Game Audio at GDC 2019 Asbjoern Andersen


Audio guru Damian Kastbauer's guides to game audio at GDC are nothing short of legendary - and it's a great pleasure to bring you his guide for GDC 2019 here on A Sound Effect. If you want to know what to hear, see and do when it comes to game audio at GDC, look no further than his excellent guide below:


Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2019 takes place March 18-22 in Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA, US.


Written by Damian Kastbauer
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Zombie sound effects library

 

Quick navigation – click below to jump straight to your chosen topic:

Introduction • Monday • Tuesday • Wednesday • Thursday • Friday • Saturday • More resources for making the most of GDC 2019 • More GDC guides and past coverage

 

The Game

GDC is a pure expression of interactivity. There’s no right way to traverse the path from start to finish. From the moment you hit the ground in San Francisco you are faced with a (myriad of options splayed-out before you, do you: BART? Car-share? Cab? Walk (don’t try it!)? But you’ve already been making decisions about how to navigate your time on-the-ground for months: lining up travel & accommodations, printing contact cards, breaking in new shoes, getting plenty of sleep, all in preparation for an intensive week of maximizing time with the largest gathering of game developers in the CONUS. Or maybe you haven’t, and you’re just going to take it as it comes, find the good conversations and pinball-around the conference based on your moment-to-moment experience. It’s all up to you!

After 12 years of GDC interactivity, my days end up anchored around a pleasurable routine that attempts to leave room for the dynamic possibilities that emerge day-to-day:

  • 10 PRINT WAKE UP
  • 7-9am Game Audio Podcast GDC Morning Meetup community check-in
  • Grab a breakfast burrito on the way to Moscone for some audio hallway time.
  • First session of the day: settling-in for epiphanies, deep thinking, and brain-work.
  • Grab-and-go lunch on-the-run to the audio meetup behind the carousel around noon
  • CarouselCon providing solid perspectives from crowd-sourced micro-talks
  • Afternoon dynamics: presentations? Expo Floor? Coffee? Meetings?
  • Is there time for dinner Y/N?
  • Where’s the parties?
  • Is it morning yet?
  • GOTO 10

No matter what pattern your interactive GDC falls into, the conference is usually best experienced with people. To me, there’s nothing better than making a new friend and randomizing your day with a shared passion. Whether new or old, friends provide additional context and perspective on everything from: where to eat to what is the future of game audio. Don’t be afraid to take the adventure off-script, tamp-down the FOMO and get the most out of the day on your own terms, interactively, in the best way possible. With or without people, make sure there is time in your day to recharge your batteries (literally and figuratively) and take care of yourself. Each day is a sprint and the week of GDC can feel like a marathon. Pace yourself.

We choose this opportunity as ambassadors of audio in the game development community, so lead with the greatest optimism, collaboration, humbleness, and grace in-conversation

Have a look at the GDC Code of Conduct before you hit town and engage its guidelines while onsite (and continue to adhere to its sensible advice even outside of the presentation hall). Forming relationships and cultivating conversations should begin with mutual respect; always stay positive and within the bounds of social etiquette. Find ways to include people in your adventures when possible. Find ways to bring other people into your conversations, and always treat people in the best way possible. We choose this opportunity as ambassadors of audio in the game development community, so lead with the greatest optimism, collaboration, humbleness, and grace in-conversation.

Keep your social media trained at #GameAudioGDC on twitter for up to the moment information and don’t forget to share insight and epiphanies there and with the #GameAudio community at-large. One of the greatest feelings is being able to extend knowledge learned on-the-ground to folks who are unable to make it to the conference to experience it first-hand. Twitter doesn’t always make sense in this strange world of social media, but I have seen it work wonders on-the-ground towards pulling together people towards the goal of socializing and keeping in-touch during the week.

 
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[tweet_box]The Bohemian Guide to Game Audio GDC 2019:[/tweet_box]  
 

News of the World

Monday March 18th

Game Audio Podcast GDC Morning Meetup
After years at the venerable Sightglass coffee, this years conversations will be held on the ground floor of the Sennheiser SF retail location near Union Square. What started as a small group of folks with a shared-love for good coffee and game audio has evolved into a community-catalyzing force that helps set the tone for each days activity during the conference. From 7:00-9:00AM Monday through Saturday folks gather and unravel their experience as part of a group discussion that hovers around game audio and touches on topics in-between our professional aspirations and personal stories. Moving locations to Sennheiser SF is an attempt to increase accessibility and lower the noise floor for the event. I hope you can join us and be part of the conversation.

Monday March 18th through Saturday March 23rd
7:00 – 9:00 AM
Location: Sennheiser SF, 278 Post St

 
 
For folks with an All Access, Summits, VRDC Add On passes, Monday begins with some incredible talks!

