Suggestions for a young guy willing to get into video game audio

[Apratim]

I mean I am 19-year-old guy currently completing my computer science degree but I love music and also love to play games so want to make a living out of making sounds and music for games

So the million dollar question what all skills and other general requirements do I need

Till now I have seen requirements such as

Good knowledge of audio editing software such as sound forge and izotope products(which I don't have and don't know will I be able to buy those)

And have knowledge of middleware (currently learning FMOD)

And knowledge of c/c++ programming
(Which I will surely have after my graduation)

Am I missing something

And I am open to any tips or suggestion and maybe provide me with some secrets

No trolls, please...

[generaldiomedes]

Groove3 has an excellent tutorial on creating video game music and effects. Worth spending some $$$ on it.

https://www.groove3.com/tutorials/Creat ... -Explained

Hint - I would take some music theory and composition courses.

I don’t think c/c++ programming is required unless you are making the tools themselves? I think there are enough tools out there to create pretty much any sound imaginable today, so as a creator you would be a software user. Unless I am missing something.

[generaldiomedes]

Also video game music is a lot like cinematic music - same synchronization with the mood required by the scene. So any exposition on film scoring or effects would also be applicable.

[Apratim]

Groove3 has an excellent tutorial on creating video game music and effects. Worth spending some $$$ on it.

https://www.groove3.com/tutorials/Creat ... -Explained

Hint - I would take some music theory and composition courses.

I don’t think c/c++ programming is required unless you are making the tools themselves? I think there are enough tools out there to create pretty much any sound imaginable today, so as a creator you would be a software user. Unless I am missing something.

Ok thanks mate

As far as cinematic scoring goes it is an unknown land for me
Will see that

And
I just saw c/c++ as the additional /bonus skill on some dev pages

[whyterabbyt]

I mean I am 19-year-old guy currently completing my computer science degree but I love music and also love to play games so want to make a living out of making sounds and music for games

It'd be unusual to find work doing both. So, up front, you probably need to narrow it down to music composition, sound effects design or audio programming (eg on the audio engine side of things, though not necessarily DSP).

For sound effects design, anything specific to film and broadcast sound will be equally relevant. Hit up designingsound.org and go from there. You'll almost certainly need to know ProTools, and your main tools will be that, and a field recorder and mic.

For audio engine programming, you'll almost certainly need to know how to use fmod or wwise. And I'd really suggest you get familiar with using whichever one you choose within a game engine ie Unity or Unreal, even if its just moving cubes around.

[Apratim]

I mean I am 19-year-old guy currently completing my computer science degree but I love music and also love to play games so want to make a living out of making sounds and music for games

It'd be unusual to find work doing both. So, up front, you probably need to narrow it down to music composition, sound effects design or audio programming (eg on the audio engine side of things, though not necessarily DSP).

For sound effects design, anything specific to film and broadcast sound will be equally relevant. Hit up designingsound.org and go from there. You'll almost certainly need to know ProTools, and your main tools will be that, and a field recorder and mic.

For audio engine programming, you'll almost certainly need to know how to use fmod or wwise. And I'd really suggest you get familiar with using whichever one you choose within a game engine ie Unity or Unreal, even if its just moving cubes around.

Nope I don't want to get into dsp and other audio synthesis stuff .i just saw some game dev pages and saw c/c++ as a bonus in most of them so

As far as protools go i couldn't say i will be able to afford it....
I only know Reaper (the first and could be the last daw i will use)

And for middleware i am learning FMOD as starting point

And Thanks for the designing sound link

I am just asking am i missing something in skills other than the experience (which is around 3 years minimum for a AAA company) to work in a reputable company
.you know some secretes or some common requestes that the company make which is not mentioned on the jobs pages

[pekbro]

The secret is that they will tell you, unless you have some experience or specific education
regarding sound design or composing, you should get some before seeking a job, period.
Sometimes if you're insanely talented, that might work as well.

A production beit game or film is no different, specific teams will do specific jobs, all controlled
by a project manager. It has to be done like that or you will get nowhere, seriously.

The best option today, would actually be to find at minimum an artist to partner with, then
make your own game, if it's done well you might get a shot. Another thing you can do is create
a modd for a popular game, a few well known modders have been hired by valve, stardock
2k etc...

