The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook

Sr. Director of Sound at PlayStation Studios, Phillip Kovats

Sep 6, 2021

01:44:35

Creator website

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Working on Your Craft

03:00

You Know It, It's True What You're Saying

02:01

Can You Bring Across an Idea That Shows Who You Are?

02:05

Introduction

6min

First Generation American.

3min

A Piano - I Grew Up a Piano Player, and I Loved Story Telling

2min

Is There a Future for You?

2min

Is There a Distinguishment Between the Arts and the Arts?

2min

What I Learned About Computer Programming

3min

New Mexico - The Place to Go for Inspiration and Visual Feedback

2min

Should I Move to L A?

3min

Learning From Your Mistakes

3min

10.

How Did You Get Your First Recording Job?

1min

11.

Did You Migrate Your Way Up From Your Initial Position?

2min

12.

The Sky Was Just One With One With the Machine

2min

13.

I'm a Sound Designer, I've Always Been a Director, I Think?

2min

14.

Starworsh's Career in Games

2min

15.

The Phantom of the Opera - The Story of the Phantom

2min

16.

Starwars - The Soundtrack

2min

17.

The Matrix and a a Dictator - It's So Sorry

2min

18.

You Know, I'm a Young Un in the Industry, You Know?

3min

19.

You Know It, It's True What You're Saying

2min

20.

The Importance of Luck

3min

21.

Game's Full Time - I Never Thought It Was, It Was Cool

2min

22.

I Love Those Kinds of Stories So Much

2min

23.

How Much Time Did You Have?

2min

24.

I Love to Cross Paths With These Heroes

2min

25.

The Work Is How Their Brain Works, Right?

2min

26.

Sound Design for a Game Company

2min

27.

The Murmuration System - The Last of Us

2min

28.

Is There an Inherent Understanding That Collaborates With Audio?

5min

29.

The Last of Us

2min

30.

The Sound Designer on Uncharted Two

2min

31.

Uncharted 3 - The Story of the Game

2min

32.

The Last of Us - The Sound of the Game

3min

33.

Game Review - Is There a Story or a Visual Medium?

5min

34.

The Luck Is the Title, the Luck Is the Luck

2min

35.

Sony - The Best Game of the Year

4min

36.

Sound for Creative Arts - A New Approach to Sound Management

3min

37.

How Can We Approach That Mix Differently?

3min

38.

The Body of Work

3min

39.

How Do We Team Up?

2min

40.

I Love Being a Leader, I Love Creating the Sounds

4min

41.

Can You Bring Across an Idea That Shows Who You Are?

2min

42.

Working on Your Craft

3min

43.

The Game Maker's Notebook

3min

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.