What I do

My role is quite broad but mainly I make sounds for video games. The two biggest things are the content creation, where I create sounds like footsteps or dialogue and go out and record them and edit them. The other part is more technical where I take those sounds and put them into the game through specific software and here, I do basic scripting and some coding.

How I became a technician

I am from Austria, but the year before I finished my A-level equivalent I dropped out and moved to the UK alone to pursue a career in music. I attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford to do a BTEC diploma, which took two years. After one year, because of my progress, they said I could go straight to a degree. So, I did a degree in Music Production – it was more technically focused.

At university I did some freelancing and went to game jams, it’s where people from the games industry come together over the weekend in their free time to make a game. It is time limited, and it’s a great way to gain experience. It made me decide on the gaming industry for my career. A good friend of mine worked at Soundcuts and told me they were hiring. I applied and got the job in 2020.

A typical day in my
working life

In the morning, we have a stand-up meeting where we catch up on what needs doing, what everyone is currently doing and what the bigger objectives are. If anyone has any issues, problems or concerns, we talk it all through.

After that I go to the current task of the day. At the moment, I am doing a lot of sound design. So, I use software and work with animation or gameplay clips, and record and edit and put the sounds together. I send it to the team for feedback and then put it into the game. This takes most of the day.

When we put things into the game and play them back, a lot of times they don’t work as they should, so we call those bugs. These can be small or big problems that we have to fix. We do a lot of play testing, so on any given day I will play through the game, test how it sounds and write down any bugs. If I can fix them I will, but if not, I communicate with the correct team to make sure they take care of it. We also have client meetings. We are in constant communication as we work remotely.

This is an industry full of amazing people and that’s what makes work fun. New people get embraced immediately, so don’t be afraid to ask. Follow the fun and make a career out of it!

Nothing will ever be perfect; everything is a work in progress. You can do a lot more than you think. Show up every day and stay consistent.

A surprising fact about my job

There is a lot of creativity in things you wouldn’t necessarily think there is, for example, dialogue production and voice directing. It is very interesting to get more insight into this and to meet the voice actors and see how much it takes to put good performances into a game.

Also, if we need a gun sound, and it’s in the budget and time frame, we can get someone else to record for us. We can make it more interesting by adding different layers, for example, we could add a door slam and take the high frequencies out of it and put that underneath the gunshot to make it more boomy. In real life, guns don’t really sound like they do in films!

A little more about
my everyday role

What I love most about my job

I get to be creative on a daily basis, and there is always something new. I love to work with other people and collaborate. We have an awesome team, and it is really fun to work together, whether that be figuring out a problem or sending work to someone else and them giving feedback or adding to the sound. The game audio community is amazing when it comes to being helpful. They share resources to help others learn, and people are happy to mentor and offer guidance.

The best bits about working in a team

The best thing is the idea sharing and work collaboration – being able to bounce ideas off each other and feedback, being able to critically analyse each other’s work and putting that into words.

The most exciting thing I’ve achieved so far in my job

The Quarry, the game we have been working on. It is really rewarding to have that come out. It’s an adult release with lots of blood and gore. We made tuna pasta and played with the food to make noises for some of the battle scenes! Also going to Develop (an industry conference for game developers). We had a booth there, and it was rewarding to meet so many amazing people from the industry.

The skills I use most

Attention to detail and problem solving. We have to build entire worlds and make them come alive with audio, so detail is what takes it to a believable next level, for example, leaves rustling on a street or the creaking of wood when an old door opens. We are also creating the systems of how the sound will be played back – that is always a challenge. There are certain tools and building blocks available, so we need to work out how to use them in the best way.

My favourite tool

A microphone – I really enjoy recording things. It’s an opportunity to get outside or, if I’m indoors, I might get to break some plates!

What I wear to work

I like to be as comfortable as possible. Headphones are key to every outfit. I also use some gear for recording sounds out in the field, so I take a backpack for microphones etc and wear cargo trousers to keep things in.

The next steps in my career journey

I would love to be a team lead and work on many more games. Working with a team and to lead is definitely something I aspire to.

Find out more about this role

Discover what qualifications you’ll need, how much you can earn, and what the next steps are.

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