Monday, March 18 | 10:00am – 11:00am
INTEGRATING LIVE ACTORS INTO NON-LOCATION BASED IMMERSIVE THEATER VR EXPERIENCES
Speakers: Tanya Leal Soto (Tender Claws), Samantha Gorman (Tender Claws), Tara Ahmadinejad (Piehole), Julian Ceipek (Tender Claws)
Pass Type: All Access, VRDC Add On

Monday, March 18 | 11:20am – 12:20pm
MENTAL MODELS AND SYSTEMS FOR SPATIAL COMPUTING
Speaker: Timoni West (Unity Technologies)
Pass Type: All Access, VRDC Add On

Monday March 18th – Night

Keep your ears tuned to the wind (and to #GameAudioGDC on twitter) for info on any audio group meetups that might materialize. Be ready for the spontaneous, the goose-hunt, the wild sheep chase through the streets of San Francisco on a moments notice. Be safe, travel with friends when possible, and take care!

 
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Sheer Heart Attack

Tuesday March 19th

Tuesday is all about the Audio Bootcamp. Whether you’re new to interactive audio or an experienced professional, the line-up attempts to cover the full-spectrum across all disciplines and highlights evergreen topics as well as deep-dives into niche audio territory. Guaranteed to be a day of disparate perspectives and stimulating discourse (especially during the lunchtime surgeries*), this is where the fun will be!
Location: Room 3002, West Hall

Tuesday, March 19 | 10:00am – 11:00am
AUDIO BOOTCAMP XVIII: HOW A SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO GAME AUDIO INCREASED CREATIVITY AND PRODUCTIVITY FOR ‘ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY’
Speaker: Lydia Andrew (Ubisoft Quebec)

Tuesday, March 19 | 11:20am – 12:20pm
AUDIO BOOTCAMP XVIII: THEATRICAL INTERACTIVITY IN VIDEO GAME MUSIC
Speaker: John Robert Matz (Independent)

Tuesday, March 19 | 12:20pm – 1:50pm
AUDIO BOOTCAMP XVIII: LUNCHTIME SURGERIES
Speakers: Lydia Andrew (Ubisoft Quebec), John Robert Matz (Independent), Filip Conic (Rovio), DB Cooper (DB Cooper VO, LLC), Gerard Marino (G-Musique), Stephan Schutze(Sound Librarian), Josie Brechner (Visager), Scott Selfon (Oculus), Damian Kastbauer (ArenaNet)

*An opportunity for deeper conversations with Audio Bootcamp speakers over lunch in a smaller scale setting. Grab some food and then come back to sit at tables-in-the-round with the day’s speakers and chat on the topics that have surfaced throughout the day.

Tuesday, March 19 | 2:10pm – 2:40pm
AUDIO BOOTCAMP XVIII: ‘ANGRY BIRDS 2’: HOW AUDIO CHANGES EVERYTHING
Speaker: Filip Conic (Rovio)

Tuesday, March 19 | 3:00pm – 3:30pm
AUDIO BOOTCAMP XVIII: DEVELOPING VOICES
Speaker: DB Cooper (DB Cooper VO, LLC)

Tuesday, March 19 | 3:50pm – 4:20pm
AUDIO BOOTCAMP XVIII: LOOP CLINIC: SEAMLESS AND FATIGUE-FREE MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN LOOPING TECHNIQUES FOR INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT
Speaker: Gerard Marino (G-Musique)

Tuesday, March 19 | 4:40pm – 5:10pm
AUDIO BOOTCAMP XVIII: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VR AUDIO CAN BE LEARNED FROM YOUR CAR
Speaker: Stephan Schutze (Sound Librarian)

Tuesday, March 19 | 5:30pm – 6:00pm
AUDIO BOOTCAMP XVIII: INDIE FREELANCING: CREATING COMMUNITY AND COLLABORATION
Speaker: Josie Brechner (Visager)

Tuesday March 19th – Night

Heard of Game Audio Denizens on FB? These folk shave been consistently coordinating one of the best, grassroots, community-focused meetups of all time. DB Cooper and her ilk will be on hand to huzzah and hooray your way into the night!

The Jillionth Annual Game Audio Denz ’n’ Friends Dinner
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
5:30pm to 8:30 or 9:00pm
Location: California Pizza Kitchen, 53 Third Street

Game Audio Karaoke
Tuesday March 19
8:00pm – midnight
Cost: Free!
Location: YamaSho, 1161 Post St

From the humblest beginnings comes one of the most-loved events of the conference. Spawned years ago by Luca Fusi and further championed these last years by the folks at A Shell In The Pit, this night of karaoke is a chance to sway and sing in camaraderie with like-minded people of all pitches. This year finds the fine folks at AK and ASITP picking up the tab leaving no excuse for anyone in game audio not to attend, eve if it’s just to soak in the good vibes.

