Kyle Blondin
Sound Designer & Composer
Cat Daddy Games & Sound On Games

Home: Redmond, WA

Email: kyle@soundongames.com

Web: http://www.soundongames.com

Silent Veil. This is a tactical FPS for the PC & Xbox that Cat Daddy Games is currently shopping to publishers.

Cruiseline Tycoon. An Activision PC title that is currently in production. The music is being designed using Microsoft's Direct Music Producer for the purpose of enhancing player interactivity within the game and creating seemless musical transitions.

Ski Resort Tycoon II, Skateboard Park Tycoon I, Skateboard Park Tycoon World Tour 2K3, Golf Resort Tycoon II, Schoolyard Sports, Extreme Paintbrawl IV, The Gladiators of Rome, Civil War: The Game.

I had the typical gamer childhood with a Vic 20, an Atari 2600, and of course, the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) while growing up. In 5th grade it was time to pick an instrument for concert band, and the drums were my first choice. Since that time I've picked up many other instruments and audio knowledge along the way, including a degree in Audio Production from the Art Institute of Seattle.

I used to run a 24-track recording studio where I mainly recorded and produced albums for bands -- but that got old quickly. It wasn't much fun recording other people's music.

In 2001, I was hired by Cat Daddy Games as the lead sound designer and started my career in the game audio business. I do everything there, including script writing, music composition, programming, sound design, etc.

In 2003, I started Sound On Games, a game audio contracting studio that is just getting up and running as I write this.

I've been playing video games forever. If I'm a musician who loves video games and I have a background in audio production, how could I not get into the industry? It was all about proving myself to the first person that opened the door for me. After that, everything just started falling into place. I really believe that if you're not a gamer, you're at a disadvantage -- you don't really know what will be fun in a game if you don't enjoy them.

Tools I Can't Live Without:

Roland XV-2020, Sound Forge, my guitar. That's the stuff I need to get the bare minimum done.

Conker's Bad Fur Day and Medal of Honor Allied Assault.

Conker's Bad Fur Day was a game that I kinda just stumbled upon. I have never really been into platform adventure games. My friend made me watch the cut scene with the big poo monster and the drunken scarecrow, and I was hooked. Here is this mountain-sized monster, singing an opera song about how he's going to smash me with his poo. The music would raise in excitement every time you got the toilet paper in his mouth and the transition was seamless. I was amazed at how well all of the music in the game complemented (and in some cases interacted with) the game. I think there's a total of 60 or 70 minutes of music ranging from hillbilly, fun, adventurous to creepy-crawly suspense and techno. I listen to the songs every once in a while, right along with my other music on my media player. The music really stands on its own.

I've got a thing for FPS World War II games, so Medal of Honor: Allied Assault was the perfect game for me. Starting right from the main menu screen, you hear the solo brass instrument with a somber instrumental background and you know it's time for war (the calm before the storm). The main reason I like the music is the fact that it's all catchy. The melodies are fun to listen to, yet I've never become annoyed by them. The game had enough music so that it didn't repeat that often. I think that anybody who's played this game for at least a short amount of time can hum the main menu theme. The music really sets the mood, the occasional short 15-second musical cue right at the beginning of a new mission that explains plainly and simply that something really bad is up over that hill. I really like that low, dirty brass sound that I can't seem to get out of a sound module. Maybe that's because I'm not using real instruments most of the time.

None really. I'd like to listen to music, but everytime I start something up I turn it off to listen to whatever I'm working on. Typically all of my music listening goes on in the car. Most of the music I listen to is rock or punk with a little classical on the side.