VIII. Got Your Sound Budget? Use it!

A. Your Simple Checklist

Today's games are competing with each other on every level. Sound is no exception. You must secure the best resources possible for your sound team. This will require that you use your budget wisely, and use all of it.

Prior to beginning the sound effects production, ask yourself the following questions.

1. Is your sound team complete?  (i.e. sound designer(s), supervising/Lead sound designer, composer, audio director and audio programmer)
2. Is each member of the sound team assigned a specific task uncompromised by additional or overlapping roles?
3. Is your sound team assigned only to your project?
4. Does your sound team have enough time to complete your project?
5. Does your sound team have the adequate resources necessary for your specific game?  These include sonically treated work spaces, equipment, software and sound effects libraries that are compatible with the needs of your game.
6. Does your sound team have a demonstrated track record of producing sound within the style and genre of your project?

If you answered "yes" to all of these questions, your sound design team is properly equipped, prepared and ready for production. Answering "no" to any of these questions will tell you where you will need to focus portions of your budget.

B. Outsourcing

If the sound team is incomplete or in any way compromised, you should consider outsourcing an appropriate amount of the workload to game audio specialists. Look for companies and people that have a strong resume of interactive sound production, and have successfully produced sound for "high profile" titles. If your game has special stylistic needs, then consider companies that have a track record of producing sound for similar titles.

C. Foley

The overall 'theme' of your game will help dictate where you may need additional resources. A historically based game will require authenticity; therefore consider obtaining fresh recordings of historically accurate weapons and vehicles. If your game focuses on destruction, a sizeable Foley session may be appropriate to produce original content unencumbered by overused sound effects libraries. A small but well organized recording session can give your game a lot of fresh spark without breaking the budget.

IX. Marketing Your Sound

Game marketing has typically focused on the creator, developer or the voice actors within the game. In many cases, sound can be used as a marketing tool as well. For "The Incredible Hulk - Ultimate destruction" we hired some of Hollywood's finest sound recordists to coordinate a Foley session that would produce the raw destruction sounds we needed to create the sound effects necessary for this game. Our session took place at an auto-dismantling yard in a southern California desert. A giant forklift and bulldozer were used to drop, drag and tear apart cars, vans and trailers. Multiple video cameras captured the session for future use on the "Behind-the-scenes" reel.  The added benefit was the marketability achieved by everyone's dedication to producing the most destructive sounding game to date. Your ability to market your game's sound will also help raise any additional finances needed to bring your sound up to the next level.

Steve Kutay is the co-founder of Radius360 an award-winning audio Post Production company, specializing in sound for film and games, located in Los Angeles, California. For more information please visit www.radius360.com or contact Steve at steve.kutay@radius360.com.

©2006 Steve Kutay, Radius360. This article may be posted in partial or entirety as long as credit is given to Steve Kutay, Radius360 and www.radius360.com