game audio questions Asbjoern Andersen


How do you get started - and make it - in game audio? To help with those inevitable questions on where to begin, what to expect, what to focus on, and how to succeed, Akash Thakkar has launched a great series of short, to-the-point answers to many of the questions that typically come to mind. Check out his thoughts and answers in the videos below + explore the additional 21 resources we've found for you:
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Animal Hyperrealism IV pre-launch deal

 

 

Should you go to school to work in game audio?

Do you have to go to university/college to work in game audio, or in the game industry as a whole?



Should You Go to School? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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What gear do you need to work in game music and sound?

Do you really need tons of fancy microphones and recorders to get started as a composer/sound designer?



What Gear Do You Need to Work in Game Music and Sound? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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What do you need to know to work in the game industry?

In this video, Akash Thakkar lets you in on a skill that many people are seriously lacking in the game industry:



What do you need to know to work in the game industry? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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Can you find game audio projects online?

In this video, Akash Thakkar tells you why it’s a bad idea to rely purely on online networking to get freelance gigs in the game industry:



Can you find game audio projects online? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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Can you make money as a sound designer?

Some thoughts on whether or not you can actually make a GOOD living as a sound designer in games:



Can You Make Money as a Sound Designer? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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How do you get feedback on your demo reel?

Here’s how you can get great feedback on your portfolio and demo reel:



How to Get Feedback on your Demo Reel | Game Audio FAQs


 
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How much should you charge?

Insights on that eternal question: How much should you charge for your music and sound?



How Much Should You Charge? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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Popular on A Sound Effect right now - article continues below:


Trending right now:

  • Level up with Kawaii UI 2 the perfect companion to Kawaii UI.
    Kawaii UI 2 follows up with more charming, modern, rounded user interface sounds designed to make your projects pop.
    This library provides an adorable blend of cute, satisfying interface sounds, crafted to enhance user experience and feedback.
    Bring your games and apps to life with Kawaii UI 2. It’s ideal for creating joyful menus, delightful HUDs, playful navigation and notifications, engaging pop-ups, and expressive text.

    What’s Inside?
    The designed folder of Kawaii UI 2 gives you a selection of ready to use UI sounds. You’ll find sounds for button presses, cursors, notifications, swipes, errors, bootups, app opens, loading loops, etc.
    Inside the source folder you’ll also find a large collection of general synthesised UI sounds, FM bells and telemetry style sounds. Combining these elements gives sound designers a robust sonic palette to create new UI sounds.

    Kawaii UI 2 Trailer
  • Fancy a vocal cat? Introducing the first 20 cats of the Istanbul cat federation! Find the true sound of it with Vadi Sound Library.

    About Cats of Istanbul Vol. 1

    With Cats of Istanbul Vol. 1, you can bring out a strong character of any cat in your projects. Angry, happy, distressed, and hungry! From loud meows to long purrs, through wild growls, cries, hisses and yummy eating. These are cats at their most expressive!

    98 files and 200+ sounds in 24-bit / 96kHz Wav format with easy to navigate naming. Go ahead and reflect the world of cats and kittens, indoors and outdoors. Complex tones of meowing, growling, screaming, mewling, purring, munching on various food, hissing, chattering, and howling and even digging in a litter box – in short, long and varied takes. Plus, you get the usual Vadi Sound craft and attention to detail!

    Starring 20 cat friends, namely;
    Oglus, Biyikli, Duduk, Disko, Zeytin, Puantiye, Paspas, Misa, Sans, Cinko, Kaju, Ucgen, Gunes, Teri, Eylul, Pofuduk, Ozmo, Ceku, Pusi, Lola.

    These meticulously recorded sounds have clarity and room for further usage and sound design with the flexible texture of the sounds for further customization. You can now set the bar higher for all your film, game, motion and video projects, advertisement, animation and all kids related projects.

    We donate 50% of this pack’s profits to animals in need.

    Keywords including Actions, Mood, Style
    Animal, Cat, Kitten, Indoors, Outdoors, Meowing, Growling, Screaming, Screaking, Fighting, Mewling, Purring, Munching on various Food, Hissing, Chattering, Howling, Snarling, Digging in a Litter Box, Short, Fast, Slow, Long, High-pitched, Relaxed Agitated, Mad, Angry, Tired, Aggressive, Happy, Distressed, Nervous, Hungry, Wild, Hostile, Dry Food, Cat Food, Water, Milk, Eating, Drinking, Crunching, Chewing, Tingling, Collar, Bell, Biting, Subtle, Gulping, Licking, Threatening, Kicking, Warning, Pleading, Complaining, Trilling, Welcoming, Attention-seeking, Street Cat, Stray, Sleeping, Snoring, Crying, Chattering, Dreaming, Wailing, Pinging.

