First GDC 2010 Audio Track Sessions Announced: Hell and Emotion

Can’t believe it’s already that time of year again. The Game Developer’s Conference is one of the best places in the world for game audio as it provides an opportunity for composers, sound designers, and audio directrors to get together and discuss the latest and greatest in the industry. The first batch of sessions have just been announced, and we of course hit the directory to see what to look forward to from the audio track.

First and foremost, I got excited when I saw Final Fantasy XIII, but as it turns out, Yoshinori Tsuchida and Tomohiro Yajima will be discussing audio programming of the game’s sound effects, and not the game’s music. Bioshock composer Garry Schyman will be discussing his score for Dante’s Inferno (which Gideon is ecstatic about), and a lecture will be held discussing the sound design in the Halo series by Bungie’s Jay Weinland. Two other highlights include a panel that will explore the lessons of the 8-bit era in terms of audio titled “Where It All Began / Lessons That Can Be Learned From ‘First Generation’ Music” featuring panelists Rod Abernethy, Alexander Brandon, and Brian Schmidt, and another panel titled “The Musical Recipe of Emotion” featuring Tom Salta, Laura Karpman, Marty O’Donnell, Jason Hayes, and Chance Thomas. Sounds like it’s already shaping up to be a great GDC, and there are surely more panels to be announced in the near future, so stay tuned!

Is there a particular game or topic that you think needs to be discussed at this year’s GDC? Are you as curious as I am to see what Abernethy, Brandon, and Schmidt will have to say about 8-bit music?