1st Edition

The Pocket Mentor for Game Audio

By Greg Lester, Jonny Sands Copyright 2025
    148 Pages 15 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    148 Pages 15 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Want to work as an audio professional in the video games industry? Then this is the book is for you. This book provides all the essential information and guidance you need to understand the industry and get your foot on the ladder.

    The book covers everything from the education you’ll need, how to look for and apply for job opportunities, and what to do once you land your first job. It also includes advice on what to do once you’re in the role, with chapters covering best practices for sound designers, how to set goals for future career progression, as well as top tips from experts in the industry. It is written as a companion to the Game Audio Learning website and invites the reader to visit GAL to access additional information that expands on the book’s contents.

    This book will be of great interest to all beginner and aspiring game audio professionals, as well as more experienced game audio professionals that are looking for new ways to approach their career planning.

    Intro - What’s This Book About?
    Chapter 1 - Where Do I Start?
    Chapter 2 - The Learning Curve
    Chapter 3 - Hobby To Career
    Chapter 4 - You’ve Got The Job! Now What?
    Chapter 5 - How To Be A Team Player
    Chapter 6 - Continuous Learning
    Chapter 7 - Feedback
    Chapter 8 - Workflow
    Chapter 9 - “Houston, We Have A Problem”
    Chapter 10 - Creative On Demand
    Chapter 11 - Balance & Burnout
    Outro - Before You Go…

    Biography

    Greg Lester is a professional sound designer for video games, who enjoys venturing beyond the medium on occasion in search of knowledge he can apply in his work. His passion for learning and teaching has granted him opportunities to teach at both undergraduate and postgraduate degree levels. Universities didn’t quite satisfy his appetite for education and community, however, so with the help of Jonny Sands he created the Game Audio Learning website, and co-founded Airwiggles with Lewis Thompson. His mission is to make game audio accessible to everyone.

     

    Jonny Sands is a freelance guitarist and producer, and co-creator of Game Audio Learning. He and Greg met at university and quickly bonded over a shared love of video games and electronic music. In 2018, Greg approached Jonny asking for feedback on a YouTube video examining the sound design of Cuphead, for what eventually became the GAL YouTube channel. Today, Jonny manages the behind-the-scenes admin for GAL and Airwiggles, working with Greg to achieve the vision of producing freely-available educational material for all.