Audio Design for Video Games Minor

The audio design for video games minor groups related required and elective courses in order to prepare an electronic production and design student for a professional career as an audio lead and/or audio designer for video games. To prepare for such a career path, a student must master a variety of advanced sound design, synthesizer programming, digital signal processing (DSP), and sampling techniques, audio recording and manipulation (including dialog production, Foley, and music cue editing and placement), sound layering, and mixing audio elements for stereo and surround playback. A student must also learn how to conceive, design, build, and test interactive audio systems and routines, and develop skills in audio implementation; a unique process of integrating and triggering sound effects and music layers in a non-linear environment such as a video game, as opposed to the fixed, linear timelines found in film and television formats. Video game production at the professional level requires members of a creative team to adhere to long arcs of milestone-based project management, strict deadlines, professionalism, and effective communication skills in a pressure-filled environment. The audio design for video games minor provides immersive instruction in all these creative and technical areas, and is ideally suited for the electronic production and design major who wishes to sub-specialize in this vibrant and ascendant segment of the music profession.

Required courses:

• EP-341 Programming Interactive Audio Software and Plugins in Max/MSP (2 credits)
• EP-351 Advanced Studies in Digital Sampling Techniques (2 credits)
• EP-381 Digital Audio Production and Design (2 credits)
• MTEC-321 Music and Sound Production for Games (2 credits)
• MTEC-421 Audio Implementation for Video Games (2 credits)

Elective courses (choose one from the following):

• EP-337 Programming, Sound Design, and Composition in Csound (2 credits)
• EP-340 Speech and Vocal Synthesis (2 credits)
• EP-353 Programming Audio Applications and Plugins in C, C++, and Objective-C (2 credits)
• EP-373 Sound Design for Animation (2 credits)
• EP-413 Digital Signal Processing: Theory and Composition (2 credits)
• EP-414 Digital Signal Processing for Music Production and Postproduction (2 credits)
• EP-431 Physical Modeling and Additive Synthesis (2 credits)

Six courses required for completion of the minor.

For more information, contact

Electronic Production and Design Department
150 Massachusetts Avenue
617 747-2348
Acting Chair: Kari Juusela, kjuusela@berklee.edu
Department Assistant: Joe Lynn, jlynn@berklee.edu