Tickets will be available through Eventbrite early next week. Keep ‘em peeled over at #GameAudioGDC.

 
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A Day at the Races

Wednesday March 20th

Wednesday is all about the community conversations and roundtables for me. There are some great presentations that you won’t want to miss, for sure, but one of the things that has risen to the top of my GDC experience are the various audio community discussions that run throughout the week. There is never a shortage of content from experienced folks across all disciplines of game development, but for me, it’s difficult to go wrong sitting-in on a roundtable of interest and the ability to engage in the interactive quality of these forums. Aside from the roundtables listed here for Wednesday, there are other roundtables sprinkled throughout the week. So if you find yourself wanting to be a part of the conversation, or are just looking for something a bit more interactive, I encourage you to seek one out and see what they’re all about.

…and don’t forget the IASIG Party tonight and the IASIG Town Hall on Friday during lunch.

Wednesday, March 20 | 12:30pm – 1:30pm
G.A.N.G. TOWN HALL
Speaker: Brian Schmidt (Brian Schmidt Studios)
Location: Room 3002, West Hall

Wednesday, March 20 | 2:00pm – 3:00pm
WOMEN/MARGINALIZED GENDERS IN GAME AUDIO ROUNDTABLE DAY 1: NAVIGATING THE WORKPLACE
Speakers: Becky Allen (343 Industries), Amanda Rose Smith (ARS Audio), Carlye Nyte (Camouflaj)

Wednesday, March 20 | 3:30pm – 4:30pm
GAME AUDIO PROGRAMMING ROUNDTABLE DAY 1: GAME INTEGRATION
Speakers: Guy Somberg (Echtra Games, Inc.), Tomas Neumann (Blizzard Entertainment)
Location: Room 215, South Hall

Wednesday, March 20 | 5:00pm – 6:00pm
GAME AUDIO CULTURE ROUNDTABLE DAY 1: HOW CULTURAL DIVERSITY COULD BE THE KEY TO SUCCESS
Speakers: Damian Kastbauer (ArenaNet), Atsushi Suganuma (Square Enix, Ltd.), Gwen Guo (Imba Interactive)
Location: Room 206, South Hall

Wednesday March 20th – Night

IASIG Audio Mixer
Wednesday, March 20
6:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Sennheiser, 278 Post St

Any audio professional attending GDC is welcome at this special social event. (Show your GDC Audio Pass or audio-related business card for entry.)

 
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Popular on A Sound Effect right now - article continues below:


Trending right now:

  • SONIC SPELLS WITH REAL PERSONALITY

    MAGIC – ALCHEMY is a professional sound effects library built from real chemical reactions and elemental forces. It delivers short, character-rich magic sound effects perfect for spellcasting, magical UI design, and fantasy storytelling. Designed to sit cleanly in a mix and shimmer with personality, these spell sounds are ideal for games, trailers, audio dramas and more. Real reactions, recorded with obsessive detail.

    MAGIC - ALCHEMY | Sound Effects | Trailer

    Magic Sounds from Real Chemical Reactions

    No digital fakery here. Every sound in MAGIC – ALCHEMY began as a live experiment — alcohol burning in jars, butane growling through pipes, fuses igniting, water swirling in glass. These are true-to-life textures, captured in a lab-grade recording setup. The result? Magical sound with depth, realism, and spark..

    Short, Sharp, and Ready to Use

    These are not long, cinematic flourishes. This library is about immediacy — short, dry, punchy magic effects that are easy to slot into your project. Ideal for game asset design, magical feedback sounds, and trailer moments where clarity counts.

     
     
     

    Three Spell Flavours: Holy, Cursed, Neutral

    Need a healing chime, a cursed hex, or something more ambiguous? The Designed section is grouped into Holy, Cursed, and Neutral categories — giving you emotional options that match your scene’s intent, whether you’re crafting a fantasy RPG or a subtle magical interaction.

    Built for Professionals, Whatever You Create

    Whether you’re layering magic for a fantasy film, adding interactive audio to a mobile game, or creating rich textures for audiobooks or theatre, MAGIC – ALCHEMY fits right in. It’s mix-ready, flexible, and full of sonic character.

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  • Spell Variations Vol. 4 marks the grand finale of our magical sound series, delivering a diverse and powerful collection of spell effects. Inside, you’ll find summonings, blood spells, petrifications, healing spells, dark incantations, and much more!

    This volume includes 255 high-quality sound effects, organized into 27 distinct spell types, each with multiple variations (3 to 17) to ensure no spell sounds the same, even when reused across your project.

    Each spell type is carefully named and sorted into individual folders, giving you intuitive navigation and maximum flexibility for magical scenes, game effects, or cinematic transitions.

    Recorded, edited, and mastered in 192 kHz / 24-bit, these sounds deliver exceptional clarity and full adaptability for pitching, layering, or creative processing.

