High Score curator Cameron Lam reveals the must-see experiences of our upcoming composition and sound art for games conference.
If you haven't already, get your tickets now (both in-person and online).
Whether you’re joining us on-site at LCI Melbourne or online from the comfort of your own home, High Score is your place to level up your game audio knowledge, skills, and network. While all sessions are recorded and available on demand for 30 days, so you don’t miss anything. We’ve pulled together some highlights based on what area of game audio you’d like to specialise in:
Are you a composer or songwriter looking to break into games, or wanting some tips for your next big project? Well, don’t miss out on our two SOUND OF presentations looking at the wildly different, but both amazing, soundtracks of indie darlings Dredge and Justice Sucks.
Looking to get your foot in the door of the industry? Simon Hanna (aka GrandPrizeBigFuzz) and Natalie Jeffreys break down what a meaningful and healthy relationship between composer and composer’s assistant looks like!
If you’re exploring the conference venue, definitely pop your head into THE LIBRARY hosted by CMI Australia to check out the latest offerings by Native Instruments to fill in any gaps in your own personal sound library.
And of course, come hear the Queen of video game composition, Yoko Shimomura in our opening keynote talking through her 35-year history and how she stays inspired, creative, and top of her game.
Can't wait? Check out this highlight from High Score 2022: The Sound of: Revita by Christoph Jakob
Photo: Jacinta Keefe
Sound Design is a wide field and is highly sought after in the industry at present. Whether you’re honing your skills or wanting to add another string to your bow High Score’s got you covered!
Off the back of the award-winning hit, God of War: Ragnarok, Joanna Fang and Blake Collins are giving a technical masterclass on the art of foley recording and design – not to be missed.
Context is so important to the tools you have access to, but also for how your audio will be experienced – we have two different panels looking at opposite ends of the spectrum: Big Things In Small Packages: Sound for Mobile and Experience Design - Game Audio beyond PC & Console together they’ll cover a lot of ground in how to best craft audio experiences for your players and listeners.
Searching for more sounds? Don’t worry MESS has you covered with THE ARCHIVE, full of strange and wonderful machines and noisemakers to excite your eardrums.
Finally, don’t miss our closing keynote Christopher Larkin on How to create unique videogame soundscapes using a simple set of building-block techniques.
Photo: Jacinta Keefe
Can't wait? Check out this highlight from High Sore 2022: Making Mini Maker Sonically by Neha Patel
If you’re a coding whiz or an engineering savant, our speakers have the tools and tricks you need to optimise!
FMOD’s own Product Manager and technical genius Aaron Edwards, is showcasing some of his favourite orthodox (and unorthodox) tools and techniques hidden in audio middleware FMOD Come for the hidden techniques and stay for the absolute mastery.
Audio experts Zander Hulme and Mika Cornelius pool their knowledge and strategies from across the Tasman for an Australian-New Zealand collaborative look at how to break down and solve technical problems in situ.
On the ground at LCI? Head over to THE STUDIO sponsored by Ableton and FMOD’s THE WORKSHOP for the chance to get your hands on some software and have a play under the guidance of experts.
Or see audio production in practice with Tim Sunderland’s presentation on the upcoming narrative-driven RPG, Broken Roads.
Can’t wait? Check out this highlight from High Score 2022: Making Audio the Solution
Photo: RC Stills
Keen to see the money rolling in, or want to see how to step up in the local industry? Essential viewing is below!
Opening day two is one of the most exciting research projects for the game audio industry, commissioned by Creative Australia, Dan Golding and Brendan Keogh talk us through the Australian Music in Games Benchmark 2023. Find out exactly how the community is doing, what it needs and how you fit in!
This will be followed by an APRA AMCOS and Arts Law Centre of Australia panel on the process and procedure for collecting and receiving game audio royalties and how contracts or agreements might impact them.
If you have more specific queries, don’t forget you can book in for a 1-on-1 meeting with Arts Law or with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers at High Score as well.
Finally, our panel Making the Team compares stories from Australia, New Zealand and Brazil of building a new in-house audio team from the ground up, so whether you’re aiming to get hired onto the team or be leading the team itself, they’ll be lots of important takeaways.
Still curious to know more about High Score? Check out Cameron Lam's very useful Twitter thread about the event, speakers and more!
Photo: RC Stills
Can’t wait? Check out this highlight from High Score 2022: Panel: Licence to Game