Video Game Audio Articles
by Leonard J. Paul (MSc Game Audio)

Leonard Paul attained his Master's Degree in Game Audio with CNAM in Paris, France in 2017. He received his Honours degree in Computer Science at Simon Fraser University in BC, Canada with an Extended Minor in Music concentrating in Electroacoustics. He began his work in video games on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System and has twenty plus year history in composing, sound design and coding for games working for companies such as Electronic Arts, Backbone Entertainment, Radical Entertainment, moderngroove entertainment, Rockstar Vancouver and Black Box Games. He has worked on over twenty major game titles totalling over 6.4 million units sold since 1994, including award-winning AAA titles such as EA's NBA Jam, NHL11, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, NBA Live '95 as well as the indie award-winning title Retro City Rampage. [+]



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News: via @VideoGameAudio on mastodon.gamedev.place/@videogameaudio

Video Presentations:

Presentations and Writings:
GameSoundCon 2024 LA, USA Game Sound Conference Invited Talk - Exploring Interactive Music: CS:GO, NBA Jam, Eco, Sim Cell - [Web]
GameSoundCon 2024 Online Air Wiggles: AirCon24 Online Conference Visual Scripting for Game Audio - [YouTube]
GameSoundCon 2023 LA, USA Game Sound Conference Invited Panelist - [Web]
SFCM2020 2023 Online Audio for Eco Developer Talk - [YouTube]
GameSoundCon 2022 Oslo, Norway Game Audio Conference Oslo Game Audio Visual Scripting - [YouTube]
GameSoundCon 2020 LA, USA Game Sound Conference Invited Talk - Game Audio for Game Jams - [Web]
SFCM2020 2020 Online Audio for Eco Developer Talk - [Web] [Video]
SFCM2020 2020 San Francisco, USA TAC Online Festival Invited Talk - Pure Data + Game Audio - Sessions with Austin Wintory, Barry Threw, Clipping., Holly Herndon, Jonathan Mayer, Matmos, & Tim Davies - [Web] [Video] [PDF]
GameSoundCon 2019 LA, USA Game Sound Conference Invited Talk - Highly Dynamic Game Audio Using Pure Data - [Web]
GDC 2019 Vancouver, Canada VRGE Presenter - Making Music for the Sega Genesis [Twitter] [Presentation]
GDC 2019 San Francisco, USA GDC Panelist - Game Audio Education [Video]
G4FP 2018 Angoulême, France G4F Prod Invited Talk and Roundtable - Music for Video Games - [Web]
GameSoundCon 2018 LA, USA Game Sound Conference Invited Talk - Generative Music - [Web]
SIAT 2018 Surrey, BC School of Interactive Art and Technology : SFU Guest Lecture - Videogame Audio - [PDF] - [Audio]
fi 2017 Vancouver, Canada Sound Designers Meetup Presenter - Using Pure Data for Music, Sounds and Games [Web]
GDC 2017 San Francisco, USA GDC Presenter - Audio Bootcamp - Different Approaches to Game Music [Web] + [MP3] + [PDF] + [Examples MOV] + Mentor - Audio Bootcamp - Different Approaches to Game Music [Web]
qm 2017 London, UK Procedural Audio Now Presentation + Q&A - The Music of Beep
fi 2016 Vancouver, Canada Full Indie Presentation - Game Audio Using Pure Data - [Video][PDF]
2016 Montréal, Canada Montréal International Game Summit Presentation - Procedural Game Audio with Pure Data - [Web]
Banff2016 2016 Banff, Canada Banff Centre Informal Chat - Introduction to Game Audio - [PDF]
SFCM2016 2016 SF, USA San Francisco Conservatory of Music Informal Chat - Introduction to Game Audio - [PDF]
AES2013 2015 NYC, USA AES #139 Speaker - Using Pure Data as a Game Audio Engine - [Web]
AES2013 2015 NYC, USA AES #139 Panelist - Game Audio Education Panel—New Opportunities for Students - [Web]
fi 2015 Troy, USA Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Speaker - Introduction to Game Audio - [Video] [PDF] [MP3] [Web] [Newspaper .PDF] [Newspaper Link]
fi 2015 Vancouver, Canada Full Indie Speaker - Game Audio Middleware (Wwise, FMOD Studio, Fabric & Pure Data) - [PDF] [MP3]
