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Since my major (music production) is relatively new (only 1 year old), I was wondering what does it take to be a sound designer in the video game industry. I am only a year away from graduating and I want to try to be as competitive as possible, except that my university doesn't have the necessary courses that other universities that have recording majors so I am limited in that respect.

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Experience and Passion. Not necessarily paid experience, but you must be able to show that you understand how games work and how to design sounds for them. Also be able to talk about them, so play alot! Passion because game studios run on passion, no one is in it for the money ;) you've got to love what you do, and drive yourself and other team members to make better games.

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I keep running into a block when searching sound design positions for gaming in that they continue to require knowledge of FMOD, Wwise, or even C++ experience. They require this even if the position does not require sound implementation. I assume they just want you to have experience in how it is done in order to communicate with the implementator.

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 If you're looking for a job in video game sound, knowing FMOD, Wwise, and even XACT is practically mandatory. If you're lucky enough to get hired onto a AAA company, they MAY have someone that can implement, but generally you're the one in charge of that -- or the programmers, and you don't want them in charge of your audio. – Dave Matney Sep 21 2011 at 18:27
Is there a requirement of liking video games? ;) – Utopia Sep 21 2011 at 20:14
@Utopia Very common interview questions: What is your idea of a good and bad sounding game, what is your favorite game, what game are you playing now? Its good to have answers to those questions. – David Rovin Sep 22 2011 at 0:04
It is essential that you have a passion for gaming. – Iain McGregor♦ Sep 22 2011 at 17:08
Thanks guys. Fortunately, I do game and have a passion for game sound. Looks like I just need to download Wwise and get experimenting. – MixingManiac Sep 24 2011 at 16:08

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