The Pocket Mentor For Game Audio

On your journey to become a full-time professional in video game audio.

Your Travel Companion

“This book is the one I wish that I’d had when I was starting out.

It’s the product of all the mistakes I’ve made and the lessons I’ve learned, as well as the wisdom of friends and mentors who’ve made the journey into a game audio career in their own ways.”

Available 24th October 2024!

Is This Book For Me?

There’s a wealth of knowledge out there covering the technical aspects of working in game audio - recording, sound design, implementation, etc. We have plenty of material covering these topics here on Game Audio Learning! But the games industry moves incredibly quickly, and you can’t just release a patch to update a physically printed book.

We wanted to make something that would still be relevant 10 years from now, which is why this book focuses on the ‘soft skills’ that are so vital to building and maintaining a successful career in game audio. From the very beginning of your game audio journey, to landing your first job and beyond, The Pocket Mentor for Game Audio is your travel guide to the world of professional game audio.

This Book Will…

  • Help you navigate the industry and job market.

  • Help you take your passion from hobby to career.

  • Help you get stuff done and win fights against procrastination.

  • Help you combat imposter syndrome.

  • Help you become a better team player.

  • Help you learn new skills more effectively and efficiently.

  • Help you become a great communicator.

  • Help you to improve your workflows.

  • Help you identify, analyse, solve, prevent and learn from problems.

  • Help you become creative on demand and easily get unstuck.

  • Help you avoid burnout and stay balanced.

This Book Won’t…

  • Magically get you a job.

  • Teach you how to record sounds.

  • Teach you how to design sounds.

  • Teach you how to implement sounds.

  • Teach you how to write code.

  • Teach you how game engines work.

  • Teach you how to mix a game.

  • Teach you how to write music for a game.

What are we going to cover?

  1. Where Do I Start?
    How to get started on your game audio journey, figuring out where you want to go and how to get there.

  2. The Learning Curve
    The value of education, mentorships, and tools for getting stuff done.

  3. Hobby To Career
    Making the leap from audio as a hobby to working full-time in the industry.

  4. You’ve Got The Job! Now What?
    How to combat impostor syndrome and make the most of your big break.

  5. How To Be A Team Player
    The importance of communication, reputation, and attitude, and the things you can do to be the person people want on their team.

  6. Continuous Learning
    Ways of staying curious and continuing to grow your skills as your career progresses.

  7. Feedback
    Who, when and how to ask for feedback, and advice to get the most out of giving and receiving feedback.

  8. Workflow
    The importance of reducing friction, and advice on how to create a workspace that’s suited to you.

  9. “Houston, We Have A Problem”
    What to do when things go wrong, and what we can learn from situations when they do.

  10. Creative On Demand
    Finding ways to inspire and motivate yourself when you get stuck.

  11. Balance And Burnout
    The importance of work-life balance, and steps you can take to protect yourself from burning out.

Resources based on the book

Watch Greg’s AirCon24 talk

Based on chapter 9 "Houston, We Have A Problem" This talk dives into the technical, auditory and pipeline problems that all game audio people face and how to strategically tackle, solve and prevent them in the first place.

Who Wrote The Book?

  • ... is a professional sound designer for video games who enjoys venturing beyond the medium on occasion in search of knowledge he can apply in his work.

    His passion for learning and teaching has granted him opportunities to teach at both undergraduate and postgraduate degree levels.

    Universities didn’t quite satisfy his appetite for education and community, however, so with the help of Jonny Sands, he created the Game Audio Learning website and co-founded Airwiggles with Lewis Thompson.

    His mission is to make game audio accessible to everyone.

  • ... is a freelance guitarist, producer and co-creator of Game Audio Learning.

    He and Greg met at university and quickly bonded over a shared love of video games and electronic music. In 2018, Greg approached Jonny asking for feedback on a YouTube video examining the sound design of Cuphead, for what eventually became the GAL YouTube channel.

    Today, Jonny manages the behind-the-scenes admin for GAL and Airwiggles, working with Greg to achieve the vision of producing freely available educational material for all.

And make our day <3

Release date 24th October 2024