qm 2015 Stanford, USA Stanford University Invited Speaker - Advanced Topics in Video Game Audio - [Web]
qm 2015 San Fran, USA California College of the Arts Invited Speaker - Introduction to Video Game Audio - [Web] [Slides] [.MP3]
qm 2015 London, UK Queen Mary University Invited Speaker - Advanced Video Game Audio - [Web]
AES2013 2015 London, UK AES for Games 2015 Invited Speaker - The Generative Music of Sim Cell - [Web]
qm 2015 London, UK Procedural Audio Now! Meetup Invited Speaker - Working and Playing with Procedural Audio - [Slides] [Video]
GameSoundCon 2014 LA, USA Game Sound Conference Invited Talk - Visual Scripting with Pure Data for Game Sound Design - [Web]
AES2013 2014 LA, USA AES 2014 #137 Lecturer - The Procedural Sound Design of Sim Cell - [Web]
AES2013 2014 LA, USA AES 2014 #137 Panelist - Next Gen-Game Audio Education - [Web]
BNMI 2014 Banff, AB Film and Media Guest Lecture Introduction to Video Game Audio - [.PDF] - [MP3 1.5hrs] [Workshop MP3 3.5hrs]
OHIA 2014 Oxford, UK OUP Oxford Handbook of Interactive Audio - Book Chapter - For the Love of Chiptune - [Chapter] - [Book]
GDC 2014 San Francisco, USA GDC 2014 Invited speaker - Game Educators Rant - [Open Source Pure Data Presentation]
AES2013 2014 Newcastle, UK RTV 2014 Invited speaker and performer - Real-time Visuals with Pure Data talk - [Web]
AES2013 2013 NYC, USA AES 2013 #135 Panelist - Game Audio: A Primer and Educational Resources - [Web] [MP3-Middleware] [MP3-School] [MP3-Q&A]
AES2013 2013 London, UK AES Presenter - Going Old School: Chiptunes and Trackers in Games - [Web] [PPT] [MP3]
qm 2013 London, UK Queen Mary University Invited Speaker - Advanced Video Game Audio - [Web] [PPT] [MP3]
GDC 2012 Toronto, CA Gamer Camp 2012 Invited Presenter - Video Game Audio - [Web] [PDF] [MP3]
GDC 2012 Seattle, USA PAX Dev 2012 (at PAX Prime) Panel Presenter - Retro City Rampage Chiptune Frenzy! Panel - [Web] [PDF]
GDC 2012 Vancouver, BC Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo 2012 Panelist - Retro City Rampage Panel - [Web]
GDC 2012 San Francisco, USA GDC 2012 Invited Speaker - The Dynamic Audio of Vessel - [Web] [MP3] [PDF]
CEC 2011 Vancouver, BC Canadian Electroacoustic Society Invited Talk - CEC 25th Anniversary - Electroacoustics in Video Games - [PDF] [Web] [Event]
GameSoundCon 2011 San Fran, USA Game Sound Conference Invited Talk - Procedural Audio in Vessel - [Web]
DH2011 2011 Toronto, Canada CBC Spark Radio Interview Interview - [Web]
DH2011 2011 Mexico City, MX DevHour 2011 Lecture - [MP3] [PDF] [Web] - Roundtable - [Part 1] - Workshop - [MP3]
IAV2011-SãoPaulo 2011 São Paulo, Brazil Instituto de Áudio e Vídeo Workshop - Brazil Workshop - [PDF] [.XLS-Details] [MP3-4hrs]
AES2011-London 2011 São Paulo, Brazil AES 2011 Brazil Keynote Speaker - [Video] [Article] [Interview] [PDF] [PDF-Portuguese] [Web] [MP3]
AES2011-London 2011 London, UK AES 2011 for Games Invited Poster - Granulation of Sound in Video Games - [PDF] [Web]
AV2011-Beaconsfield 2011 Beacons- field, UK Audio for Visuals 2011 Invited Speaker - Sound Design for Games - [PDF] [MP3] [Web]
GameSoundCon 2010 San Fran, USA Game Sound Conference Invited Lecturer - Procedural Sound Design - [Web] [Presentation [.PDF]] [MP3]
AES_Bogota 2010 Bogotá, Columbia AES Invited Speaker - Video Game Audio - [Web] - [Open Office Presentation [.ODP]] - [Presentation [.PDF]] [MP3]
Remix Theory 2010 Vancouver, BC ECUAD Invited Speaker - Remix: Composing Structures 4 Play and Performance - [Web] - [Open Office Presentation [.ODP]] - [Presentation [.PDF]] - [Video [.MP4]]
PAX 2010 Seattle, WA Pax 2010 Conference Indie game selected as one of the 'PAX 10' with Retro City Rampage - [Web]
BNMI 2010 Banff, AB Interactive Screen 1.0 MOD Music Presentation on Retro City Rampage and Audio Mentoring - [Presentation] - [Mentoring]