    A must-have library for professional sound designers seeking drag-and-drop magical sounds for video games, trailers, animations, or any audiovisual production.

    More about the pack
    – Intuitive file naming
    – All you’ll ever need regarding magical sounds [Use them again & again
    Use the sound effects over and over, in any of your projects or productions, forever without any additional fees or royalties. Use the SFX in your game, in your trailer, in a Kickstarter campaign, wherever you need to, as much as you want to.
    – Totally mono compatibility
    – All sounds have several variations.
    – Use your imagination and feel free to use any sound for a creature other than the one described, remember that the world of sound is totally subjective.
    – For any questions or problems: khronstudio@gmail.com

    Features
    – 255 spell sounds
    – Number of Audio Waves: 255
    – Format: 192KHz / 24 bits
    – Win/Mac: Yes
    – Minutes of audio provided: 19:21

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  • Foley Sound Effects Grenade Foley Play Track 1374 sounds included $15

    A focused collection of grenade foley, captured with precision using replica units. This library provides the essential, clean sounds of tactical handling, interaction, and impacts.

    Recorded at 96kHz/24-bit across various surfaces including steel plates, carpet, wood floorings, soil, and grass, this library offers variation for different environments. The recordings feature grenade shakes, surface impacts and rolls, pin pulls, spoon lever ejections, spoon drops, and tactical gear foley, all captured with Lewitt LCT 540 S and Shure SM7B.

    This is a practical toolkit for sound designers working in film, games, and other media, providing a tonal and versatile foundation for building realistic military action.

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  • ‘Tiny Transitions’ deivers 275 short Whooshes and other Transition sounds. Instead of the huge, more cinematic transitional sounds that you are accustomed to hear from SoundBits, this sound pack focuses more on the smaller, not-so-intrusive production elements that come in very handy for any Sound Designer, All-In-One Film Editor or Web-, App- and Game-Developers.

    All these small motion-supporting elements that you need in your everyday work for game menus, apps, general motion designs, … or as parts of more complex moving stuff.

    You get 275 designed sounds + a selection of 290 cleaned and edited source sounds that were used to design the Tiny Transitions. These sounds are mostly different props that are scraping or sliding on different surfaces and also some vocalized whoosh attempts.

    All source sounds were recorded with Sonosax SX-R4+ and Sennheiser MKH8050+MKH30 M/S rig.

    All sounds come with embedded Soundminer Metadata.

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Latest releases:

  • UI Interaction Elements by Cinematic Sound Design delivers a meticulously crafted sound effects library designed to enhance every click, swipe, tap, and notification in your user interface. This collection brings your apps, games, websites, and software to life, providing a rich auditory experience that makes every interaction feel responsive, intuitive, and satisfying.

    Inside this library, you’ll find over 200 high-quality sounds, ranging from subtle, crunchy clicks and soft taps to layered futuristic swipes, innovative button presses, toggle switches, and alert notifications. Each sound has been professionally recorded and mastered to ensure clarity, balance, and versatility across any platform or device.

    Whether you’re designing a mobile app, developing an interactive game, or building a modern web interface, UI Interaction Elements provides sounds that seamlessly integrate with your visual design, enhancing user feedback and engagement. The library has been meticulously designed, with each sound layered down and optimized for a maximum performance.

    Bring your interfaces to life and create a tactile, immersive experience for your users. Make your UI unforgettable, one sound at a time.

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  • Animal Sound Effects Forests and Mountains Play Track 96+ sounds included, 220 mins total $110

    Forest and Mountains features nature and wildlife sounds from California, Washington, and Oregon.  Included are a number of bird recordings and forest ambiences, along with some insects, winds, rivers, and rain.  

    These were recorded over the past three years in various forests, foothills, and mountain environments.   A lot of these took place in or near Southern California’s Angeles Forest and San Gabriel Mountains, an area that spans 1200 Square Miles and varies vastly in terrain.

    Also included are some sounds from Northern California, along with recordings from the Pacific Northwest.

    The recording techniques for this varied as sometimes I went with the recorders running unattended to capture night, dawn and early morning.  Other times I’d record while being close by.

    Working as a Sound Effects Editor I’ve curated this collection with Editors in mind.  Background Ambiences and Spotted FX can really bring a location to life and give it so much story and character and that was a lot of the inspiration behind putting this all together. 

    Forests and Mountains

     

    The Locations

    California (61 Files) – This is where a majority of the sounds from this library were recorded and specifically Southern California.  Variety of areas and different environments, mostly around Angeles Forest, from Lower Elevation Foothills to more rugged mid-elevation Mountain Canyons and then much Higher Elevation and more remote terrain.  Also included are a few recordings from the Eastern Sierras and Northern California.

    Washington (19 Files) – Southern WA in Gifford Pinchot Forest and various Northwest Forest areas near Puget Sound.

