Clean Sweep (2025)
Made for the Garden Game Jam, I was responsible with implementing an audio system framework in Godot. This system features:
Adaptive audio behaviors in response to states, switches, and parameters
Per sound, priority-based, and max in-game voice limiting
Modular music system with multiple tempo-synced horizontal transition modes and vertical layering
Simplified workflow requiring minimum code for audio hooks while also decoupling the audio system so audio system work and changes can all be handled in the audio code environment
Extendable audio behaviors through inheritance of core classes
You can view an overview of the class structure here: Clean Sweep Audio System Diagram
Fist Fight (2024)
Originally made by me in 2023 for teaching audio middleware using FMOD, this project was completed in 2024 so my friend, Nathan Link, could use it to learn FMOD and practice game audio creation as part of his Master’s project.
Quiet Please (2024)
In January 2024 I teamed up with two friends to participate in my first game jam. In this game you are a concert hall attendant trying to keep a noisy, disruptive crowd from ruining the performance! We chose to interpret the jam’s theme of “It’s Spreading!” through the game mechanics as noise whispers and conversation spread between audience members. In addition to composing and creating sound effects, I was also assigned lead of the project to make gameplay decisions and guide the overall vision of the game.
Unity TPS Game (2024)
A very short, linear, third-person shooter. The game is programmed by me in Unity using C#. I originally created this project with the intention of using it to teach alongside basic audio middleware implementation. The audio setup is designed to allow students to make their own Wwise project and implement their sounds through easy-to-use dropdown menus in the game engine.
Unreal FPS Game (2023)
This project is the first game I've developed completely solo with the goal of learning Unreal Engine blueprints. It's an 8 level, first-person shooter inspired by games like Doom and Halo. It was my first venture into programming and engaging directly with a game engine's systems. The game is currently in a fully playable state from start to finish.
Rebirth (Master’s Thesis 2023)
When I first started my Master's Thesis in 2021, I pretty much knew nothing about music production, had never composed in any electronic genres, only ever wrote notes on scores, and had no idea what most sounds in modern music were or how they were made. I had just started using Reaper as my DAW and, with its sparse initial state, was building my plugin library alongside my knowledge from the ground up. I wanted to use this project as a springboard into learning as much as I could about modern music production.
SFSU Game Collab
I have participated in the SFSU Game Collab for 3 consecutive years and worked on numerous games during these foundational years of my game audio experience. In addition to working on a diverse set of games (often simultaneously), I also acted as audio coordinator for the year 2022 bringing together a small audio team to work on 12 games that semester.
I was responsible for designing the audio system in this 2-player rhythm game. The game utilizes Wwise callbacks to synchronize note spawning and button press opportunities in gameplay as well as control other aspects of game flow.
Bard Battles (2023)
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Melodies are randomized independently for each player and can be triggered by approaching a table at any time. The system was prototyped using Wwise cue callbacks with parsed labels, but in order to increase efficiency, I took advantage of Wwise’s MIDI event callbacks to parse instead. Each gameplay element is connected to a single item of MIDI data (ie. spawn a note for player 1 is C0, open the button press opportunity for player 1 with C#0, etc.). Each player was assigned to an octave. Because the music was all composed using MIDI, all the composers had to do was transpose their MIDI melodies to the assigned MIDI note. That MIDI could then be paired with the wav file in the music segment and offset as needed in Wwise for timing.
Mystic Mayhem is a mobile, augmented reality spellcasting game. As audio lead, I led a small team directing the sound palette and mentoring sound designers and composers. I did the implementation using Wwise. Because this is a mobile game, my main focus was creating a dynamic bus structure that would prioritize important audio information within the limits of phone speakers. There were also unique considerations for the role of spacialization. As a PVP AR game, players have additional environmental awareness during gameplay and can utilize real sounds and spacial senses to identify player locations in the playspace. Therefore, the game audio is also set up to emphasize visual, on screen elements and what is in front of the player.
Mystic Mayhem (2023)
Containment (2022)
Containment is a 4-player co-op, wave-based, third-person shooter set in a sci-fi horror world. This project was my main focus during the 2022 game collab and provided me with the most opportunities to thoroughly learn audio implementation using Wwise. As audio lead, I was responsible for composing all the music, creating/curating SFX, and hooking up all sounds and audio behaviors in Wwise. I also did the lighting and learned a bit about lightmaps for fun.
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Containment's music is inspired by the aesthetics of the Dead Space and Gears of War soundtracks. The dark atmospheres and chaotic, heavy action-horror music filled with stress-inducing atonal orchestral gestures, cinematic/experimental SFX, and driving percussion beds challenged me to expand beyond my habits and comfort zone as a composer to learn new music-making skills and techniques. In-game music was composed as 3 distinct levels of intensity that corresponded with the intensity of a wave defined by the programmers.
The SFX implementation required careful consideration of my Wwise project hierarchy, routing organization, and implementation in Unity. Because Containment is a 3D game, I had to consider how to apply spacialization as well as how sounds mixed in a 3D environment. And since the game is multiplayer, I also had to take into account what sounds would be heard by everyone versus only the current client and how networking influenced (if at all) that functionality.
I learned a lot about the programming side of implementation by working together with the team. Our troubleshooting often involved determining if the issue was located in Wwise or Unity, then deciding the best way to resolve the issue via code or Wwise. Perhaps the greatest outcome of my work on Containment, aside from the practical, technical, and procedural skills, was the discovery of my own ability to self-motivate and seek out resources to teach myself (and, of course, the friends I made along the way).
Godsworn (2022)
Godsworn is a singleplayer, JRPG style, turn-based combat game. In addition to Containment, this game was the second project I was assigned to work on as audio lead and take care of the entire audio pipeline. The music is naturally inspired by Japanese orchestral video game music, particularly Final Fantasy. This was my first time diving into composing full orchestral music and attempting to incorporate a mix of genres like rock, metal, and the power of friendship that influence JRPG combat music aesthetics. The music was composed to match the characterization and narrative of each area, and combat music was for... combat! Audio implementation was done using Wwise.
I took up audio lead for City Run midway through the semester. This side-scrolling infinite runner was light on its audio needs, but provided me with a few opportunities to make one or two fun, light-hearted SFX to match the cartoony graphics. Audio implementation was done using Wwise.
City Run (2022)
Descend, a Greek mythology themed game, was another project I undertook as audio lead midway through the semester. As a 2D action side-scroller, the SFX work was pretty straight-forward and mainly involved creating/curating SFX to the diverse weapons and characters. The implementation is a little rough in certain places as this game was the 2-weeks-left-crunch game, but those mistakes will make for great teaching examples in the future. Audio implementation was done in FMOD.
Descend (2022)
Dungeon Brawler (2022)
This project was my first experience taking on the role of audio lead responsible for every step of the audio pipeline from conception to creation to middleware implementation. Dungeon Brawler was planned to be a 4-player, PVP arena fighter. Matches would be divided into a PVE looting phase during which players would fight mobs in the world to build their character stats and a PVP final battle phase where players would be herded to the final arena at the center of the map. Though the project only made it into the beginning stages of combat, I'm happy to say that the music planned for the scope of the game was completed and fully functional in FMOD. The PVP phase music in particular had 3 distinct levels of intensity that would be cued based on the number of players remaining in the battle.