    What else you may need
    You may also want to check out our Toys SFX Pack for access to 215 carefully recorded sounds effects of Toy Story-like ambiences.

    65 %
    OFF
  • Footsteps Sound Effects Ultimate Footsteps Play Track 1176-3056+ sounds included From: $160

    Need footstep sound effects? Get 5 Shoes, 25+ surfaces, 15+ variations – created by Foley Supervisor Joshua Reinhardt and professional Foley walker Lara Dale.

    Deep heavy metal, crunchy snow, old boat wood, crisp grass, gritty dirt, clean tile – this library has it all. Not only does this library contain walking but it's got pretty much every performance you can think of, from scuffs to jumps and lands and scrapes. With this library you can cut Foley for pretty much any film or game that comes your way.

    Highlights:

    • 17 different Performances – From slow walk to RUN, 5 scrapes, bodyfall/land, stomps and more
    • Every file is labeled with a description of the shoe, surface and performance type.
    • Every folder has a picture of the shoe and surface plus a description of the distance of the mic from the Foley walker.
    • Combine wood creak sweeteners with Ultimate Interiors wood for scary creaky wood or add grit to a clean interior to give character.
    • Same recording studio mics and preamps used in over 50 major motion pictures
    • Same boots that were used for Sylvester Stallone in The Expendable
    • Mix and match shoes, surfaces and sweeteners to make your own custom characters
    • Can be used as a stereo or separated and mixed/matched as a mono depending which mic works best for your project

    Specs:

    Foot wear type:
    Boots, Dress Shoes, Flats, Heels, Sneakers.

    Performances:
    Extremely Slow Walk, Medium Slow Walk, Walk, Jog, Run, Stairs Slow, Stairs Fast, Stomp, Land, Scuff, Scrape 1, Scrape 2, Scrape 3, Scrape 4, Scrape 5.

    Surface Types:
    Asphalt, Carpet 1, Carpet 2, Concrete, Hardwood, Hardwood house, Hardwood deep, Hardwood parquet, Hardwood boat wood, Hardwood Dock, Lino, Marble, Tile, Dirt, Grass, Metal grate, Diamond plate Metal, Metal Slab, Wood Creak 1 old, Wood Creak 2, Gravel, Rocks, SNOW!!, Puddle, Water shallow, Water Deep.

  • City Life Sound Effects Sounds & Ambiences of London Play Track 101+ sounds included, 264 mins total From: $60

    Get the sounds and ambiences of London: Here are 101 authentic recordings from the English capital.

    Featuring crowd sounds, traffic, general ambience, underground / tube, church bells, emergency and much more, this library is the perfect backdrop to any film / theatre project in need of that lively, living city sound. Detailed file names plus Soundminer, ID3 v2.3.0 and RIFF INFO metadata embedded.

    In total, this library gets you more than 4 hours of atmospheric London sounds!

    Sounds captured at famous (and some not-so-famous) London locations and landmarks such as:
    Alexandra Palace • Borough Market • Bricklayers Arms • British National Gallery • Buckingham Palace • Cardington Street • Carnaby Street • Chelsea Wharf • China Town • Courtyard Gallery • Covent Garden • Euston Station • Festival Pier • Gough Square Warwick Court • Greenwich Foot Tunnel • Hyde Park • Islington Green • Joseph Grimaldi Park • King’s Cross underground station • London Eye • London Underground • Old Compton Street • Palladium Theatre • Piccadilly Circus • Pubs around London • River Thames • Royal Horticultural Halls • Seven Dials • Shaftesbury Avenue • Soho • Somerset House • Southbank • Southbank Skatepark • Southbank Tower • Southwark Street • St Paul’s Church gardens • The Strand • Theatre Royal • Trafalgar Square • Warwick Court • West End • Whitechapel

    A special bundle opportunity:
    Get this library on its own – or get the special bundle featuring both Sounds & Ambiences Of London Vol 1 and Vol 2 at an excellent price, for more than 590 minutes of signature London sounds


Latest releases:

  • Hand Combat Sound Effects Massive Punches Play Track 505 sounds included, 1 mins total $29.99

    MASSIVE PUNCHES – 505 files of punch sound effects, from several sparring sessions. From quiet taps and hits to thudding and cracking impacts. Massive Punches comes in at over 1 minute, of real skin on skin body and head shots. Bring the power of bare knuckle to your next project. Recorded at 192kHz and 32bit, using microphones capable of recording ultrasonic frequencies. Massive Punches filenames are in the Universal Category System format with additional Metadata baked-in.

