Hey all!

I'm a freelance composer/sound designer for video games, and had some questions that I'd love assistance on from a game developer's perspective.

1. As I apply for and choose projects, I notice that some have composers attached very early on in the process, and some are not really chosen until most of the game is completed. I was wondering if you could let me know from personal experience how far along in the process a composer is sought and chosen (whether during pre-production or later)

2. What is a typical timeline like for game development? I realize that budgets and types of games will vary this quite a bit, but I'd love to get a general idea on how the music timeline coincides with your overall game development timeline

3. What do you usually look for when hiring a particular composer? Is it their previous experience, based solely on their musical/composing prowess, or other factors I might not be aware of?

Thanks all for being so gracious in answering my questions - I'm always about bridging the musical gap between everyone I work with and your answers will definitely help me be a better composer and have an even more rewarding relationship with future developers on projects.

Nikhil Koparkar

www.soundcloud.com/nikhilkmusic

Well, personally when I see a thread SHOUTING AT ME IN ALL CAPS I get annoyed with that person and have a tendency to avoid doing any form of business with them. That is, however, not limited to composers.

Very important bitmaster.

I would say : portofolio, have some stuff done so you dont have to work when theres a deadline, they Always like it.

1. how far along in the process a composer is sought and chosen (whether during pre-production or later)
2. What is a typical timeline like for game development? I realize that budgets and types of games will vary this quite a bit,
3. What do you usually look for when hiring a particular composer?

1. It depends. How important is music in this particular game concept. How tricky are the music requirements, is the music just background or does it drive mood and thus need to adapt to the player's actions. I might contact composers during the budgeting process or I might just estimate (or I might set a dollar limit) up front, and contact composers during production.
2. From 3 months to 2 years plus. You realize that this can vary quite a bit.
3. A composer who can give me what I want. Is it a game in which music is a major selling point? If so, I need recognized names. If not, I don't, and I just look for someone who can give me what I want. And I would certainly hope he wouldn't "shout" at me in his emails.

Like Tom said, this varies a lot.

On most games where sound and music is thought as an "add-on" process, i.e. not the core element, just something expected to hit play, then stop or loop; good management will hire the sound/music guys until late in production. This way if the game is cancelled or needs a major change in direction, there is no money spent on audio that would go to waste.

Only a few audio samples would be ordered on early production just to get something for prototyping reasons.

But there are lots of exceptions (other than due to bad management decisions), for example music games (D'oh!), or Journey; where everyone prized the music, and the game designer thought it would play core role in the mood of the game; and thus music went side by side with the rest of the team during the whole production process.

Thanks guys for your informative advice! I've worked on my first game recently, and could always benefit from good advice on this topic, so that I'm dealing with game developers in a professional manner. I certainly didn't mean to imply "shouting" at anyone, it's simply how I title subject lines :) No offense intended! I'll definitely keep your suggestions in mind as I approach people for the next project.