The Importance of Being Calm

"I've had to cut my own work because, you know, we're falling behind production," he said. "It's like cutting off your finger." He added that being the calmest person in the room can be valuable.

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Episode notes

I welcome Jeff Linville, the Co-Founder and Sound Designer at Ritual Studios to this episode. We discuss topics like sound design, pitching your game to publishers, and the future of AR and VR. Jeff shares about the importance of your personal network, learning how to script and work in-engine, and maintaining a healthy mindset with the ups and downs of the industry.

We then go into the importance of sound design, highlighting the transformative power of sound that enhances player experiences. Hear about the challenges faced by sound designers, such as time constraints and file size limitations, plus having content cut.

Jeff shares why he’s bullish on VR and thoughts around AR possibly replacing smartphones through spatial computing. We then get into the concerns about AI's impact on game development and copyright issues, along with ideas around the benefits.

Hear how the team pivoted their game pitch to get better results by focusing on bite-sized call-to-action prompts, plus using gifs and game audio to create the game experience. Learn the importance for sound designers to be able to work in-engine and script, plus having an engineer connection to help implement ideas and tech.

Jeff and I then talk about the importance of seizing opportunities, networking with peers, and maintaining a positive attitude through setbacks. We then wrap up discussing chance encounters, the abundance of good people in the industry, and the power of doing great work.

Bio:

Jeff Linville is Co-Founder of Ritual Studios, a Chicago based indie studio working on their first title, Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson. Jeff has been in the game industry for over 6 years as a Sound Designer and Composer working on various titles, including Fretless and Cardio Ex.

Show Links:

* Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson Reveal Trailer YouTube

* Cardio Ex Game Soundtrack on Spotify

* FMOD website

* Apple’s Vision Pro spatial computing Apple website

* Guild Wars 2 website

* Alien: Isolation App Store

* The 2023 Hollywood Strike for Dummies Vulture

Connect With Links:

* Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson Steam page

* Ritual Studios Twitter

* Jeff Linville Twitter