LONDON: Michael Kelly, Chairman of the AES 49th International Conference on Audio for Games, reports the event, held last month in London’s Carlton House Terrace, scored high points from all attendees. The third conference in the on-going AES series attracted 116 attendees from leading academic institutions and game developers including BBC, Capcom, Codemasters, Eutechnyx, Guerrilla Games, IO Interactive, Lionhead Studios, Microsoft Studios, Mind Candy, Ninja Theory, Playdead, Playfish, Rovio Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment and Wargaming.
“These conferences provide a unique opportunity for broad creative and technical discussion on game audio and for cross-fertilization between industry and academia,” Kelly says. “The audience was truly international and included visitors from the UK, Europe, Russia, the US, Japan, Korea and Australia. It was large enough to draw key players, and intimate enough to encourage significant dialogue.”
In an’unconventional change of pace,’ the illuminating Keynote address by Robin Rimbaud, aka “Scanner”, was presented on the 2nd day of the event. A highly regarded London-based artist, writer, and composer, Scanner spoke on “Inspiration From A Different Place.” The unusual timing of the Keynote underscored the theme of ‘out of the box’ thinking. Other highlights included Scott Selfon’s “Crossing the Streams” tutorial on novel historic and contemporary game audio applications; Mike Caviezel’s “Planes, Trains and Auto-mobiles” presentation which provided a revealing look at how vehicle sounds are recorded and employed; and Stephan Schutze’s “How Sound Effects Realities” which explained the role ‘perception’ plays in game sound design. Xavier Buffoni’s talk on High Dynamic Range (HDR) Audio drew positive feedback for providing broad technical details on this timely game audio topic.
Attendees found extensive networking opportunities at both the Dolby-Sponsored Opening Day Reception and the following evening’s pub gathering (so popular was that event that an impromptu gathering returned to the scene on the final night of the conference). “AES Audio For Game Conferences” are proving increasingly popular,” Michael Kelly concludes. “Feedback is universally positive, we consistently draw high level participants, and the connectivity factor between them is extraordinary. We are already planning a fourth Conference for 2015.” AES 49th Conference highlights are posted at: http://www.audioforgames.net/wp/conference/titles-and-abstracts.
Photo: Participants in the AES 49th International Conference on Audio for Games, following the February 6-8 event at London’s Carlton House Terrace.
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The Audio Engineering Society was formed in 1948 by a group of concerned audio engineers. The AES counts over 14,000 members throughout the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Japan and the Far East. The organization serves as the pivotal force in the exchange and dissemination of technical information for the industry. For additional information visit http://www.aes.org
