GRAMMY SoundTables® Event Held at Pyramind in San Francisco Provided an In-Depth Look at Interactive Game Audio and Music Production with Directors from Top Gaming Companies, Including Don Veca of Electronic Arts, David Collins and Jesse Harlin of LucasArts, and Jonathan Mayer of Sony Computer Entertainment America
P&E Wing Formalizes Ongoing Relationship with G.A.N.G.
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (July 14, 2009) — As part of its ongoing initiative to provide interactive forums for all categories of professional audio genres and sectors, the Producers & Engineers Wing (P&E Wing) of The Recording Academy®, along with The Recording Academy’s San Francisco Chapter and the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) presented “GRAMMY SoundTables®: Game Audio Network Guild Summer Summit,” on July 9, 2009. The event was held at Pyramind, a leading digital music and game audio training company in San Francisco. This conference marks a continued effort by the P&E Wing and The Recording Academy to further understand how video gaming and professional audio are together expanding the boundaries of both sides of the entertainment industry. The conference included an announcement of a new partnership between the P&E Wing and G.A.N.G. to collaborate on initiatives and events that facilitate a working relationship between the professional audio and gaming communities to benefit all involved.
This GRAMMY SoundTables event centered on a panel of veteran game audio industry experts, moderated by G.A.N.G. President Paul Lipson, who analyzed the evolving relationship between professional audio and game design/play. Panelists included Don Veca of Electronic Arts, David Collins and Jesse Harlin of LucasArts and Jonathan Mayer of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA). Using examples from current hit games including EA’s “Deadspace,” LucasArts’ “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” and SCEA’s “Infamous,” the panelists explored the synthesis of music and sound effects in creating mood and atmosphere, along with challenges unique to the rapidly evolving and competitive game audio industry, such as memory budgets, non-standardized processing tools and implementation and middleware platforms.
The strategic goal of the conference was also achieved: to involve the game audio community more deeply with that of professional audio, and to inform and enlighten the P&E Wing constituency about the nuances of sound for video games. Recent changes in technology, such as the emergence of high-definition formats like Blu-ray (which offers vast new possibilities for high-definition, multichannel audio) have made this kind of interaction more critical than ever. Following the panel discussion, the audience adjourned to Pyramind’s studios to experience the games that had been discussed with audio playback featuring 5.1 surround monitoring systems provided by JBL.
“Music for games is one of today’s most exciting musical areas, in part because the sonic possibilities in games are so vast,” observed Maureen Droney, Sr. Executive Director of the Producers & Engineers Wing. “Producers & Engineers Wing and Game Audio Network Guild members share a passion for cutting-edge, high-quality sound, so it’s an obvious fit for these two communities to join forces to work for our common interests and goals. We’re very proud to be partnering with the largest, most complete organization of professionals, associates and students in the game audio industry.”
Paul Lipson, President of the Game Audio Network Guild, stated, “We are so excited about our partnership with The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing and think the connection between our communities is a crucial one. The upcoming events and programming we have planned reflect our commitment to the evolving audio landscape, and we look forward to serving our members through our innovative partnership framework.”
