As of recently, I have found it increasingly hard to find developers or projects to become a part of. So I had a question to ask composers/sound designers - How do many of you come across your projects?

Is it by word of mouth?
Where you recommended?
Cold e-mailing? (Not sure what the term is, but basically, shooting e-mails to each and every company possible til you 'get a hit')
Are you open-minded? (Not simply sticking to game music, but offering your services to singers, t.v. commercials, and films)
Or just plain searching?

No matter what I do, I keep coming up stale. I have a feeling that it may be the websites I am frequenting, though a part of me assumes it could be because of my lack of notoriety. It could also be that my music just isn't good, but I know that isn't the case. I'm a great composer (that is confidence speaking, not arrogance, I assure you!). I guess this is my way of finding other possibilities or venues to take in search of worthwhile projects.

As far as being paid, that is nice of course, but I will just as eagerly hop on a project that kicks balls to the wall free of charge.

Networking: what it is, and how to do it. http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson54.htm

Haha, great artice! But is that really all there is to it? If that is the case, my problem would be the lack of physical interaction amongst game developers...

Tom is the man, he knows what he's talking about! The other article I love is this one http://tinysubversions.com/2005/10/effective-networking-in-the-games-industry-introduction/

I'm not the shining example of "busy," but in the past couple months I've made friends with devs in 5-6 local studios. I'm sure eventually that'll pay off, but for now I am just enjoying being around them and learning from their experiences.

All my gigs are via word of mouth/ recommendation-- That answer may be cheating because i've been in the industry a long time , so I've met a lot of people.
But that' s sort of the point-- Networking and getting to know people is not something you do at a trade show-- it's something you do and cultivate over a career.

Tom does have some great advice-- take it all to heart..
I'd add a few more (which he's probably covered elsewhere, but I haven't read it yet )...
-- Be excellent to work with. That means more than making great content. It means being on time. Being responsive to emails/phone calls. Not getting defensive if your work is criticized.
-- Be a jerk to no one. You never know if the cubicle programmer just out of school you're working with will end up being COO of a major public game company (that actually happened to me).
-- Corollary to previous-- be nice to everyone. The game industry is great for freelancers in that everyone is always moving from Company to company.. and with each move of somebody you've worked with, you have a new 'in' at their new company. They'll remember you if you were prompt, easy to work with, a 'nice person', etc. They will also remember if you weren't.
-- Perhaps the most important networking tip (IMHO). When you network, give to others. Don't ask for help--don't try to get something out of meeting someone new. Rather just the opposite.. See if there's some way you can help them. Maybe it's recommending a great VO talent you know. Maybe it's answering a weird technical question. That's sowing the seeds of a relationship. If you're in a virtual community (like this one), scour the programming and game design forums for anything audio related, and chime in and answer. Don't answer and say "hire me"-- just answer. People like to help out people who have helped them out.

Another tip-- Hang out with non audio folks where possible. Hang with the programmers at GDC. Go to a local college's "Art for games" mixer. Dont' be afraid to talk to people. I know of more than person who got a sound gig from GDC where they met someone and just played a game with them and talked "games" for an hour.

I don't know where you live, and you mention "lack of physical interaction amongst game developers." If there is any way you can change that, that helps immensely. People like to do business with people they've met. Yes, you can be active in a virtual community, but it's not quite the same.

Robbyd has it right-- he's met people and for the time being he's "just enjoying being around them and learning....".

Brian Schmidt
Register now open for GameSoundCon San Francisco October 24-25, 2012.

Thanks! These tips help tremendously! I'll make sure to take all of them into account!

Both Tom and Brian have provided fantastic feedback and tips! Thanks guys! I can echo many of the things they're saying to do as well. In my own experience I've found once I started sharing more of my life (much of it completely unrelated to gaming or audio) my network started to really expand. For example, I'm on the Paleo diet and I know more than a few audio/game dev guys that are also on it. So we're compare stories, recipes or lament missing breads, chocolates, dairy and other things that make life happy.

Give it some time and BAM! you'll have a group of people that know YOU. Yes, they'll know you're an audio guy but more importantly they'll be able to say "Bob is a great guy! He's funny and does good work. Just don't mention chocolate around him...." This dove tails with what Brian said. There's so much more to making it in this biz than creating great audio. I've known guys that are great audio artists but are also real jerks. They seem to always work themselves out of a job - all the while labeling everyone around them a "this" or "that."

The biggest thing I can say is just be YOU. Be sincere. Most folks can spot a fraud a mile away so don't be that guy. Instead be genuine, get to know PEOPLE and have fun!

Edit: Also remember that this industry (especially freelancing) is feast or famine. So, after several months of landing nothing, re-evaluate your methods and try something new (which might be what you're doing here with this thread). Change up your demo. Change up how or who you're targeting. You can even do things outside of the game industry (but still related to audio) to gain some varied experience and show you're not solely in games. But my point is to give it some serious time. Especially on the front end because there are so many people out there and it can be really hard to get noticed.

Do you have a local college that you can help out with student games? It could be a good way to lay down some traction.

Best of luck!

Nate

Funnily enough I think the reverse happens too. Some programmers (especially hobbyists) have no idea how to get hold of artists and musicians. I went to a game developer meetup recently, and there were a few guys there from a local audio engineering college. They gave people a quick heads up in the announcements section and they were swamped in the casual chat time afterwards.

I have no idea how to get a hold of sound people!! which we are in dire need of... so yeah! This place is a great place to find work i guess?

I come across most of my projects with advertisement...so I can only imagine what I can find with social networking

Nsmadsen is right though..just be yourself, you can even social network online, if people can connect with you they will hire you or refer you...92% of people trust word of mouth