AMAZE 2010 Vancouver, USA Guest Workshop Workshop - Interaction Design - Audio - [Overview] [MP3] [Example Patch]
WSU 2010 Surrey, BC Open Sound 2010 Speaker - Artist Statement for Game Boy Advance : Core Dump v3.0 - [MP3] - [Website] - [Open Office Impress [.ODP]] - [Presentation [.PPT]] - [Exhibition [.PDF]]
AMAZE 2010 Berlin, Germany A MAZE Festival Lecturer, Seminar & Roundtable - Droppin' Science: Video Game Audio Breakdown - [Roundtable] - [Vimeo] - [MP3] - [MP3 (German)] - [Website] - [Lecture] - [Workshop] - [Workshop [.PDF]]
SIAT 2009 Surrey, BC School of Interactive Art and Technology : SFU Guest Lecture - Videogame Audio - [Flash Video] - [PPT] - [Open Office Impress] - [PDF]
GameSoundCon 2009 San Fran Game Sound Conference Invited Moderator and Lecturer - State of the Art Panel and Interactive Sound Design Lecture - [Web] - [PPT] - [Open Office Impress] - [PDF]
VCMM 2009 Vancouver, BC Vancouver Computer Music Meetings Invited Speaker - Video Game Audio Prototyping with Half-Life 2 : Granulation - [.PPT] - [Web] - [FLV]
DigitalKungFu 2009 Vancouver, BC Digital Kung Fu 2009 Special Guest - An Overview of Interactive Audio - [Flickr]
FuturePlay 2009 Vancouver, BC Futureplay 2009 Invited Speaker - Game Audio Education Panel - [Web]
GDC 2009 Vancouver, BC GDC Canada 2009 Invited Speaker - Game Audio Finalling Panel - [Web] - [MP3]
AES_London 2009 London, UK AES Invited Speaker - Introduction to Synthesis for Interactive Applications - [Web] - [.PPT.ZIP] - [.PPT] - [Open Office Zip]
ENJMIN_Angouleme 2008 Angoulême, France ENJMIN Invited Lecturer - Video Game Audio - [PDF]
Springer 2008 Print Chapter Book chapter - Transdisciplinary Digital Art. Sound, Vision and the New Screen - Chapter: 'Video Game Audio Prototyping with Half-Life 2' - [Web Google Books]
Pacman_to_PopMusic 2008 Print Chapter Book chapter - From Pac-Man to Pop Music - Chapter: 'An introduction to granular synthesis in video games' - [Web] - [Review]
GDC_Lyon 2007 Lyon, France GDC Lecturer - Procedural Sound Design - [Web] - [PDF]
GDC 2007 Victoria Interactive Futures Lecturer - Video Game Audio Prototyping with Half-Life 2 - [FLV] - [Web]
GDC 2007 San Fran GDC Lecturer - Advanced Granular Synthesis for Next Generation Games - [Web] [PPT(Slides)] - [MP3]
Game2006 2006 Portalegre Games 2006 Video Game Audio Prototyping - Keynote speaker, committee member, invited paper and workshop - [Web] - [PDF]
DAW 2006 Zürich Digital Art Weeks Performer and installation art - [Web] - [PDF] - [Photos] - [XVID]
GDC 2006 Online Gamasutra Establishing an Aesthetic in Next Generation Sound Design (w/ Rob Bridgett) - [PDF]
GDC 2006 San Jose GDC Lecturer - Granular Synthesis for Next Generation Games - [Web] - [PPoint] - [PDF] - [MP3] - [AudioMulch] - [Pure Data]
IF206 2006 Victoria Interactive Futures Lecturer, performer and installation art - [Web] - [MP3] - [PDF] - [(Performance)XVID] - [Installation(FLV)]
GameOver" 2005 Porto Olhares Outono Featured lecturer, performer and workshops - [Web] - [PDF] - [FLV]
Digra 2005 Vancouver DiGRA Senior Scholar Mentorship in Game Audio - [PDF]
BNMI 2005 Banff Bodies in Play Small vs. Big Audio - [PDF] - [D64 (C=64 Disk Image)] - [MP3] - [FLV]
SAG 2005 Surrey Electronic Folk Art The Demoscene - [PDF] - [D64 (C=64 Disk Image)]
BNMI 2004 Banff Banff Interactive Screen Teaching Audio for Games - [PDF 1] - [PDF 2]
GDC 2003 Banff Banff Interactive Screen Interactive Design - [PDF] - [.ASX (Pt.1)] - [.ASX(Pt.2)]
Gamasutra 2003 Online GamasutraAudio Prototyping with Pure Data - [PDF] - [MP3 ZIP] - [PD ZIP]
GDC 2003 Online GDC Game Audio: Coding Vs. Aesthetics - [PDF(Paper)] - [PDF(Slides)] - [MP3]
GDC 2001 Online Gamasutra Game Audio Postmortem: Moderngroove - Ministry of Sound Edition - [PDF] - [Web]

