Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

Building Game Worlds
306
U L T I M A T E G A M E D E S I G N
IF YOU WANT TO EXPLORE
QUALITY ASSURANCE
� Play tons and tons of games! What an assignment. Game fanatics encouraged.
� Depending on your geographic location, do some research to find out if there
is a game publisher in your area. You can find listings at www.gamasutra.com.
Be respectful in approaching game publishers—they’re really busy! Inquire
about any testing needs that they might have or expect to have soon. Go to
www.monster.com and search on “game tester.”
� Get a degree in anything you choose. If you decide you want to work in QA
management, a degree will definitely help you inside the bigger companies
(and bigger companies are becoming the norm).
IF YOU WANT TO EXPLORE GAME AUDIO
� Become an excellent musician and audio effects builder. You can get many
free sound design loops and editing software on the Web. Start tweaking
gunshots, body punches, dinosaur shrieks, and big squishy splats. Try to
make the most amazing sounds possible with the smallest file sizes possible.
Check out www.fatman.com for more information on the crazy life of
a game sound guru.
� An education isn’t required, but it won’t hurt either—at least you’ll build
a network of friends and fellow musicians you can call on later to help each
other get work! So finish that B.A. Study computer music (according to
Pythagoras, music is good for the soul). Many schools now offer computer
music and music technology courses.
� In my opinion, some of the best PC audio tools can be found at
www .sonicfoundry.com. Learning these tools is a great place to start.
� Pay attention to your competition! Listen for the best game audio of all
kinds in every game that you play (interface, ambience, cinematic, effects,
and so forth). Try to re-create the feel and sound of your favorites. Better
yet, find someone locally who needs game audio work and offer to help out.