Product Description

Turn your musical passion into a profitable career with this essential guide to the business and technical skills you need to succeed in the multi-billion dollar games industry. Step-by-step instructions lead you through the entire music and sound effects process - from developing your skills and purchasing the right equipment, to creating a great demo reel and landing a job, to keeping your clients happy. The companion CD-ROM features audio and cinematic examples, demos of useful sound editing and sequencing programs, sample business contracts, and much more.

"Somebody gag this guy! HeÕs giving away all our secrets!"

- Chance Thomas, Game Composer and President, HUGEsound

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #687900 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 318 pages

Customer Reviews

Caught off Guard Again
I bought this book on recommendation of a friend in the video game industry. Be away of what this book is and what it isn't. This is not a book on how to write audio for video games. This is an introductory book to audio and its role in the video game industry, and how to get into the industry. This book contains no technical information, as one might hope, about computer audio technologies such as Direct music or any others. If you already know how digital audio, MIDI, and mixers work then most of this book will bore you to tears.
I have no doubt that, if you are looking for the information which is in this book it is good. The presentation is longwinded and very centered around the author rather than the topic itself it seems. At times, the book seems to lose all relevance to the audio industry. The interview with established video game artists are interesting, however I didn't find in them anything that I hadn't learned by playing around for a hours with recording techniques.
In conclusion, there are better books on the market in all regards except for the video game audio industry notes. For that I have found no better source, however it is wrapped in information which I already know, and that I found nearly impossible to sit through.

Especially for neophyte musicians looking to make their mark
The Complete Guide To Game Audio by digital audio expert and music composer Aaron Marks is a solid resource for all composers, musicians, sound designers, and game developers which covers everything from the essential skills for making a living in the exciting world of video and computer game audio, to searching for and landing a job in the field, to how much to charge, as well as a wealth of tips, tricks, and techniques for creating exciting and suitable music. An accompanying CD-ROM contains music and sound effect samples, demo versions of sound editing programs, interviews with composers and sound designers, and much, much more. The Complete Guide To Game Audio is confidently recommended, especially for neophyte musicians looking to make their mark in a growing and popular field.

A Great Book
This is a terrific book for all-around beginners, but if you are an advanced composer that's just lacking game industry experience-- this book is equally as valuable. I did skip past pages here-and-there, because I already knew about a particular subject-- but I still use this book to help me through a certain business procedure or to look up a sample entertainment contract. This was definitely worth the money.