Additional:
CIA 2011 Canada Canadian Game Development Talent Awards Canadian Interactive Academy Juror - [Web]
GDC 2008 Beijing CyberGames 2008 Technical Committee Member - [Web]
GDC 2007 Manchester CyberGames 2007 Technical Committee Member - [Web]
SAG 2007 Surrey Cultural Mashups Bhangra, Bollywood + Beyond - [PDF]
GDC 2006 NYC Machinima Festival Judge - Video Game Audio - [Web]
INEX 2006 San Jose IN[ ]EX - Container Culture Vancouver Art Gallery, Speaker - [Web] - [MP3]
SAG 2006 Surrey Youth Remixx Project REMIXX sur.RE - [Web] | Lecture (5MB-MP3)]
Digra 2005 Vancouver DiGRA 2005 Canadian Content in Video Games - [PDF (Paper)] - [PDF (Slides)]
Cybergames 2004 Vancouver New Forms Festival Canadian Content in Video Games - [PDF (Paper)] - [PDF (Slides)]
HorizonZero 2004 Online Horizon Zero Canadian Electronic Music History Timeline - [TXT]

Patches:
interaction_design 2013 Pure Data Extended 10 Procedural Sound Design Patches Power down, fat synth, spaceship, whoosh, robot blabber, missile, alising scream, alien blast, computery, explosion and bonus synth cat meow sound [Pure Data]
interaction_design 2012 Pure Data Extended 16 Emily Carr Student Interaction Design Patches Facial tracking, video games, visualizations, real-time internet audio streaming, motion detection, 3D object manipulation, spring physics models, game controller input, menu systems, interactive novels and more... [Student PD Patches Page]
interaction_design 2010 Pure Data Extended 14 Emily Carr Student Interaction Design Patches Multi-area motion detection, colour tracking, live audio looping, live video looping, collision detection, real-time video effects, real-time audio effects, 3D object manipulation and more... [Student PD Patches Page]
surround_granulation_patch 2009 Pure Data Extended Surround Granulation V4.0 Sampled sound granulation in surround 5.1 [Pure Data]
adaptive_music_patch 2009 Pure Data Extended Adaptive Music Patch V1.0 A basic adaptive music patch that can be extended to surround 5.1 and three songs [Pure Data]
gamasutra_prototyping_with_pure_data 2003 Pure Data Audio Prototyping with Pure Data Patches The Pure Data patches referenced in my article for "Prototyping with Pure Data" Gamasutra article which are no longer available via Gamasutra. NOTE: Run PD at 11025Hz so samples play back correctly. [PD ZIP] [PDF]

Select Game Credits:
Shakedown Hawaii (Vblank Entertainment) In Development
Sim Cell (Strange Loop Games, Android/iPad) 2013
Retro City Rampage (Vblank Entertainment, 360/Wii/PS3/PS4/Vita/PC/3DS/OSX/DOS/Linux/PSP) 2012
Vessel (Strange Loop Games, PC/PS3/Linux) 2012
NBA Jam (EA Canada, Wii/PS3/360) 2010
NHL 2011 (EA Canada, 360/PS3) 2010
Bugsy (Glass House Games, iPhone) 2009
Puffins Island Adventure (Other Ocean, NDS) 2009
Facebreaker (EA Canada, 360/PS3) 2008
Monster Lab (Eidos, PS2/Wii/NDS) 2008
Sonic Rivals 2 (Sega, PSP) 2007
Max Payne 2 (Rockstar, PC) 2003
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (EA Black Box, PS2, GC) 2002
Midway Hitz 2k3 (Midway, PS2/NGC) 2002
moderngroove: Ministry of Sound Edition (Ubisoft Europe, PS2) 2001
NBA Basketball 2000 (Radical Entertainment, PS1) 1999
NBA Live 2k (EA Canada, N64) 1999
NBA Live 95 (EA Canada, Genesis) 1994
FIFA International Soccer (EA Canada, SNES) 1994

Retro City Rampage Vessel NBAJam NHL11 Bugsy Puffins Facebreaker MonsterLab SonicRivals2 ScienceFairOfDoom MaxPayne2 NFS_HP2 MidwayHits2k3 Moderngroove NBABasketball2000 NBALive2k NBALive95 FIFAintSoccer

Music:
Billboard Magazine: "A soundtrack composed by Canadian artist Leonard J. Paul which was entirely produced using the open source visual scripting language Pure Data."


Contact & Info:
Click to email Leonard J. Paul for further information
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