when I was chatting with a gal about money and realized that some people just can't go out to dinner on a whim or book a flight to see a friend whenever they feel like it. Its kind of amazing really, some people actually don't like what they are doing and not only that they still have to stretch thir dollar to make ends meet.

I find myself oftentimes complaining with various people in the content creation space about how company X is only going to pay X dollars for the audio on a project or a trailer or whatever. To be honest the amounts are more money than I ever made doing things I dreaded (like working at a liqour store). Its my perspective that has changed over time and ultimately as far as making money is concerned its changed for the better.

Sometimes when I'm tired of making the eight hundrendth version of a creature death or trying to create twenty sword sounds that sound different but still from the "same family" I'll head to the outside world for a moment and remember that I'm ultimately getting to live a dream. I wake up essentially when I want to I head to a cool office I turn on my computer and I help make digital worlds beleivable. Its a far cry from working at a liqour store where I was constantly at risk of being robbed, my largest pay check for two weeks worth of work was around $200, and the most exciting thing that ever happened was some gal asking me if I wanted to close shop and make out in the cooler, (which ended up not happening).

Now there are arguments that I have indeed considered and they are all in my opinion very valid.
1. Game Audio is a lifestyle and we take our jobs with us wherever we go.
2. Game Audio is going to demand more money because not everyone can do it,, it takes a special person with a unique set of skills.
3. Game Audio is creative and can be a constant challenge. Despite the perception of people about your job the task of being constantly creative and always challenging yourself is much harder than punching a clock and saying hello to people all day (that has its own challenge)

The bottom line is no matter where your at in the world of game audio (or even if your not). I'm lucky to be doing what I have been blessed to do. In my opinion to maintain success and fulfillment in my career it is important that I always realize that despite sometimes a "thin" payscale, or a project that is just not proving to fun at least I'm not washing dishes or selling liqour anymore and at least every morning I wake up I'm not wondering if my paycheck is about to be wiped out and I'll have to find some way to make it another week.

Friendship Method Part 2

I'm going to post some additional thoughts on the friendship method and clarify a few things. It'll be short and sweet but real bad ass,, (duh). Okay only joking.

1. I want to make it clear that if your motivation for becoming friends with someone is more work than it won't work out. You must have pure motives or the powers that be can sense it and it won't be natural.
2. Sometimes working with old friends can be tough,, you still have to maintain a proffesional attitude and have respect for yourself enough to always try to do your best.
3. When something needs revising it needs revising don't ever take criticism from someone (even a friend) personally in fact friends might often times be harder on each other, and that in turn makes you better at what you do.

I realized my post could come across as I'll make pals with everyone and then not have to really be that good. Thats not true at all, making friends has made my career much more fulfilling. Sometimes you have to do the coporate style sell and there is no chance of developing a friendship there, I just tend to perfer it because I've gotten honest feedback, and made some life long pals.

the Friendship Method

okay so I know indeed that despite all this,,, sounds a lot like the care bear stare or worse the care bear cousins hug (which causes even lucifer to tremble).

So this evening after a fair bit of liqour/chats/love in the air I feel compelled to write about a good freind of mine and beyond that what sort of opportunitys this particular friend has bestowed upon me.

From a contract audio persons perspective this may seem obvious or completely off the wall depending on your point of view,, but after some time to think and some time away from the moment of it all I realise the ultimate techniuqe to getting and maintaining work in the industry is truly making friends with the people you work with.

This may be obvious to many of you but from my experience it is slightly overlooked. Too often a client (especially remotely) is some sort of distant enitity that sends you checks and delegates work but in the case of Ian Stocker what started off as a client/sub-contractor relationship quickly became a freindship that will last a lifetime.

Now the motivation for becoming friends with Ian was not making my job easier or getting more work it was simply that I felt a kinship to him in the ways of business and in the ways of music and life that simply pulled us together.

This might seem like an odd topic for a post on game audio but I just got back from a jam at the Fat Mans place here in Austin and I realized the relevance to what I've always thought. The jam was full of people of various walks of life that were somehow brough togethor by game audio and more importantly they were all his friends. I've never been to a game audio event quite like this one where the focus wasn't networking but casual play and making friends (much like Ian).

The reason I bring up Ian is because we are nearing our two year anniversary and somehow through some little device called the Nintendo DS we've become life long pals in the truest of senses. Any sort of wisdom that I have to impart is very simple its think less of your demo reel/schooling/credit list and more in the direction of "this guy is cool and thinks like me" and you'll have more work than you can handle. A few phone calls throughout the week and some serious focus when it's time and you'll not only have work but more importantly someone you can bounce your thoughts off of.

The game audio business is full of salesmen and people that mention too many names/projects and companies that they have been involved with. If you want to make yourself stand out do yourself a favor and forget the projects/demos etc for a moment and make a friend. Talk to that friend about things unrelated to the industry and truly be a friend. The end result is you'll have not only work but an amazing person to bounce ideas off of and someone with an entirely different histroy.

The longer I've known Ian the less important the specific projects become the work has become helping a friend out and honestly I never expected it to become that but for whatever reason it has. These days its much more about "hey I'll see you here in a few weeks" and for me thats good. I know at the end of the day if a DS project comes up (or PSP/GBA) I know to call Ian not just because he's good but because I know him and ultimately trust him, not only as a friend but as a proffesional.

I realize all of this is a bit convoluted but I felt lead to post and I feel that the friendship method is much more effective and rewarding than sending out demos or introducing yourself to someone who is not interested.

--mtcs