    Oregon (16 Files) – Lakeside Recordings in forest and marsh at Klamath Lake in SE Oregon. 

    The Birds 

    Prominent / Specific Birds (36) (Closer Mic Perspective and more detailed) (* denotes multiple versions)

    Acorn Woodpecker, Barred Owl, Black-headed Grosbeak, California Towhee, *Canadian Geese, *Fox Sparrow, *Great Horned Owl, *House Wren, Northern Flicker, Oak Titmouse, Pacific Wren, Pileated Woodpecker, *Raven, Robin, *Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Swainson’s Thrush

    Other Birds Featured (17) (Mixed together from various perspectives, calm to busy depending on time of day, and then closer to more medium and distant sounds.)

    Acorn Woodpecker, American Coot, California Quail, California Towhee, Cassin’s Finch, Fox Sparrow, Great Horned Owl, Hose Wren, Mallard, Mountain Chickadee, Northern Flicker, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Poorwill, Raven, Red-tailed Hawk, Spotted Towhee, Steller’s Jay, Western Tanager, Western Wood-Pewee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wilson’s Warbler, Wrentit, Yellow-throated Blackbird, Zone-tailed Hawk

    General Forest (9) – A mix of some wildlife (Chipmunk, Deer, Bullfrogs), and more general lighter forest ambiences.
    Insects (7) – Crickets from various perspectives and different forests along with some Grasshoppers.
    Rain (4) Light to heavier in a canyon with dense vegetation, some with distant birds.
    Rivers (5) Smaller detailed creeks to faster moving rivers.
    Wind (11)  A mix of calm to heavier with gusts, vegetation, and tree creaks.
    Metadata
    Detailed with descriptions and markers and photos to easily navigate and allow for options when searching.  UCS was used to categorize and various bird species are identified.  I’ve also labeled the metadata with what I consider Lower Elevation (up to 1500 feet), Middle Elevation (2000-5000 feet), and Higher Elevation (above 5000 feet).   Included are the season of the year which was mostly Spring and Summer.  Using Open-Tier in Soundminer you can use these to help get a bit more specific to particular environments.

    The Gear

    Sound Devices MixPre-3 & 6 | Zoom F3 & 6 | Sony PCM-D100

    Mics

    Sennheiser MKH 8020 | Sennheiser MKH 8040 |

    Sennheiser MKH 30 | Clippy EM 272

  • Hello Creators!

    Here’s my new pack: “General UI Sounds“

    General UI Sounds  ·  The Sound Guild

    I wanted to create a sound pack to cover different situations in an user interface.
    I hope you enjoy implementing this sounds in your project!

    Making-Off

    All this sounds were originally recorded with a Zoom H6 (cardiod microphone), and were processed in Logic Pro X, mainly editing the recorded material but also I used the Logix Pro X sampler.

    Some considerations

    1. Keep in mind this sounds can be used in a variety of situations, I put a name to the SFX but this doesn’t mean it can’t be used in other contexts.

    2. The sounds are in 44.1Khz/16 bit format. I have the original files at 96khz/24bit also, if you need this format, please contact me.

    Check all my packs on Asoundeffect

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  • Car Sound Effects BMW Z4 E89 2009 sports car Play Track 221 sounds included, 47 mins total $65

    All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

  • Toy Quadcopter is a focused mini library capturing the playful and high-pitched character of a toy drone in motion. Perfect for film, TV, games, and interactive media, it offers a variety of flight sounds, close fast pass-bys, slow passes, motor modulations, and essential electronic signals.
    This collection includes take-off and landing sequences, beeps for syncing, calibration and low battery warnings, as well as servo engine textures and detailed proximity recordings. Recorded with precision and clarity, it’s a compact but rich toolset for designing scenes that call for small UAVs, gadgets, or sci-fi elements.

Need specific sound effects? Try a search below:


 

A Night at the Opera

Thursday March 21st

Thursday is a powerhouse of sound design juxtapositions. From the bonkers action and verve of Yoku’s Island Express through-to the cultural influences of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the day is jam-packed with different ways of expressing and hearing sound. I sat down for a preview of the ‘Moss’: Design Before Sound presentation on-the-ground up here in Seattle from Stephen Hodde; he has put together a succinct illustration of the role that sound plays in delivering on, and how it can better deliver on, the emotional potential in a games design. Part storytelling, part TED talk, and 100% heart. Not to be missed!

