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What are "linear media" and "non-linear media?"
 

Linear media is the traditional media you are familiar with: movies, TV, music, etc. In linear media, you know at production time when actions and events happen—they all occur on a well-defined time-line. In non-linear media such as video games, you do not know in advance when events will occur, or even if they will occur at all. While audio for linear and non-linear media share many common elements, video game music and game sound design require specialized tools, techniques and aesthetics. So if you're composing music for video games, you need to be able to adapt your score in response to the actions as the occur.
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I do sound design for short films and the occasional TV spot. I know ProTools like I was born with it. Why do I need to attend GameSoundCon?


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Great ProTools (or similar) chops are always valuable. But for games, that’s just the starting point. Games typically use specialized game audio design tools such as FMOD Studio or Wwise for creating interactive, dynamic sound effects and integrating them into the game—the traditional audio tools aren’t designed or equipped for that. Understanding the tools, and the concepts behind them will put you far ahead of the majority of composers and sound designers who only understand linear audio.

Is there a market for video game composers these days? Don’t games just license songs these days?


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There is definitely a market for game music composers. Relatively few games simply license existing songs for their games. The majority of console games have custom-written scores composed specifically for the game.

Further the explosion of mobile, social and other independent games have created a growing need for video game composers and video game sound designers who know how to implement interactive music and sound into games.

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How do I get a job doing video game music or in game sound design if I have experience in other media? What kind of game music jobs or game sound designer jobs are there? What about someone just starting out? Do I need special tools? What are the budgets? Do iPhone games need music? What do I need to know and do?



Those questions are too much for a simple FAQ. In fact, providing concrete, detailed answers to those questions and others is exactly why GameSoundCon was created?
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There is definitely a market for game music composers. Relatively few games simply license existing songs for their games. The majority of console games have custom-written scores composed specifically for the game.

Further the explosion of mobile, social and other independent games have created a growing need for video game composers and video game sound designers who know how to implement interactive music and sound into games.
I'm a student.  Do you have a student rate?
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There is no student rate for GameSoundCon 2020 online. When we are back in-person in 2021, we will re-institute our student rate.
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What is "GDCNext"?



GDCNext is a new conference for game developers being held in LA immediately after GameSoundCon.  It is also being held at the LA Convention Center.
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GDCNext is put on by the same organization that runs the big Game Developers Conference in the spring, but with a bit of a different focus.  Since it's brand new, it's hard to tell what to expect!  But it is a great place to network and mingle with game developers, which is why we arranged for every GameSoundCon attendee (up to 150) to get a free EXPO pass for the conference.  The EXPO pass is good for the exhibit floor as well as "GDCPlay", a pavilion of sorts for independent game developers to show off their new games.

 

GDCNext is co-located with another new conference, AppDev, which focuses on apps for mobile devices

There is definitely a market for game music composers. Relatively few games simply license existing songs for their games. The majority of console games have custom-written scores composed specifically for the game.

Further the explosion of mobile, social and other independent games have created a growing need for video game composers and video game sound designers who know how to implement interactive music and sound into games.
How do I know if I qualify for a GDCNext EXPO Pass?  How do I get it?



If the offer for GDCNext EXPO pass is still on the GameSoundCon home page, then you will qualify for the GDCNext EXPO pass when you register.
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Towards the end of October, we will email you a one-use promotional code that you use to register for GDCNext at the GDCNext web site.  Note that you must register for your GDCNext EXPO pass by October 30, so keep an eye out for the email.

There is definitely a market for game music composers. Relatively few games simply license existing songs for their games. The majority of console games have custom-written scores composed specifically for the game.

Further the explosion of mobile, social and other independent games have created a growing need for video game composers and video game sound designers who know how to implement interactive music and sound into games.
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