Prism Sound Orpheus - Audio Media

Special ReportDevelop Conference & Expo 2008Audio Media talks to John Broomhall about the third Develop Conference, and the growing opportunities for audio in games.The ‘business of play’ is thriving,and now in its third year, theDevelop Expo and Conferenceis all set to touch down in the vibrantcity of Brighton this July. Just a fewyears previous, who would havethought that the games industrywould be considered by many to bealmost as big and bright as that forfilm or television, but fast forwardto 2008, and technology has caughtup, allowing for big gaming dreamsto become big gaming reality.The Develop Conference ’08 reflectsthis dynamic feel to the industry,and a brighter future for the worldof games seems to be a key theme inthis year’s sessions and speakers.Indeed, coming from Frontier asa keynote speaker is David Braben,on ‘Why the future is brighter thanever’, looking at the opportunitiesfor game developers available in thisexciting, forward-seeking period forthe industry. This, among sessions onpythons, magical movie moments,and real emotion, as well as ‘Howto make children cry’ – could onlybe under the one roof of the gamesbusiness. If you ever wanted to knowhow Naughty Dog managed to puttogether Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune sobrilliantly and have fun at the sametime, or why Manhunt 2 was censoredin Britain, or how light can affect mood;then this year, Brighton is the city toset your sat-nav to. In total, there willbe 60 such sessions over three dayscovering a huge breadth of key topicsthat matter to game developers, withthe speakers pooled from some of themost creative and talented minds inthe industry today, including AntonyDouglas from O2, Damiano Iannettafrom Rare, Jonathan Smith fromTraveller’s Tales, and Phil Spencer fromMicrosoft Corporation.This mix of seminars, sessions,and workshops has helped toestablish the Develop Conferenceas the leading European event forgames professionals of all sectors, areputation that is growing year on year.2007’s Develop was an unmitigatedsuccess, with over 1,200 developersfrom across every level and area ofthe business attending; a figure that isalmost certain to increase for Develop’sthird outing, which also means nearboundlessnetworking opportunities.Priceless. And, as if you needed anymore excuse to mark 29-31 July in yourdiaries, there’s also the Develop Expo,which aims to bring together Europe’smost innovative games companiesand give visitors the chance to explorethe latest developments and tools.A free-for-all try-out session, with a baropportunely located right on the samefloor. Trés handy.The DevelopingWorld Of GamesAudio Media spoke with JohnBroomhall, organiser of the DevelopAudio Track about the conference,though first about a perceived risein the status of games audio inrecent times...“A lot of us of roughly our agehave grown up with games, and ofcourse all the people that are comingafter us, in their twenties, grow upplaying games.“I've seen the evidence just speakingat universities over the years... a whileago the students weren't that botheredor interested in games – they wantedto work in music, film, or TV.“These last couple of years – I'vereally noticed a change in that.People really aspire to workingin games, so there's this culturalembedding of games generally.“AM: Tell us about the Develop 2008Audio Track themes...“The main two components of theday, I think, are going to be case studies– leading audio designers who'vecompleted really interesting workrecently talking about what they'vedone, how they did it, and their angleson various aspects of game audio.I think the other big part of the day hasgot to be this examination of wheregame audio meets film audio.“We now have the technologyand the power to deliver truly greataudio, so more than ever, we shouldbe discussing the artistic aspects – thethought process and craft of greatsound design. How are we supportingthe drama? How are we underpinningthe moments? How are we changingthe player's focus? How are we helpingthe player navigate? Are we drivingmedia production centrePureInspirationrecord • edit • mix • create22Audio Media mag '08.indd 1AUDIO AUDIO MEDIA MEDIA NOVEMBER MAY 2008 20054/2/08 6:37:45 PM