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Audio
Thursday 16th July
Audio Track Welcome & Introduction
Visual Approaches to Creative Sound Design
The way we talk about sound is holding back the way we design it. In game audio we too-often rely on a narrow set of descriptors: bright, dark, warm, gritty. We also tend to default to technical processes — more compression, less reverb, more distortion — or literal source references — more metallic, more watery, more engine. While useful, these ways of talking about sound can flatten creative intent, restrict exploration, and make it harder to communicate nuanced ideas. To design more expressive, evocative audio, we need better creative language - and one of the richest sources of inspiration comes from the visual arts.
In this session, Ashton Mills draws from his experience as a sound designer and creative leader in game audio, exploring how visual thinking can augment our approaches to sound design. Ashton demonstrates how concepts like line, shape, texture, contrast, and movement can be translated into sound, offering different ways to imagine, design, and communicate audio ideas.
The talk explores how soft and hard lines map to envelope design, how visual texture differs from timbre in shaping sonic identity, and how art movements such as impressionism, expressionism, and realism can inform creative intent and stylistic choices in game audio. Through practical examples from RuneScape:Dragonwilds and sound design DAW sessions, Ashton will bridge the gap between the philosophical and the concrete; offering attendees techniques they can apply to their own work.
Session Takeaway
- Unlock new imaginative approaches to sound design.
- Discover untapped sources of inspiration for creative work.
- Improve collaboration between sound and other disciplines.
- Give better creative feedback and have new ways to respond to feedback.
Music Design Approach in Saros
This talk breaks down the music design process behind Saros, covering our approach to soundtrack development, how narrative is integrated into creative and technical workflows, and lessons learned from building a music system that remains engaging within a death-loop structure.
Session Takeaway
- Details of the Music Design approach in Saros.
- A deeper look into some of our Music Design Processes at CA.
- Music Recording, Production, Implementation, and Mix insights for Saros.
A Decade of Audio for an Infinite Universe - No Man’s Sky Over Ten Years
Few games have continued to grow and evolve in such a dramatic way as the innovative and hugely popular procedural space game, No Man's Sky. Since its release in 2016 the small dev team have continued to pour love and dedication into this multi-award winning title, with audio being constantly updated and expanded. No Man’s Sky is massively varied - planetary exploration, battles in space, build your own ships, explore space wrecks, discover wild alien creatures, trade, craft, fight and cooperate - it’s a universe-sized sandbox.
As a truly independent studio, Hello Games has a strong DIY ethos which extends throughout the audio, with all sound in the game being fully bespoke and original. Audio director, Paul Weir, will highlight ways in which some of the key sounds were created and the need to retain focus on how the audio makes players feel, emphasising emotion over technology in approaching the sound design. He’ll also discuss how the many game-changing updates have forced the audio to evolve, and the value of maintaining strong discipline and organisation within the project.
Session Takeaway
- Learn how the game has developed over a decade and the impact this has had on the sound design and with hindsight, what approaches could have been different.
- Gain insights about how to prioritise feeling and emotion over process and technology.
- Be inspired by approaches to creating some of No Man’s Sky’s iconic sounds.
Learnings from 30 Years in Game Audio
Having spoken at the inaugural Develop Conference audio track 20 years ago, we’re delighted to welcome Nick Laviers back from LA to his native land to share from his deep knowledge and rich experience. It has, in fact, been thirty years (and counting) during which Laviers has successfully worked at the forefront of videogame development, responsible for award-winning ear candy on dozens of major titles and series, including Harry Potter, Command and Conquer and Star Wars: Jedi.
In a revealing and inspiring talk, he’ll discuss key learnings wrought from navigating the joys and vicissitudes of a constantly changing industry and ever evolving technology, a global pandemic and now a potential AI revolution. Find out what you might learn for your career from his three decades at the coalface of AAA game music, sound, dialogue and audio tech.
Session Takeaway
- Reflections on what might lead to career longevity working on multiple AAA games.
- Thoughts on what provides the best conditions and platform for games audio production, drawing from 30 years of professional experience.
- An industry veteran's perspective on AI in the audio domain and where things might be headed.
Cairn: Moving Sound - Martin Stig Andersen in Conversation with Rob Bridgett
Acclaimed audio director and creative sound designer Martin Stig Andersen discusses his compelling and inspirational audio work with friend and fellow game audio guru, Rob Bridgett. Since his first foray into games, Andersen has continued to make his personal mark on the landscape of story-telling interactive sound and music. His innovative work on Limbo and Inside, among several other noted titles, has long since earned him a place in the game audio hall of fame. Be inspired by his unique approach in exploring the ‘why’ of sound, and its subconscious power to convey and communicate meaning in one of his latest works, Cairn.
Session Takeaway
- Why making the sound of Cairn beautiful, almost like an album, was as important, if not more important than it being ‘correct’.
- How the up-close ‘micro’ sound in front of you works in contrast with the expansive soundscape around you.
- Innovation in a unique approach to Atmos mixing.
- Developing breathing and foley as a language and syntax to communicate vital player feedback and meaning through sound.
Designing the Perfect Musical Score: Fancy or Folly?
Benedicte Ouimet knows her way around videogame music. For twenty years, she has worked on a wide range of projects and budgets from indie to massive AAA.
Working as music supervisor for Ubisoft out of Montreal, she supports multiple teams in providing source music and original score from concept and development through to system design and oversight of implementation, working with all manner of musicians and score composers en route.
In this talk, she will discuss best practice and process drawing on diverse examples of what works and why – and what really didn’t – to give key insights on how to achieve the best musical outcome for your game project.
Session Takeaway
- Be inspired by diverse examples of music design for video games.
- Learn about best practice in managing the music production.
- Gain insights about how to achieve the best musical outcome for your game.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: Adventures in Recording, Sound Designing and Mixing
With awards noms galore, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has been showered with critical acclaim for its impressive music, sound and dialogue. Develop welcomes audio director, Pete Ward, for an unmissable ‘behind the scenes making of’ session in which he’ll discuss building the audio team and getting to grips with a truly iconic IP. Taking a look back at his journey through an extraordinary project, he’ll discuss how his team went about recreating and mixing those famed and much-loved key sounds for today’s game tech and gamers listening in Dolby Atmos, and what he personally learned along the way.
Session Takeaway
- Gain insights on building an audio team.
- Find out how the team made and used original recordings.
- Be inspired by harnessing sound design to recreate iconic sound content with just the right amount of nostalgia and humour.
- Learn tips and tricks for mixing in Dolby Atmos.
Open Mic 2026 – 20th Anniversary Edition
In keeping with a whopping twenty years of Develop Conference tradition, our panel of game audio experts limber up for an inclusive town hall style discussion with conference delegates about the current state-of-the-art of music, sound and dialogue for games and what the future holds for game audio business, technology and creativity.