Thursday, March 21 | 10:00am – 11:00am
ADVENTURES IN III AUDIO: ‘YOKU’S ISLAND EXPRESS’
Speakers: Jesse Harlin (Submersion Audio), Thomas Bible (Submersion Audio)
Location: Room 3006, West Hall

Thursday, March 21 | 2:00pm – 2:30pm
THE SOUND DESIGN FOR ‘GOD OF WAR’
Speaker: Mike Niederquell (PlayStation)
Location: Room 3002, West Hall

Thursday, March 21 | 3:00pm – 3:30pm
‘MOSS’: DESIGN BEFORE SOUND
Speaker: Stephen Hodde (Polyarc)
Location: Room 3006, West Hall

Thursday, March 21 | 4:00pm – 5:00pm
BRINGING VIRTUAL AUDIO INTO THE REAL WORLD WITH ‘CREATE’
Speaker: Dave Shumway (Magic Leap)
Location: Room 3006, West Hall

Thursday, March 21 | 5:30pm – 6:00pm
THE INFLUENCE OF PRE-HISPANIC CULTURE ON ‘SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER’
Speakers: Rob Bridgett (Eidos Montreal), Brian D’Oliveira (La Hacienda Creative)
Location: Room 3006, West Hall

Thursday March 21st – Night

Game Audio Network Guild Awards
Thursday March 21st
7:00pm – Doors
7:30pm – Start
Location: 2nd floor of Moscone West.

 
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A Kind of Magic

Friday March 23rd

Friday finds a grab-bag of potential, especially for folks interested in mainlining musical insights across multiple genres, perspectives, and voices. The day kicks off with a fantastic panel filled with some favorite folks and rounds-up with giant robots performing a ballet of symphonic destruction! (If that doesn’t peak your interest, rest assured the music is gonna be great!)

Friday, March 22 | 10:00am – 11:00am
RELATIVE PERFECTION: FINDING THE BALANCE BETWEEN FLAWED AND FLAWLESS
Speakers: John Robert Matz (Independent), Guy Whitmore (Foxface Rabbitfish, LLC), Austin Wintory (Independent), Neal Acree (Independent), Penka Kouneva (Independent)
Location: Room 3002, West Hall

Friday, March 22 | 11:30am – 12:00pm
THE MUSICAL BRUSH: THE INTERACTIVE MUSIC OF ‘CONCRETE GENIE’
Speaker: Samuel Marshall (Sony Interactive Entertainment, Pixel Opus)
Location: Room 3002, West Hall

Friday, March 22 | 12:15pm – 1:15pm
25TH ANNUAL IASIG TOWN HALL
Speakers: Owen Peterson (Utah Valley University), Kurt Heiden (IASIG), Tom White (MMA, IASIG)
Location: Room 3002, West Hall

Friday, March 22 | 1:30pm – 2:30pm
THE GANGS BITE BACK: MUSIC AND SOUND OF ‘CRACKDOWN 3’
Speakers: Brian Trifon (Finishing Move, Inc.), Brian White (Finishing Move, Inc.), Kristofor Mellroth (Microsoft Studios Global Publishing)
Location: Room 3006, West Hall

Friday, March 22 | 3:00pm – 3:30pm
THE MUSIC OF ‘BATTLETECH’: BIG SOUND ON A BUDGET
Speaker: Jon Everist (Everist Sound, LLC)
Location: Room 3006, West Hall

Friday March 23rd – Night

School of Game Audio Meetup
Friday March 23rd
5:00pm – 7:00pm
Location: California Pizza Kitchen, 53 Third Street

Followed swiftly by Friday Night Foley

 
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Jazz

Saturday March 24th

One last Game Audio Podcast GDC Morning Meetup at Sennheiser SF before attendees are scattered to the four-winds of everyday life. The world subtly shifted, the colors twice as bright, and the sounds more detailed. Each year brings new opportunities to align oneself with their career path, hopes, dreams, and vision of the future. My last suggestions for you in this Bohemian Guide to Game Audio GDC are to: make friends, make memories, and envision the role you will play in the future of game audio. I look forward to seeing you in San Francisco.

 
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A big thanks to Damian Kastbauer for sharing with us his a guide to #GameAudioGDC! Learn more about Damian Kastbauer here

 
 

More resources for making the most of GDC 2019:

• See all Game Audio Sessions at GDC 2019
• See the 2019 GDC Party List
• See the list of devs connecting at GDC 2019
• Join the here
• Overview of places offering free food at GDC
• Visit the official GDC page here here
• See tweets with the #GameAudioGDC hashtag here, and #gameaudiogdc2019 here

 
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THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:
 
A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

  • SONIC SPELLS WITH REAL PERSONALITY

    MAGIC – ALCHEMY is a professional sound effects library built from real chemical reactions and elemental forces. It delivers short, character-rich magic sound effects perfect for spellcasting, magical UI design, and fantasy storytelling. Designed to sit cleanly in a mix and shimmer with personality, these spell sounds are ideal for games, trailers, audio dramas and more. Real reactions, recorded with obsessive detail.

    MAGIC - ALCHEMY | Sound Effects | Trailer

    Magic Sounds from Real Chemical Reactions

    No digital fakery here. Every sound in MAGIC – ALCHEMY began as a live experiment — alcohol burning in jars, butane growling through pipes, fuses igniting, water swirling in glass. These are true-to-life textures, captured in a lab-grade recording setup. The result? Magical sound with depth, realism, and spark..

