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9/21/06
Meeting Highlights
by Nick Kettman
The September 2006 meeting of the Chicago AES Section was held at Midway Games,
located on Chicago's
north side. Dan Forden, Midway's company-wide
Audio Director, presented on the topic of video game audio.
Approximately 40 audio professionals were in attendance.
Presentation topics included a history of video game audio, a history of
Midway Games, the process of creating game audio, and a description of the
current game audio landscape. After the presentation, a tour of the
Midway audio department was conducted by Mr. Forden
and two of his senior audio engineers, Vince Pontarelli
and Rich Carle.
Mr. Forden gave a brief history of video game
audio, including a description of the technological advancements which have
taken place over the last three decades. He provided audio examples
which contrasted the synthesized bleeps and bloops
of games produced before the 1980s with the complex, multichannel
playback systems in use today.
The process of creating game audio involves several steps. The audio
designers first must collaborate with game designers and technical directors
to determine the overall audio design. Then audio assets (voice, music,
and sound effects) are created and formatted for the target game
platform. Implementation of these audio assets involves attaching them
to in-game events or objects and determining how the sounds are
rendered. Finally, mixing the audio is an on-going process during which
the audio levels are checked on a variety of playback systems, from "lo-fi" television speakers to surround sound systems.
The meeting concluded with a tour of the Midway audio department. Mr. Forden, Mr. Pontarelli, and Mr.
Carle demonstrated the studios which they use for recording dialogue,
creating music, and mixing multiple audio assets.
Midway was started in 1958 as a manufacturer of amusement equipment.
Over the years, Midway has produced best-selling video game titles including
Defender, NBA Jam, and Mortal Kombat, to name only
a few.
The Chicago AES Section would like to extend a special thanks to Matt Booty,
Senior Vice President of Midway Games, for hosting this meeting.
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