The Game Maker's Notebook

Austin Wintory chats with Phillip Kovats, the Senior Director of Sound for the PlayStation Studios Creative Arts team. Together they discuss his long career working on some of the biggest titles in the games industry; learning to tell stories and finding your voice as an artist; using audio to marry visuals and music to help the player's emotional journey; and giving teams agency to explore their creative vision and find solutions.  Phillip Kovats has been in games since 1999, helping create the sound and direction for the God of War series, flOw, flOwer, Journey, and Uncharted 1 & 2. In 2010, he joined Naughty Dog as audio lead, helming games such as The Last of Us, Left Behind, Uncharted 4, and Uncharted: Lost Legacy. Now, Phil works as the director of sound for the PlayStation Studios Creative Arts team, overseeing talent, facilities, operations, and creative for titles such as Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, Marvel's Spider-Man, Demon’s Souls, Ratchet & Clank and many others under the PlayStation Studios banner.