What does an Audio Programmer (Video Games) do?
Audio programmers are coders and sound engineers who implement audio assets into a video game engine or similar interactive media project. They are skilled coders who specialize in implementing audio and music into video game engines, ensuring that assets (e.g., music, ambience, dialogue, and sound effects) load smoothly, trigger correctly, and play back in high quality while using minimal processing power.
Most companies and studios hire only one dedicated sound programmer, making opportunities competitive, but the field has yet to be saturated—leaving qualified and skilled individuals in high demand.
At a Glance
Most companies and studios will hire only a few dedicated audio programmers, making opportunities competitive. However, the field has yet to be saturated, and there's a lot of room for skilled individuals to find success. Educational requirements are flexible; most studios require entry-level audio programmers to have prior game audio experience, thorough knowledge of several key coding languages, and basic audio engineering skills.
There's a thin line between audio implementation and sound design, and many video game audio professionals perform both roles at different times in their careers—the key is finding a specialty. Those with well-rounded experience in effects design, audio implementation, and dialogue editing are well positioned to become audio directors.
Producing a portfolio of work that demonstrates the ability to program and manipulate audio is the first step to finding a full-time position. One could also contribute to an open-source audio project, work on a game demo, or ship an indie game as an audio programmer or sound designer.
- Audio APIs like Wwise, FMOD, or Miles
- DAWs
- MIDI
- Knowledge of C# or C/C++
- Max/MSP
- Software and tool development
- Audio engineering (editing and mixing)
- Sound design
- Collaboration
- Communication
Communicative, collaborative, and flexible; eager to learn and incorporate new techniques; passionate about games and audio.
Most dedicated audio programmers work for video game studios in full-time, salaried positions, although contract work also exists in the world of small studio and indie projects. Audio programmers should expect to work overtime in order to make tight game deadlines, as well as take their work home with them when necessary. Additionally, as practitioners of a famously labor-intensive art—coding—within the notoriously results-oriented video game industry, audio programmers can be prone to overwork.
