October 29 - November 1, 2015IASIG Members Steve Horowitz and Stephen Harwood both moderated panels at AES which were very well attended. There were lots of students, all wanting to get into the Game Audio business. The AES Game Audio TC meeting was also mostly attended by students. IASIG also cooperated with IGDA on an event on the Wed night before AES, put together by Stephen Harwood. Here are some of the AES sessions about Interactive Audio (with IASIG members in Bold): KEYNOTE: Virtual Reality, Audio, and the Future Special Event: Opening Ceremonies / Awards / Keynote Speech Presenters: Jim Anderson, New York University - New York, NY, USA; Paul Gallo, Sports Video Group - Yonkers, NY, USA; Director, DTV Audio Group Andres A. Mayo, Andres Mayo Mastering & Audio Post - Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bob Moses, AES - Vashon Island, WA, USA; Frank Wells, AES/Blank Canvas Publishing/Clyne Media - Murfreesboro, TN, USA Abstract: Michael Abrash is Chief Scientist of Oculus VR. He was the GDI development lead for the first two versions of Windows NT, joined John Carmack to write Quake at Id Software, worked on the first two versions of Xbox, co-authored the Pixomatic software renderer at Rad Game Tools, worked on Intel’s Larrabee project, worked on both augmented and virtual reality at Valve, and currently leads the Oculus Research team. He is also the author of several books, including Michael Abrash’s Graphics Programming Black Book, and has written and spoken frequently about graphics, performance programming, and virtual reality. G6 - Game Audio Careers - Blazing a Path to Your Future Chair: Stephen Harwood, Jr., Education Working Group Chair; IASIG - New York, NY, USA Panelists: Bonnie Bogovich, Schell Games - Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Jacques Deveau, Audiokinetic - Montreal, QC, Canada; Jason Kanter, Avalanche Studios; Tom Salta, Persist Music - Norwalk, CT, USA; Brian Walker, Audio Director, Leap Frog Abstract: Games are big business. From social and mobile games to consoles the field is diverse and growing. So what is the best way to get that first gig in audio for games? How can I transfer my existing skills to interactive media? We will take a panel of today’s top creative professionals from large game studios to Indie producers and ask them what they think you need to know when looking for work in the game industry. So, whether you are already working in the game industry or just thinking of the best way to transfer your skills from film, TV or general music production to interactive media or a complete newbie to the industry, this panel is a must! G7 - Game Audio Education—New Opportunities for Students Chair: Steve Horowitz, Game Audio Institute - San Francisco, CA, USA; Nick Digital Abstract: Game Audio education programs are starting to take root and sprout up all over the world. Game audio education is becoming a hot topic. What are some of the latest training programs out here? What are the pros and cons of a degree program versus just getting out there on my own? I am already a teacher, how can I start a game audio program at my current school? Good questions! This panel brings together entrepreneurs from some of the top private instructional institutions and teachers from some growing programs to discuss the latest and greatest educational models in audio for interactive media. Attendees will get a fantastic overview of what is being offered inside and outside of the traditional education system. This is a must for students and teachers alike, who are trying to navigate the waters and steer a path toward programs that are right for them in the shifting tides of audio for games and interactive media. G8 - Virtual Reality 3D Audio - State of the Art & Vision of the Near Future Presenter: Edgar Choueiri, Princeton University - Princeton, NJ, USA G9 - VR Game Audio: The Importance of Sound Propagation Presenter: Ravish Mehra, Oculus Research - Redmond, WA, USA Abstract: Realistic sound propagation is extremely important for VR game audio for improving the sense of presence and immersion of the player in the virtual environment. Sound propagation cues can provide additional information about the game environment (small vs large, inside vs outside) and about events happening outside the field-of-view (such as enemy sneaking from behind). Most current games use simple techniques, such as pre-baked reverb filters, to generate game sound. These techniques do not respond to the dynamic aspects of the game e.g. moving sources, listeners, objects. In many cases, the sound engine is not given access to the scene geometry to compute propagation effects. In this presentation, I talk about the importance of accurate sound propagation techniques for VR applications and how it can improve the overall experience of the player in VR games. >Presenter: Winifred Phillips, Generations Productions LLC - New York City Metropolitan Area Abstract: This talk will explore the structure and deployment strategies for multiple music tracks composed in a system of dynamic layers for six LittleBigPlanet games. Composer Winifred Phillips has over 11 years of game industry experience, including six games in the famous LittleBigPlanet franchise: LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet Toy Story, LittleBigPlanet Cross Controller, LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, LittleBigPlanet Karting, and LittleBigPlanet 3. This talk will cover issues of importance to composers, audio engineers and sound designers when working with a highly layered music system. Attendees will be alerted to common problems associated with a layered system, and Phillips will reveal useful tips that she learned along the way, and common sense strategies can be employed for any layered music system, whether it's designed to be modest or large-scale. |