    Short, Sharp, and Ready to Use

    These are not long, cinematic flourishes. This library is about immediacy — short, dry, punchy magic effects that are easy to slot into your project. Ideal for game asset design, magical feedback sounds, and trailer moments where clarity counts.

     
     
     

    Three Spell Flavours: Holy, Cursed, Neutral

    Need a healing chime, a cursed hex, or something more ambiguous? The Designed section is grouped into Holy, Cursed, and Neutral categories — giving you emotional options that match your scene’s intent, whether you’re crafting a fantasy RPG or a subtle magical interaction.

    Built for Professionals, Whatever You Create

    Whether you’re layering magic for a fantasy film, adding interactive audio to a mobile game, or creating rich textures for audiobooks or theatre, MAGIC – ALCHEMY fits right in. It’s mix-ready, flexible, and full of sonic character.

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  • Spell Variations Vol. 4 marks the grand finale of our magical sound series, delivering a diverse and powerful collection of spell effects. Inside, you’ll find summonings, blood spells, petrifications, healing spells, dark incantations, and much more!

    This volume includes 255 high-quality sound effects, organized into 27 distinct spell types, each with multiple variations (3 to 17) to ensure no spell sounds the same, even when reused across your project.

    Each spell type is carefully named and sorted into individual folders, giving you intuitive navigation and maximum flexibility for magical scenes, game effects, or cinematic transitions.

    Recorded, edited, and mastered in 192 kHz / 24-bit, these sounds deliver exceptional clarity and full adaptability for pitching, layering, or creative processing.

    A must-have library for professional sound designers seeking drag-and-drop magical sounds for video games, trailers, animations, or any audiovisual production.

    More about the pack
    – Intuitive file naming
    – All you’ll ever need regarding magical sounds [Use them again & again
    Use the sound effects over and over, in any of your projects or productions, forever without any additional fees or royalties. Use the SFX in your game, in your trailer, in a Kickstarter campaign, wherever you need to, as much as you want to.
    – Totally mono compatibility
    – All sounds have several variations.
    – Use your imagination and feel free to use any sound for a creature other than the one described, remember that the world of sound is totally subjective.
    – For any questions or problems: khronstudio@gmail.com

    Features
    – 255 spell sounds
    – Number of Audio Waves: 255
    – Format: 192KHz / 24 bits
    – Win/Mac: Yes
    – Minutes of audio provided: 19:21

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  • ‘Tiny Transitions’ deivers 275 short Whooshes and other Transition sounds. Instead of the huge, more cinematic transitional sounds that you are accustomed to hear from SoundBits, this sound pack focuses more on the smaller, not-so-intrusive production elements that come in very handy for any Sound Designer, All-In-One Film Editor or Web-, App- and Game-Developers.

    All these small motion-supporting elements that you need in your everyday work for game menus, apps, general motion designs, … or as parts of more complex moving stuff.

    You get 275 designed sounds + a selection of 290 cleaned and edited source sounds that were used to design the Tiny Transitions. These sounds are mostly different props that are scraping or sliding on different surfaces and also some vocalized whoosh attempts.

    All source sounds were recorded with Sonosax SX-R4+ and Sennheiser MKH8050+MKH30 M/S rig.

    All sounds come with embedded Soundminer Metadata.

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Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • UI Interaction Elements by Cinematic Sound Design delivers a meticulously crafted sound effects library designed to enhance every click, swipe, tap, and notification in your user interface. This collection brings your apps, games, websites, and software to life, providing a rich auditory experience that makes every interaction feel responsive, intuitive, and satisfying.

    Inside this library, you’ll find over 200 high-quality sounds, ranging from subtle, crunchy clicks and soft taps to layered futuristic swipes, innovative button presses, toggle switches, and alert notifications. Each sound has been professionally recorded and mastered to ensure clarity, balance, and versatility across any platform or device.

    Whether you’re designing a mobile app, developing an interactive game, or building a modern web interface, UI Interaction Elements provides sounds that seamlessly integrate with your visual design, enhancing user feedback and engagement. The library has been meticulously designed, with each sound layered down and optimized for a maximum performance.

    Bring your interfaces to life and create a tactile, immersive experience for your users. Make your UI unforgettable, one sound at a time.

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  • Animal Sound Effects Forests and Mountains Play Track 96+ sounds included, 220 mins total $110

    Forest and Mountains features nature and wildlife sounds from California, Washington, and Oregon.  Included are a number of bird recordings and forest ambiences, along with some insects, winds, rivers, and rain.  

    These were recorded over the past three years in various forests, foothills, and mountain environments.   A lot of these took place in or near Southern California’s Angeles Forest and San Gabriel Mountains, an area that spans 1200 Square Miles and varies vastly in terrain.

