Being an audio designer for video games is a remarkably complex, yet rewarding experience. Anyone skilled, lucky, and passionate enough to dedicate themselves fulltime to it knows the sublime satisfaction of composing music and sounds for video games. Often times we are asked to compose for a genre that we may not be fully comfortable and experienced in, but we tackle it straight on by listening, learning, and doing, or we lose the title and credit.

This year I will be exploring more of the composing for various environments and cultures around the world. Many video games have a geographical theme, such as the rolling sands of ancient Egypt or a cultural theme, such as for a mah-jong puzzle game. The world has a rich variety of cultural and environmental music, and thus video games need a rich variety of appropriate compositions.

In the following months I will be spotlighting some of these more popular styles, and some of the tips and techniques I’ve learned in creating these 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.