Being an audio designer for video games is a remarkably complex, yet rewarding experience. From an early age I knew I wanted to mix my two joys: music, and games. While I have overcome the hurdles of “breaking-in” and “establishing” myself in the industry, one of the more significant obstacles in my early career was to find ways to compose music for a variety of genres. Over the years, I’ve developed tools and methods for approaching composing the myriad of styles required for a well-rounded audio designer.

Sometimes it may be intimidating starting a new style. Newcomers often break into the industry nestled in their own comfort zone of composing. I know I did. When I first dreamed up the crazy idea of composing for games, I was in high school fresh off a SNES RPG-a-thon. All I ever want to do was create awesome orchestral RPG scores. I quickly learned at the beginning of my career that being an audio designer meant you have to wear as many hats as there are genres, and there are a heck of a lot of different types of games out there!

In the following months I’ll be sharing some of the tips and techniques I’ve learned in creating diverse scores. This series is meant as a 101-course for new composers, but also for producers looking to put together design directions for their audio designers.

Harry Mack is an audio designer with more than 10 years industry experience, composing video game music and sound effects for over thirty titles. Examples of his latest work and samples are available at www.harrymack.com.