1st Edition
Game Audio Mixing Insights to Improve Your Mixing Performance
Game Audio Mixing offers a holistic view of the mixing process for games, from philosophical and psychological considerations to the artistic considerations and technical processes behind acoustic rendering, interactive mixing, mastering, and much more. This book includes a comprehensive overview of many game audio mixing techniques, processes, and workflows, with advice from audio directors and sound supervisors.
Through a series of accessible insights and interviews, the reader is guided through cutting-edge tips and tricks to equip them to improve their own mixing practice. As well as covering how to plan and create a mix that is clear, focused, and highly interactive, this book provides information about typical mixing tools and techniques, such as dealing with bus structure, frequency spectrum, effects, dynamic, volume, 2D and 3D spaces, and automations. Key information about how to deal with a large number of sounds and their prioritization in the mix is also included, from high-level mixing visions to in-depth designs with sound categorizations at the core.
Game Audio Mixing is essential reading for all game audio professionals, including those new to the industry, as well as experienced professionals working on AAA and indie titles, in addition to aspiring professionals and hobbyists.
1. Mixing psychology 2. Strategic planning 3. Game audio mixing basics 4. Mix bus structure 5. Sound prioritization 6. Frequency spectrum 7. Dynamic 8. Acoustics 9. Space 10. Mastering 11. Accessibility
Biography
Alex Riviere is an audio director with more than 20 years of experience in audio. Alex has worn multiple hats in his career, including: sound supervisor, music supervisor, sound designer, music designer, voice designer, mixing engineer, music producer, and audio localization project manager. His work can be heard on many well known franchises, from console action-adventure open-world AAA games, to PC massive multi-player games, virtual reality games, as well as mobile titles.
"Game Audio Mixing is an absolutely critical and time sensitive exploration of one of the least understood and most complex elements of delivering high quality audio experiences for games. As we move to delivering larger and more complex audio experiences to our players, it’s becoming even more important to approach the mixing process from the very outset of development. Alex has delivered an excellent how-to that is easy to digest and full of relevant examples from industry leaders across all genres. A must read, in my opinion."
Jeremie Voillot, Director of Sound Design, PlayStation Studios Sound
"This book is a great foundation for beginning and pro sound designers, music and dialogue designers and implementers. Alex’s knowledge and passion on the topics at hand are unsurpassed. As a leader in the game industry he has extensive knowledge on how to balance a real-time audio scape, and what it takes to create a AAA worthy aural wonderland. We’ll be adding this book to our arsenal of knowledge builders for our teams. Thank you Alex for taking the time to give your gift to the world."
Charles Deenen, Creative Director & Re-recording Mixer, SourceSound
"Alex has crafted a masterful look at the art and craft of mixing for interactive and emergent experiences. By combining his years of practice with insight and anecdotes from industry legends, he has created a narrative that is accessible, motivating, and inspiring for everyone. A fantastic read and highly recommended!"
Paul Lipson, Senior Vice President, Formosa Interactive Worldwide
"Alex’s valuable industry experience and his techniques for both learning and self-reflection shared in this book make it a must-have for anyone interested in the craft of mixing. With emphasis on collaboration, it's an essential tool for audio professionals, game audio professionals, or aspiring audio engineers."
Glen Gathard, Creative Director, Molinare TV & Films Ltd