    Don’t need a Massive amount of Punch sound effects? We offer ‘Mini’ sound effect libraries as companions for all of our ‘Massive’ sound effect libraries. All recordings are unique to each library with no overlap. Go Mini today, and upgrade to the corresponding Massive library later, when you need more of that particular sound effect.

    40 %
    OFF
  • MINI PUNCHES – 60 files of punch sound effects, from several sparring sessions. From quiet taps and hits to thudding and cracking impacts. Mini Punches comes in at over 15 seconds, of real skin on skin body and head shots. Bring the power of bare knuckle to your next project. Recorded at 192kHz and 32bit, using microphones capable of recording ultrasonic frequencies. Mini Punches filenames are in the Universal Category System format with additional Metadata baked-in.
    Looking for a Massive amount of Punch sound effects? We offer ‘Massive’ sound effect libraries as companions for all of our ‘Mini’ sound effect libraries. All recordings are unique to each library with no overlap. Go Mini today, and upgrade to the corresponding Massive library later, when you need more of that particular sound effect.

    30 %
    OFF
  • Environments & Ambiences Textured Rain Play Track 116 sounds included, 135 mins total $41.30

    Textured Rain features meticulously recorded rainfall on a wide variety of surfaces and objects. Each sound is delivered as a seamless loop, with three distinct intensities per surface for maximum flexibility.

    Captured in a controlled environment using mainly a DIY rain machine, this collection was recorded in both stereo and mono, ranging from light drizzles to heavy downpours and offering consistent, adaptable textures without unwanted background noise.

    The library includes performances on car interiors, metal and plastic props, umbrellas, vegetation, fabric, debris and more. Perfect for layering in film, games, or other audio projects, these rain loops are ideal for crafting atmospheres, enhancing ambiences, and adding realistic environmental detail.

    Loops in mono and stereo

    This sound pack have been recorded using multiple mono and stereo microphone configurations and exported as seamless loops for easy drag and drop in your project.

    Props and textures recorded

    Aluminium plate • Car interior • Fabric • Galvanized container • Galvanized tub • Glass plate • Green and dead leaves • Metal barrel • Metal roof • Metal sheets and plates • Metal scrap • Mud puddle • Newspapers • Plastic container • Plastic roof • Plastic sheet • Plastic tarps • Reed screen • Roof tiles • Shopping bags • Stainless steel sheet • Steel box • Tent • Trash bags • Trash can • Umbrellas • Water • Wheelie bin • Window skylight • Wood floor • Wood planks

    … and more!

    Gear used

    MixPre-6 II • F6 • MKH8040 • MKH30 • C411 • MKH416 • LOM Usi Pro • Oktava MK012


    Metadata

    This sound library is UCS compliant and comes with fully embedded metadata compatible with Soundly, Soundminer and Basehead.

    30 %
    OFF
  • Destruction & Impact Sounds Extra Crunches Play Track 74 sounds included, 27 mins total $9.99

    EXTRA CRUNCHES – is an auxiliary sound library containing 74 unique sound effect files of crunches. From close up scratching and popping to loud and rough breaking and chomping. Whether it’s crunches or crumbs you’re looking for; This Extra sound effects library will help supplement the snacks and cracker needs, of your next project. Extra Crunches comes in at over 27 minutes and was recorded at 192kHz / 32bit using an ultrasonic microphone. All of our libraries comply with the Universal Category System naming convention standard, allowing for accurate and easy granular searches.

    50 %
    OFF
  • Industrial Ambiences Airflow Collection Play Track 36+ sounds included, 157 mins total $48

    Moody wind drafts for game & cinematic sound design can always give depth and realism to your production. This collection of airflow sounds covers structural air pressure, howling and whistling wind through doors, rattling frames and cracking stuff. Perfect for creating bunker-like atmospheres, tense survival settings, or immersive environmental layers, these sounds bring authenticity and emotion to your projects. Whether you need subtle drafts creeping through an abandoned shelter or violent gusts shaking a refuge, this library delivers a versatile toolkit ready for games, trailers, and film sound design.
    Only acoustic recordings are used, no designed sounds. UCS compatible file names and embedded file descriptions for your comfort.

Need specific sound effects? Try a search below:


 
How do you get game audio experience WITHOUT a job?

Look around and you’ll see almost EVERY game industry job requires some form of experience… so how do you get experience if you’re new to the field?



Getting Game Dev Experience WITHOUT a Job | Game Audio FAQs


 
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Do you need to know how to code to work in game audio?

Do you need to know how to program to work in game audio? Here are some insights on that:



Do You Need to Code to Work in Game Audio? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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How long until you get paid?

