Q: How do I find game audio gigs?

Folks have asked me this question many many times, and I think with good reason. It can seem rather daunting to find a game project to score. The reality is there’s no guaranteed path to success. My journey has been winding, but fortunate. My first gig was fortuitous. I cold emailed an indie developer for my second. I went to GDC on college loan money to find my third. My fourth and fifth projects were internships. My sixth was a result of a reference from my fifth. My most important (FEZ) happened in part because I played a show in Montreal.

Being a freelancer is a bit like rolling a snowball. Sometimes you gain a lot of ground in a short time, and other times it’s a grind. I had part-time jobs for awhile, until I lucked out and worked on a very successful game. It’s easy to admit that a lot of the projects I have worked on since FEZ have been the result of exposure I gained from it.

Work Philosophy

Like anything, finding projects to work on is about who you know. The most important thing you can do is be visible. Have a strong web presence, and attend lots of events where there are game developers. Share your music. It’s okay to let people know that you are looking for projects to work on, but don’t be too aggressive about it. Developers are well aware that there are a lot of composers who are looking for work. Don’t put the cart before the horse. Game developers are human beings, many of them lovely. The best way to develop a working relationship with someone is to get to know them in person.

Where Do I Go?

There are many wonderful events that happen every year, where creative people of all kinds congregate in the name of games.

Conferences
GDC
IndieCade
Fantastic Fest
PAX
etc…

Game Jams This format is one of the easiest ways to work on a game. You will meet lots of cool people if you make an effort. I find writing music at game jams to be difficult, but it’s not impossible and I think it can be worth it regardless. My friend Bill Kiley wrote music for a dozen games at MolyJam a few years ago. That’s a lot of future potential right there!

Here are some other jams worth investigating:
Global Game Jam (often has lots of locations around the globe)
Ludum Dare (an online game jam, so you can take part from anywhere!)
7DFPS
Train Jam

Here are some sites that maintain a calendar of game jams happening around the world:
http://www.indiegamejams.com
https://itch.io/jams

There are game jams happening all the time. It doesn’t take much to get involved when the stakes are so low. People go to have fun, and so can you!

Online Communities
Do you prefer the shadows of your abode to the dangers of the real world? There are plenty of websites where game developers and creative types gather. I’m a bit out of the loop, but I spent a lot of time on TIGSource, which is still alive and kicking. Also, this may go without saying, but don’t forget: Google is the most essential resource of our time.

What Do I Do?

Release Music
Getting your music out there can’t hurt. It also gives others a better understanding of your identity as a musician. I use Bandcamp to sell music on my website, and CDBaby to push my music to the most popular channels.

Build a Portfolio
Part of being visible is giving people an easy way to learn more about what you do. A portfolio also allows you to communicate the direction you are looking to move in with your work. If you don’t have any gigs to showcase, you can always make demo material.

Live Performance
A great excuse to travel, meet new people, and showcase your music. Traveling is in part how I ended up working on FEZ.

Business Cards
Here are some great reasons not to buy business cards:

General Philosophy

Put yourself out there. Work hard, try to get your work in front of as many eyes as you can. People need to know that you exist and that you have a desire to work on things. Build long term relationships with people on similar or complementary paths - fellow musicians/artists trying to enter the space, or people working in other disciplines whom you might be able to collaborate with. Be open to what comes, especially early on. But you will have to manufacture opportunities for yourself, yu can't wait for them to magically appear. When entering a new space it's worth sticking your neck out beyond your comfort zone a bit to see what benefits may come. For me it involved live performance, and socializing with new people at events which was far more challenging for me when I was in my early 20s.

If You’re Fortunate…

It’s easy to say yes to an opportunity when there are no others. That said, as soon as you feel like you can, try to be discriminating about the projects you undertake. I believe that we all benefit when we choose to focus on the projects that resonate with us.

On 'Cold Calling'

Everyone and their mother is cold-emailing developers these days, especially composers. I think you're much better off doing game jams and going to events and actually meeting people and finding things to work on that are not going to grant you any immediate income or success, but mostly just the chance to flex your muscles, make new friendships / etc. Or you could even make your own game. There are a gazillion resources and plenty of folks out there doing that and that's a great way to meet folks too.

It's very tough to jump into a new thing and hit the ground running, it's much easier to build your momentum slowly alongside others who are in a similar position. I've been pushing my snowball for about a decade :)

Then again i got at least one gig back in the day on a cold-email, so it's not unheard of, there's just a ton of competition now and people don't have as much time or attention to give you in that regard.