Game Audio Portfolio Review - Disclaimer
Everything within the review and resulting notes are my own thoughts and opinions based off of my tastes, preferences, and experiences. I do these reviews privately, and this is in no way affiliated with or a reflection of the companies I work for, or any that I have worked for in the past.
These notes do not directly represent the hiring or review processes for new candidates at any of those companies.
Who Are You?
I am making certain assumptions about you (the person reading this), your experience, and current level of knowledge. If you have not already done so (or are unaware), please check out the incredible resources available at Game Audio Learning. There are a lot of fantastic resources there, and if any of that is new information, then please focus there before digging into all this.
You should already have an understanding of audio principles; recording, editing, and mixing best practices. As well as some experience with game audio tools (engines, middleware, etc.). You should have a portfolio already created, and I’m assuming that you’re not finding success when applying for salaried positions in a sound designer capacity. I’m assuming you also are not getting any tangible feedback from family, friends, or via online groups and don’t have a better resource to speak with directly.
Why Am I Doing This
I know from personal experience and from my time teaching audio that a hurdle people often encounter pretty quickly in their careers is not knowing if their work, or portfolios is any decent. What they look for is unbiased feedback to help give them any semblance of direction in their career path. Most people are not weak, they can handle surprisingly rough and honest feedback (when delivered tactfully).
What’s really difficult to take though is silence. And all too often people get this again, and again when applying for jobs.
So personally, it’s hard seeing fellow game audio folks struggle without any tangible feedback or just a person to talk to. So I try to provide this as often as I can. Scheduling these at regular intervals is the easiest way to make myself available without causing burnout or fatigue.
Honest Stuff
Despite my best intentions to provide unbiased feedback there will always be some amount of personal taste and biases that will have influence. No one can escape this, but know that there is no truly unbiased lens to view your worth through. It will always be coloured by this to some extent.
So please take everything we speak about as merely an additional perspective to help you along your own career path. Not as sacred steps that must be followed in order to achieve success.
Others (including yourself) may disagree with some of this advice and that’s honestly a good thing. Different perspectives are welcome. So, if anything below you feel is counter to your own thoughts/preferences, I’d encourage you to consider both. Try to understand where I’m coming from, but always do what you think is best for yourself.
Please also keep in mind any recommendations are likely to change over time with different trends, experiences, and preference. So just because something was recommended once, doesn’t mean it will always be true forever.
Other Honest Stuff
If you’re struggling to find work as a salaried game audio sound designer, I hope you’re seriously considering freelance work as well. If you’re already doing this, fantastic.
I see a lot of folks making it really hard for themselves because they’re only trying to progress their career through applying for job postings online at larger studios and becoming frustrated when that doesn’t work out.
In any creative field, we sometimes have to make our own opportunities. Freelance work is not inferior to salaried positions in any way, it’s merely another means of income through audio work. Please don’t narrow your job prospects to only AAA studios when they have job postings, you’ll be waiting for too long.
There Is No Perfect Game Audio Reel
The intention of a game audio reel is to demonstrate to an employer that you have the necessary skills and experience to do a job that they are looking for.
But even though jobs will often have similar titles (ex. “Sound Designer”) the actual work they entail is as varied as the games themselves. One company may be looking for a “Sound Designer” with field recording experience, another for a “Sound Designer” doing lots of technical work with middleware, someone else wants a “Sound Designer” more creative sound design skills who is only doing asset creation and no implementation work. The list of variations could go on forever.
Because of this, there is no single perfect reel that will magically make you a top candidate for companies in all roles. Different employers are going to evaluate you for different things, and they’re both totally valid and correct for doing so. But to a new game audio person, that can understandably seem confusing and contradicting. You’re making (I’m assuming) one reel to apply to an infinite number of job configurations…it’s tough. You could create a new reel for every role, but that’s not really practical, it assumes you already have relevant experience to showcase, and would potentially outweigh the benefits of submitting an application early for a new role. A common solution to this is both a sound design and technical role, which I often recommend, but maybe all people don’t need this. Again, it’s nuanced.
I’ll do my best to provide you with meaningful and actionable feedback, but understand that this is always subjective based on the role you’re looking for.
If I don’t make some assumptions, literally every answer could be “well, it depends…” and I wouldn’t actually be providing anything helpful.
This is why I ask during the session scheduling for what type of role you’re looking for. At the end of the day, good audio is good audio, but understanding roughly the clients and audience you’re likely delivering for will help improve the quality of feedback.
A Reel Is Not Everything
Remember that a solid reel is only a small piece of what will ultimately get you a job within the game audio industry. Ultimately, you’ll need some combination of these things to improve your chances of finding work (there’s probably more too).
Portfolio - A way to demonstrate your relevant audio skills for a particular role - this is what we’ll be talking about.
Engagement - Fellow game audio people know that you exist
Personality - You are someone that people want to work with
Luck - Timing, location, industry trends, etc.
There’s a whole lot more I could ramble about on this topic. So to keep it short, there’s nothing wrong with striving for higher quality with the actual sounds and audio within your portfolio. But, if you notice yourself hyper fixating on small details and aren’t making progress because you’re worried the difference between two distortion plugins is going to make or break your reel. You need to zoom out, and try gain some perspective of your situation at a higher level, and ensure you’re not ignoring other factors that are leading to what makes you an appealing candidate.
A Meeting Does Not Constitute a Referral
I hope we have a chance to meet and I hope I’m able to provide you with some helpful notes to improve your portfolio and chances of getting hired.
That said, a meeting does not mean that you have permission to use my name or reference the companies I work for through association with me in your cover letters, portfolio, or other materials when applying for a job (I’m not that cool, this likely isn’t helping you anyways). Please check with me if you’re considering doing this or if you’re looking for a referral for a relevant job posting in the future I may be related to, but only then.
Furthermore, this does not constitute a full “mentor/mentee” relationship. If you’re looking for a longer term mentor, again I’ll plug Game Audio Learning, go search there and find a suitable mentor with availability and work with them.
But please do not use my name on your portfolio or application materials or as a referral, without my expressed consent.