    Also included are some sounds from Northern California, along with recordings from the Pacific Northwest.

    The recording techniques for this varied as sometimes I went with the recorders running unattended to capture night, dawn and early morning.  Other times I’d record while being close by.

    Working as a Sound Effects Editor I’ve curated this collection with Editors in mind.  Background Ambiences and Spotted FX can really bring a location to life and give it so much story and character and that was a lot of the inspiration behind putting this all together. 

    Forests and Mountains

     

    The Locations

    California (61 Files) – This is where a majority of the sounds from this library were recorded and specifically Southern California.  Variety of areas and different environments, mostly around Angeles Forest, from Lower Elevation Foothills to more rugged mid-elevation Mountain Canyons and then much Higher Elevation and more remote terrain.  Also included are a few recordings from the Eastern Sierras and Northern California.

    Washington (19 Files) – Southern WA in Gifford Pinchot Forest and various Northwest Forest areas near Puget Sound.

    Oregon (16 Files) – Lakeside Recordings in forest and marsh at Klamath Lake in SE Oregon. 

    The Birds 

    Prominent / Specific Birds (36) (Closer Mic Perspective and more detailed) (* denotes multiple versions)

    Acorn Woodpecker, Barred Owl, Black-headed Grosbeak, California Towhee, *Canadian Geese, *Fox Sparrow, *Great Horned Owl, *House Wren, Northern Flicker, Oak Titmouse, Pacific Wren, Pileated Woodpecker, *Raven, Robin, *Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Swainson’s Thrush

    Other Birds Featured (17) (Mixed together from various perspectives, calm to busy depending on time of day, and then closer to more medium and distant sounds.)

    Acorn Woodpecker, American Coot, California Quail, California Towhee, Cassin’s Finch, Fox Sparrow, Great Horned Owl, Hose Wren, Mallard, Mountain Chickadee, Northern Flicker, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Poorwill, Raven, Red-tailed Hawk, Spotted Towhee, Steller’s Jay, Western Tanager, Western Wood-Pewee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wilson’s Warbler, Wrentit, Yellow-throated Blackbird, Zone-tailed Hawk

    General Forest (9) – A mix of some wildlife (Chipmunk, Deer, Bullfrogs), and more general lighter forest ambiences.
    Insects (7) – Crickets from various perspectives and different forests along with some Grasshoppers.
    Rain (4) Light to heavier in a canyon with dense vegetation, some with distant birds.
    Rivers (5) Smaller detailed creeks to faster moving rivers.
    Wind (11)  A mix of calm to heavier with gusts, vegetation, and tree creaks.
    Metadata
    Detailed with descriptions and markers and photos to easily navigate and allow for options when searching.  UCS was used to categorize and various bird species are identified.  I’ve also labeled the metadata with what I consider Lower Elevation (up to 1500 feet), Middle Elevation (2000-5000 feet), and Higher Elevation (above 5000 feet).   Included are the season of the year which was mostly Spring and Summer.  Using Open-Tier in Soundminer you can use these to help get a bit more specific to particular environments.

    The Gear

    Sound Devices MixPre-3 & 6 | Zoom F3 & 6 | Sony PCM-D100

    Mics

    Sennheiser MKH 8020 | Sennheiser MKH 8040 |

    Sennheiser MKH 30 | Clippy EM 272

  • Hello Creators!

    Here’s my new pack: “General UI Sounds“

    General UI Sounds  ·  The Sound Guild

    I wanted to create a sound pack to cover different situations in an user interface.
    I hope you enjoy implementing this sounds in your project!

    Making-Off

    All this sounds were originally recorded with a Zoom H6 (cardiod microphone), and were processed in Logic Pro X, mainly editing the recorded material but also I used the Logix Pro X sampler.

    Some considerations

    1. Keep in mind this sounds can be used in a variety of situations, I put a name to the SFX but this doesn’t mean it can’t be used in other contexts.

    2. The sounds are in 44.1Khz/16 bit format. I have the original files at 96khz/24bit also, if you need this format, please contact me.

    Check all my packs on Asoundeffect

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  • Car Sound Effects BMW Z4 E89 2009 sports car Play Track 221 sounds included, 47 mins total $65

    All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

  • Toy Quadcopter is a focused mini library capturing the playful and high-pitched character of a toy drone in motion. Perfect for film, TV, games, and interactive media, it offers a variety of flight sounds, close fast pass-bys, slow passes, motor modulations, and essential electronic signals.
    This collection includes take-off and landing sequences, beeps for syncing, calibration and low battery warnings, as well as servo engine textures and detailed proximity recordings. Recorded with precision and clarity, it’s a compact but rich toolset for designing scenes that call for small UAVs, gadgets, or sci-fi elements.


   

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