June 2004 Sputnik Summary

 

Game Audio: Past, Present, and Future

 

Speaker: Brian Schmidt, Program Manager, Audio and Media, XBOX

 

Game audio has changed dramatically over just the past few years. From it's roots in "bleeps and bloops" to current Grammy-eligible orchestral soundtracks in 5.1 surround, game audio has gone from a niche-market to a large and fast growing industry. Organizations like the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) have appeared further pushing the industry forward. In his talk, Brian will discuss the importance of audio in gaming and the gaming industry, how game audio has changed over the years, and where is might be headed from artistic, technical and business perspectives.

 

Bio: Brian Schmidt currently serves as program manager for Xbox audio and media at Microsoft. Schmidt has been in the multimedia audio industry since 1987 as both a composer/sound designer and technical consultant and sits on the Board of Directors of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.)and the GDC advisory board. As a composer, he has personally composed music for over 120 interactive games, including John Madden Football, Jurassic Park, and the Star Wars Trilogy, as well as composing the award-winning music for Crue Ball. He has been contracted for custom game music compositions from Aaron Spelling, Michael Jordan, and Joel Silver, and his work has been shown in both television and film. Prior to working at Microsoft, Schmidt was a freelance consultant, working with such companies as Sega, Sony, Capcom, QSound Labs, and several other makers of interactive entertainment, designing interactive audio systems including Capcom's arcade game audio system and the sound system for Sega Pinball.