The first ever non-GDC G.A.N.G. Demo Derby is coming up on October 15th, and I’ve been asked to join the insanely talented Wilbert Roget, Dren McDonald and Jeff Essex on a panel to give feedback on a submission of demo reels from across the world.
The Game Audio Network Guild (or, GANG) is a great resource for composers, sound designers, and voice over actors to collaborate, share success stories, tips, tricks, and hang out. GANG also offers a lot of discounts and hosts several events, some of the most valuable being the “Demo Derby” they host annually at the Game Developers Conference. Well, this October, the first non-GDC Demo Derby is being hosted, which means you don’t have to have a GDC pass to submit your demo reel and have it evaluated by professionals.
Furthermore, we’ve each been asked to give a brief discussion on our field. I’ll be discussing some of the nuances of working in indie games and sharing my experience working with companies like Mojang, Robot Invader, Skn3 and Witching Hour Studios. I’ll also be showing off the material and resources Mattias and I used to make our pitch to Mojang to get the gig for Scrolls. (hint: you’ll probably hear some new music!)
The best part – the demo derby is open to EVERYONE. Attending in person is free for GANG members and PYRAMIND students, but the event will also be BROADCAST ONLINE through USTREAM. However, to get the link, you must RSVP for a free ticket through the event’s website at eventbrite.
Click here to get your tickets now! Remember: to get the Ustream link you MUST sign up in advance – it’s free!
Update: Dren points out that you must be a member of GANG to submit a demo.
More:
Each panelist plans to share their own experiences working in a non-AAA console space, whether the challenges they’ve come across specific to various platforms (mobile, iOS, Facebook), or working with independent developers, and discuss their solutions to the problems they’ve run into in these new game platforms and work environments. The game audio professional working in this market is very often working as an entire audio department, and the panel will spend some time discussing expectations, budgets, skill sets, and problem solving.
After an hour of sharing some examples and stories from the trenches, there will be a demo derby, much like the demo derbies that GANG conducts at GDC San Francisco every year. Submissions will be accepted through the GANG website and we are limited to 15 submissions so submit soon! In an effort to save time during the derby, all demo submissions will have been ported to a power point slide set so we will not be accepting submissions on the night of the event.
