Feature: The Art of the Sound Designer, Jess Kizzire of EPX StudiosOctober 16, 2012 by

The head of sound at EPX dives into meshing games with music, disparity in coverage, and the art of it all.  



Gaming journalism is somewhat “mute” on the subject of music.   Reviews tend to dedicate little space to the sound of video games.  The notion is interesting, given that some of the most solid arguments that cast game’s as art is in their music.

Audio in games serves as indisputable art.   What would Hitchcock be if without his string hits?  Would Halloween be as terrifying scoreless?  In this way, the music and sound in video games becomes central to the game.

Jessica Kizzire is lead sound designer at EPX.  I interviewed Kizzire to dive into the complexity of sound design for video games.  During our conversation, we addressed the disparity of coverage, it’s place in the art world, and the future of sound.


BL:  How did you get into gaming audio—what was your background originally?


JK:  I am a graduate student in musicology.  My focus is video game music.  I was in class with the president of EPX and I asked her if they had anyone doing sound.  They needed a sound person.  I thought the hands on experience would help.




BL:  What was the first game you did audio for?


JK:  I actually wasn’t there when they made the game but I put FX in last semester. [Cowboom]




BL:  Could you describe how audio is so important to games?


JK:  I think its necessary.   It’s like watching a horror film without the sound on.  It’s so weird to play games without any sound.  It’s part of the feel of it.




BL:  Do you see video games as an art?


JK:  I think can be considered art.  There’s an entire team of artists .  I don't think it's fair to say that everything this group of artists are doing isn't art.  I understand why they don’t want to consider it as art.   It challenges the classical notion of great art, but.  It’s not something that just anyone can do.




BL:  What’s your education level and do you play any instruments?


JK:  I have a masters in horn performances.  I’m in my third and final year in PH.D. program.




BL:  How does the EPX developer/worker connect their work with game development and production?


JK:  A little bit of both.  Cowboom, the first game I did sound for, they had finished beforehand.  The game we did last semester, I was on from the beginning.  from concept to final sound I've been a part of the process and bouncing ideas off them.  We collaborate at the same team.  We do the atmosphere and research the musical background before we do anything.  We start tweaking the feel, and FX go at the very end because you have to see the animation.  Different stages more or less.




BL:  What pieces of technology wouldn't you be without when creating game audio?


JK:  The level we are doing right now, I’m using keyboard for the composition.  Digital software  like Square Notion for composing and audio-editing.  We used Music Score and Audacity on the last game.




BL:  What is your favorite video game?


JK:  Final Fantasy IX is one of my favorite games.  I definitely am a huge fan of the series, musically speaking.  NobuoUematsu is one of the most amazing in video game music.  He’s done amazing things. Considering limitations on audio in older games, his work was rich with sounds.




BL:  What are you working on in your free time?


JK:  I’m mostly focusing on the newest EPX project.  It’s untitled right now.  There are a couple other people working on sound, so I’m coordinating.  We’re starting research for the game now. BL:  Any future career plans for the worker? Especially with the recent journalism class the University of Iowa has on videogames, do you see the field of sound in games in a similar fashion?


JK:  As for a future career, not intentionally.  If anything came of it, I wouldn't’ be opposed.  I actually plan to get a job at university teaching video game music.




BL:  How do you feel about the coverage of sound by gaming journalism? 


JK:  It’s difficult when writing papers [about it] to find comments about the actual sound.  When I’m looking for first hand experiences.  That seems to be lacking in game reviews.  Unless they say something like,  “Oh and it's another fabulous soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu.” They are not nearly focused on the immersive nature of sound in games.

















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