If you haven’t heard of the School of Video Game Audio, or had wondered about it, here’s some information that might help you learn more about this interesting online course.
1. What’s the basic outline of your school and the courses you offer?
The School of Video Game Audio is a set of online courses that offer direct mentorship in learning key video game audio concepts using middleware such as Wwise, FMOD Studio, Unity3D or FMOD Ex Designer.
In the first month, each week features mini-projects that will be used as building blocks towards the demo reel project. Sample project include designing interactive footsteps, effects, creature sounds and weapon sounds. The last month of the course is focused on making audio and completing the implementation of the audio for an actual game using a specific middleware.
You can choose your own area of focus, so you can spend your time on implementation, adaptive music, dialogue, mixing or otherwise. The goal of the course is to guide you through the entire process of the creation of a demo reel so that you can accurately showcase your game audio skills to a potential employer.
2. I’ve worked on audio for video games already, why would I take one of your courses?
We’ve had many experienced people with extensive audio post skills and game audio credits taking courses from us since they want to continue to refine their specific skills in Wwise, FMOD Studio, Unity3D or FMOD Ex Designer. In contrast to many online courses, our courses offer direct mentorship with an industry veteran who can help you one-on-one with your game audio questions.
Our courses allow you to experience the entire content and implementation pipeline from concept to completion with hands-on expert guidance. From beginners to professionals, our direct mentorship approach adjusts to your individual experience level and helps you learn new things about game audio. One of the best ways to see the skill level of people taking our course is to view the projects on our featured grads page
The primary instructor is Leonard J. Paul whose has worked on a spectrum of AAA games to indie games for the past twenty years, began teaching game audio nearly fifteen years ago and does talks around the globe on the topic of video game audio. We may add more staff in the future if we wish to grow the school beyond its current size but our focus will continue to be on providing a quality environment for learning video game audio online.
3. How much does a course cost at your school?
The current price for our courses is $325 CAD each. Each time you apply to take a course a non-refundable $25 application fee is required to process your application. If you choose to extend your time in a course, the cost is $75 for each month.
4. I’m currently working in game audio and want to upgrade my skills, should I take your course?
We have had several game audio professionals take our courses in the past with great results. We can provide an invoice to your company’s accounting department, if your organization is paying for your course directly, and offer significant corporate discounts for group enrolments on a case-by-case basis. Instead of creating a demo reel you can spend the time exploring the material in greater depth to get direct help with implementation, coding and other game audio topics of your choice.
5. How do I know which course is the best to take first?
In general, we would recommend the following order if you plan to take our courses in a sequence:
1.Wwise is a good start as we have offered this course for the longest.
2.FMOD Studio is a promising emerging technology.
3.Unity3D allows you to gain valuable scripting experience.
4.Taking FMOD Ex Designer is a good choice if you plan on working with a company that specifically requires it, otherwise the more modern FMOD Studio might be a better choice.
If you have a question or two about the school or the classes, contact them by using the email on their website