[DJ Warmonger]

I was in pretty similiar situation some years ago. How much experience in music making do you have at the age of 19? If zero, then better pass it and start a career as a software developer.

Because, you know, there are many people who want to do the same and already have solid music backgroud at this time.

[Apratim]

[Apratim]

I was in pretty similiar situation some years ago. How much experience in music making do you have at the age of 19? If zero, then better pass it and start a career as a software developer.

Because, you know, there are many people who want to do the same and already have solid music backgroud at this time.

As far as music goes
Yes i had training in Indian classical music ..you know making music on harmonium and some other Indian instruments
So yeah i have a pretty solid background for music

[pekbro]

With a CS degree, making your own game should be pretty feasible. Working at a studio isn’t all that great anyway, which is why so many indie devs leave them to start their own thing. You’re a gamer, just make what you yourself would like to play.

Think small, AAA productions require AAA budgets.

In today’s market, that’s really you’re best bet. You might make some money as well.

[whyterabbyt]

As far as protools go i couldn't say i will be able to afford it....
I only know Reaper (the first and could be the last daw i will use)

This, unfortunately, is an attitude that comes up all over the place, but Im afraid its not going to work for you in this respect. Companies, in the main, will expect you to know the industry-standard tools, not your own personal favourites. Whether you like it or not, its a fact. Until you're the person who hires, fires, and makes decisions about what your staff use, if you want a job doing something, you use the tools companies expect you to know.
Doesnt matter if you think the tools are better, doesnt even matter if they are better. When you're on the bottom of the ladder, you're getting paid to fit in with what the company needs done, and that needs fitting in with their pipeline. Noone's going to adjust their pipeline to your ego, which is what 'but Im just going to use my favourite toys' will be seen as.

For any kind of image work, that's 99% going to be Photoshop and Illustrator, not GIMP or Inkscape. For 3D its Max and Maya, not Blender. For film, game and post-production audio, its ProTools.

There will be exceptions, companies with different tools, or some flexibility but really not that many, or for someone unproven. And you're really ruling yourself out of a job if you go in with the premise that you're going to tell a business how you've decided to work for them.

[whyterabbyt]

With a CS degree, making your own game should be pretty feasible.

Almost certainly not. 'Game engine' maybe, 'game' not really, not for anything that's non-trivial (ie more sophisticated as a game than, say, Doom or Asteroids) . Several different other skillsets involved there, from writer through to graphic or 3D artist and animator, and, erm, to game designer (it really is a thing all of its own) none of which get covered by a CS degree.
In fact, not all of it gets covered by some of the game specific degrees out there, though they'll certainly touch on far more than a CS degree does.

[pekbro]

Definitely that’s true for the most part, which is why earlier I suggested partnering with an artist at a minimum.

They should still be well equipped for engineering and even game mechanics design. And of course, as you pointed out, it’s dependent on the type of game, some of the most technically complex games ever made, involve no art, writing or anything like that. Dwarf Fortress actually generates, lore, artwork, character design all on its own, as an example.

[Apratim]

As far as protools go i couldn't say i will be able to afford it....
I only know Reaper (the first and could be the last daw i will use)

This, unfortunately, is an attitude that comes up all over the place, but Im afraid its not going to work for you in this respect. Companies, in the main, will expect you to know the industry-standard tools, not your own personal favourites. Whether you like it or not, its a fact. Until you're the person who hires, fires, and makes decisions about what your staff use, if you want a job doing something, you use the tools companies expect you to know.
Doesnt matter if you think the tools are better, doesnt even matter if they are better. When you're on the bottom of the ladder, you're getting paid to fit in with what the company needs done, and that needs fitting in with their pipeline. Noone's going to adjust their pipeline to your ego, which is what 'but Im just going to use my favourite toys' will be seen as.

For any kind of image work, that's 99% going to be Photoshop and Illustrator, not GIMP or Inkscape. For 3D its Max and Maya, not Blender. For film, game and post-production audio, its ProTools.

There will be exceptions, companies with different tools, or some flexibility but really not that many, or for someone unproven. And you're really ruling yourself out of a job if you go in with the premise that you're going to tell a business how you've decided to work for them.

Seems like time to dip my toes in pt free version