How long will it take before you start getting paid for your music and sound work?



How Long Until You Get Paid? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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Can you be an in-house composer?

Is it possible to become an in-house, full-time composer at a game company? Listen in as we cover whether or not that’s possible:



Can You Be an In-House Composer? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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Are you too old to work in games?

Wondering if it’s too late to work in the game industry if you’re above a certain age? Some thoughts on that here:



Are You Too Old to Work in Games? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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Do you have to be a game audio freelancer?

Do you HAVE to freelance to work in games? Here are Akash’s thoughts on that:



Do You Have to be a Freelancer? | Game Audio FAQs


 
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A big thanks to Akash Thakkar for his game audio insights! And if you’re looking for further resources on how to get started and make it in audio, check out our hand-picked selection below:

 

 

Further reading on freelance audio success:

Want to learn more about making it in audio? We’ve done some digging and have found the following resources for you – hope they come in handy!

Succeed in game audio:

How to Set (and Get) the Right Price for Your Audio Work

10 Essential Tips for Game Audio Freelancers

How to be a successful sound designer – with Scott Gershin

5 Useful Tips for Upcoming Sound Designers and Sound Editors

Building a successful audio post studio – with Kate Finan and Jeff Shiffman
 

Breaking into game audio – guides and resources:

The ‘Quit Aspiring’ book – by Adam Croft

Applying for a job in game audio – by Matthew Florianz

Freelance Game Audio: Getting Started and finding work – by Ashton Morris

Yet Another Game Audio Hiring Article – by Ariel Gross

Courses: How to network and get paid for your work in the game industry – by Akash Thakkar

 

Finding those audio jobs:

Hand-picked audio jobs on Soundlister

Get the weekly Audio Jobs newsletter

Join the Audio Jobs Facebook group
 

Showcasing your work:

Get a free profile on Soundlister

Upload your demos to Soundcloud

Upload your demos to ReelCrafter
 

Networking:

Find game audio community groups around the world

Find interesting audio events around the world
 

Education and knowledge:

Get an audio mentor at the Audio Mentoring Project

Read the 100s of sound stories and guides here on the A Sound Effect blog (search for stories here)

Browse Industry Data: Game Music and Sound Design Salary Survey Results

Take online courses in Wwise, FMOD Studio, Unity, Pure Data & Unreal at the School of Video Game Audio


 
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THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:
 
A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

  • City Life Sound Effects British Sirens Play Track 48 sounds included, 12 mins total $25

    This library consists of sounds of authentic British sirens recorded during a 3 month period in London including while in Covid-19 lockdown. The sirens’ source vehicles include ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks. Recoding techniques include recording with a spaced pair of 2 DPA 4060’s in DPA BLM6000 Boundary Layer Mount with wind protection as well as following the source with Sennheiser 8060 shotgun when opportunity allowed. As a result, the library offers 48 sounds recorded in 24bit/96kHz format delivered in 64 files with a total runtime of approximately 12 minutes. The sound was edited in RX7 to remove the occasional sounds of birds.

  • Roomtones Hospital Ambiance Play Track 24 sounds included, 59 mins total $33

    Hospital Ambiance is 59 minutes/1.80 Gb of ambiance recordings from an old hospital. 24 separate files – recorded in 24bit/96kHz A-B stereo. All sounds are UCS-compatible.

    Hospital Ambiance was recorded in the rooms and corridors of the old (now defunct) Aarhus County Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark. A prominent feature is the lack of acoustical treatment in corridors and hallways, giving a rather hard and reverberant sound, which is typical of Danish public building styles of the 1930’s and 40’s.

    Elevators and automatic doors are heavy and noisy; humming and clanking as patients and staff pass through them. Electric vehicles used to move patients and supplies around inside the complex are old and not exactly noiseless either. Finally, while I did not have access to operating rooms or the like, I did get into a couple of basement corridors, where there were less people and more Hvac noise (yay!).

    In some of the recordings, faint, muffled or smeared voices can be heard. While I have removed passages with distinctly Danish words (which might also be connected with specific, recognizable persons), there is still a certain tone and pitch to the Danish language, which may come through on occasion.
    All in all, this is the sound of a place that is no more, as this old hospital is being turned into expensive apartments or something to that effect.

  • Door Sound Effects Locker Doors Play Track 104 sounds included, 4+ mins total $12

    This is a collection of 5 different metal lockers, opened, closed, banged and handled for all of those school hallway situations you’ll come across. They are super clean and were recorded with close and “roomy” perspectives for all but one.
    Multi-channel, mono close, stereo room.

Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • Hand Combat Sound Effects Massive Punches Play Track 505 sounds included, 1 mins total $29.99

    MASSIVE PUNCHES – 505 files of punch sound effects, from several sparring sessions. From quiet taps and hits to thudding and cracking impacts. Massive Punches comes in at over 1 minute, of real skin on skin body and head shots. Bring the power of bare knuckle to your next project. Recorded at 192kHz and 32bit, using microphones capable of recording ultrasonic frequencies. Massive Punches filenames are in the Universal Category System format with additional Metadata baked-in.

    Don’t need a Massive amount of Punch sound effects? We offer ‘Mini’ sound effect libraries as companions for all of our ‘Massive’ sound effect libraries. All recordings are unique to each library with no overlap. Go Mini today, and upgrade to the corresponding Massive library later, when you need more of that particular sound effect.

    40 %
    OFF
  • MINI PUNCHES – 60 files of punch sound effects, from several sparring sessions. From quiet taps and hits to thudding and cracking impacts. Mini Punches comes in at over 15 seconds, of real skin on skin body and head shots. Bring the power of bare knuckle to your next project. Recorded at 192kHz and 32bit, using microphones capable of recording ultrasonic frequencies. Mini Punches filenames are in the Universal Category System format with additional Metadata baked-in.
    Looking for a Massive amount of Punch sound effects? We offer ‘Massive’ sound effect libraries as companions for all of our ‘Mini’ sound effect libraries. All recordings are unique to each library with no overlap. Go Mini today, and upgrade to the corresponding Massive library later, when you need more of that particular sound effect.

    30 %
    OFF
  • Environments & Ambiences Textured Rain Play Track 116 sounds included, 135 mins total $41.30

    Textured Rain features meticulously recorded rainfall on a wide variety of surfaces and objects. Each sound is delivered as a seamless loop, with three distinct intensities per surface for maximum flexibility.

    Captured in a controlled environment using mainly a DIY rain machine, this collection was recorded in both stereo and mono, ranging from light drizzles to heavy downpours and offering consistent, adaptable textures without unwanted background noise.

    The library includes performances on car interiors, metal and plastic props, umbrellas, vegetation, fabric, debris and more. Perfect for layering in film, games, or other audio projects, these rain loops are ideal for crafting atmospheres, enhancing ambiences, and adding realistic environmental detail.

    Loops in mono and stereo

    This sound pack have been recorded using multiple mono and stereo microphone configurations and exported as seamless loops for easy drag and drop in your project.

    Props and textures recorded

    Aluminium plate • Car interior • Fabric • Galvanized container • Galvanized tub • Glass plate • Green and dead leaves • Metal barrel • Metal roof • Metal sheets and plates • Metal scrap • Mud puddle • Newspapers • Plastic container • Plastic roof • Plastic sheet • Plastic tarps • Reed screen • Roof tiles • Shopping bags • Stainless steel sheet • Steel box • Tent • Trash bags • Trash can • Umbrellas • Water • Wheelie bin • Window skylight • Wood floor • Wood planks

    … and more!

    Gear used

    MixPre-6 II • F6 • MKH8040 • MKH30 • C411 • MKH416 • LOM Usi Pro • Oktava MK012


    Metadata

    This sound library is UCS compliant and comes with fully embedded metadata compatible with Soundly, Soundminer and Basehead.

    30 %
    OFF
  • Destruction & Impact Sounds Extra Crunches Play Track 74 sounds included, 27 mins total $9.99

    EXTRA CRUNCHES – is an auxiliary sound library containing 74 unique sound effect files of crunches. From close up scratching and popping to loud and rough breaking and chomping. Whether it’s crunches or crumbs you’re looking for; This Extra sound effects library will help supplement the snacks and cracker needs, of your next project. Extra Crunches comes in at over 27 minutes and was recorded at 192kHz / 32bit using an ultrasonic microphone. All of our libraries comply with the Universal Category System naming convention standard, allowing for accurate and easy granular searches.

    50 %
    OFF
  • Industrial Ambiences Airflow Collection Play Track 36+ sounds included, 157 mins total $48

    Moody wind drafts for game & cinematic sound design can always give depth and realism to your production. This collection of airflow sounds covers structural air pressure, howling and whistling wind through doors, rattling frames and cracking stuff. Perfect for creating bunker-like atmospheres, tense survival settings, or immersive environmental layers, these sounds bring authenticity and emotion to your projects. Whether you need subtle drafts creeping through an abandoned shelter or violent gusts shaking a refuge, this library delivers a versatile toolkit ready for games, trailers, and film sound design.
    Only acoustic recordings are used, no designed sounds. UCS compatible file names and embedded file descriptions for your comfort.


   

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