GDC was host once again for our two signature IASIG events, and loads of audio sessions that helped people learn more about their craft. Here’s a rundown of IASIG activities at GDC 2018:

SPONSORS
None of our events would be possible without the support of FMOD, Audiokinetic, Dolby, Keywords Audio Services, G-Technology, iZotope, and Krotos. Please show your support for these sponsors by visiting them online.

MIXER
We hosted a record 200 people at the mixer this year. While this is a great sign that this event remains one of the more popular events. Given its popularity, we’re looking for a larger place, which means more sponsorships are needed. If you like this event and want it to continue, please tell your employer and ask them to sponsor our 25th next year! We want it to be bigger and better than ever, but we need your help to make that happen. Send an email to Kurt Heiden (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) if you know anyone who might want to sponsor.

TOWN HALL
The format change we introduced two years ago remained a great way to connect with attendees at our 24th IASIG Town Hall Meeting. Topics that came up included:

Using Slack workspaces to communicate. This was a great idea that can be used as an alternative to the traditional email reflectors we currently use. Do you use Slack or something similar? Let us know! We’re interested in knowing if you think any of these tools are worth using for IASIG working group activity.

Owen Peterson’s education resource inspired a lot of questions about execution and scope, and it looks like we may get some volunteers from the event as a result. If you’re interested in participating in this project, please let Owen know by emailing him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Normalization standards - While much has been written on this topic, the industry seems to change often enough that having a regularly-updated resource, perhaps even Owen’s project, could beneficial. There’s a plugin from iZotope for normalizing for radio, but people new to the industry have to hunt around for these things.

Implementing a Reddit-style system where people can vote on content in Owen’s new IASIG resource would be helpful for people visiting the site by bringing popular answers to the forefront.

Michael Sweet recommended establishing a naming convention or nomenclature for what we do and write an open standard that could be imported into FMOD or WWISE or others, that would allow people creating layered tracks or branching tracks, crossfades, transitions or whatever, to streamline and standardize the kinds of things we do in interactive music. This would take whatever FMOD is doing and what WWISE is doing, find any crossover points and standardize them. Michael has has a new prototyping music tool for interactive and adaptive audio built in Unity and he wants to get it out here and have IASIG help him grow and test it. If you’re interested in helping, please email Michael at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

It was recommended a white paper be drafted on the IASIG website about what Fabric, FMOD, WWISE, UNITY and others are, and what they do.

WHAT’S NEXT
If any of the topics above sound interesting to you, speak up! We want to hear from you. You can help by starting a discussion on the IASIG Facebook Group, or if you’re an IASIG member already, by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get things rolling.

Stay tuned and drop us a line to let us know of what you’d like to see solved.

Best regards,

Kurt Heiden
Chair, Interactive Audio Special Interest Group

Curious about IASIG@GDC events? Click here for photos and info from previous events.