Welcome!
Welcome!
I am a professional sound designer, music producer and audio developer. I am passionate about all aspects of music creation, sound design, and audio development to create immersive experiences.
My portfolio includes a diverse list of games, themes and projects. As a leader or under leadership; I can efficiently contribute high quality audio at any stage of a project's development.
About Me
My expertise spans across AAA, Indie, and Class3/HHR casino game audio; projects, teams and development pipelines.
As a dependable team member, I excel in seamlessly integrating into projects at any phase of development. Whether collaborating within a team or working autonomously.
I am currently looking for exciting new opportunities, so please reach out if you would like to collaborate!
Portfolio
Join me on this journey as we push the boundaries of creativity, technology, and artistic expression. Together, let's craft moments that leave a lasting impact and inspire generations to come.
Games
Career
Esteem
Games
Career
Senior Sound Designer
2022 - 2024
- Senior Sound Designer for "Ara" a game published by Microsoft/Xbox
- Sound design for UI, vfx, in-game units, animated backgrounds, weapons and combat.
- Implementation of audio assets via Wwise.
- Designed musical elements for some of the in-game leader animations.
Lead Composer/Sound Designer
2018 - 2022
- Senior/Lead role in the creation of all audio and musical elements for 30+ casino games; Class 3 and HHR.
- Coordinated sound design and music production for multiple teams, departments, and pipelines.
- Implementing and testing of audio/music on physical casino game units.
- Creation of all forms of sound design and music on a variety of themes/games
- Daily audio bug fixing, development and implementation utilizing Unity
- Maintain strong communication and “off-site” working relationships.
Lead Sound Designer
2018 - 2019
- Senior Sound Designer for the "reboot" of Zenimax's “The Elder Scrolls: Legends” and expansion titles.
- Assisted/coordinated with direction of music/VO with external contractors
- Collaboration with team members to develop and implement audio tools and systems, proving audio features from concept to final.
- Sound design for VFX, UI, notifications, weapons, combat, ambience, and behavioral creatures.
- VO preparation/management/implementation/mixing localization for 9 languages (approx. 40,000 files)
- Maintenance of daily audio tasks such as: Bug fixing, Audio testing and implementation utilizing Unity.
- Maintain strong communication and “off-site” working relationships.
Lead Sound Designer
2016 - 2017
- Lead Sound Designer for DropZone
- Worked with multiple dev teams in a lead role assisting with the audio direction for trailers, voice direction, marketing, prototypes, and the audio asset creation pipeline.
- Coordinated sound production/implementation with multiple departments and created the majority of the sound design found in the title.
- UI/Notification, Behavioral creature sound design and Ambient/environmental sound design.
- Futuristic weapon and gear sound design for a massive amount of in-game assets.
- F-mod profiling to maintain project specs and efficient trouble-shooting.
- Sound designer, mixing, mastering engineer for DropZone cinematic trailer.
- Maintenance of daily audio tasks such as: Bug fixing, Audio testing/implementation, assisted with the development of audio tools and provided creative solutions for unique game audio needs.
Lead Sound Designer
2014 - 2015
Lead Sound Designer for "Domi-Nations"
- Worked with engineers to create and implement audio system for DomiNations.
- Design and creation of sounds for UI, units, notifications, VFX and abilities.
- Creation of initial background music and musical “stings” for "DomiNations".
- Maintain strong communication and “off-site” working relationships with members of the team utilizing a variety communication tools.
Senior Sound Designer
2014 - 2016
- Sound design for unique and emotionally responsive creatures and characters.
- Created sound for unique special abilities & spells.
- Sci-fi sound design for User Interface & in-game assets, props and ships (vehicles).
- Design and mix sound for in-game cinematic cut scenes.
Contract Sound Designer
2014 - 2016
- Sound design for unique and emotionally responsive creatures and characters.
- Created sound for unique special abilities & spells.
- Sci-fi sound design for User Interface & in-game assets, props and ships (vehicles).
- Efficiently and constructively utilize feedback from Audio Director and team.
- Design and mix sound for in-game cinematic cut scenes.
- Synthesize and re-sampling for various sci-fi asset creation; weapons, impacts, etc.
- Maintain strong communication and “off-site” working relationships with members of the team utilizing a variety of communication tools.
Sound Designer
2014
- Sound Designer for Off-world Trading Company
- Conceptual sound design for in-game assets.
- Sci-fi/futuristic sound design for UI & in-game assets.
- Miscellaneous audio requests for prototyping early in development cycle.
Sound Designer
2010 - 2012
- Sound Designer for "Kingdoms of Amalur: The Reckoning"
- Sound design for unique and emotionally responsive creatures and characters.
- Created sound for unique special abilities & spells for combat.
- Sound design and implementation for vast immersive & dynamic environments, regions, and levels as well as numerous props & visual FX.
- Tested and implemented audio utilizing FMOD & proprietary tools.
- Audio recording, editing, and processing of VO and dialogue.
- Sound design, stereo, and 5.1 Surround Sound mixing for cinematic scenes.
- Managed approximately 120,000 VO/dialogue audio assets.
- Utilized various batch processing techniques, and implementation/quality control of in-game VO assets.
- Preparation of audio for distribution on multiple media format types and platforms.
- Analyzed and resolved technical audio related issues overcoming memory, software, and data- format/size constraints.
- Provided marketing department and external clients with sonic needs, design, and audio specifications.
- Maintained efficient & productive working relationships with artists, engineers, and producers.
- Participated in design iterations utilizing feedback from all departments involved.
Sound Designer
2007 - 2010
- Created sound for unique scenarios and special FX during combat.
- Sound design for immersive environments, numerous props & visual FX.
- Sound design and mixing for in-game cutscenes aka “Leader Screens”.
- Audio and foley recording, editing, mixing & processing.
- Assisted with managing approximately 14 hours of music assets.
- Assisted in the user-end development of proprietary audio software tools, their requirements, and design for optimal and efficient usability.
- Responsible for XML/script data needed to employ audio design changes, memory constraints, and interactive user decisions.
- Managed, edited, and coordinated XML/script variables to meet the constraints and needs of the programming and design team.
- Interfaced, communicated and coordinated with producers, programmers, and artists to ensure a high standard of overall sonic quality/design.
Film Electronics Assistant
2007
- Assisted with computer equipment maintenance and problem solving for visual feeds.
- Responsible for equipment management, inventory, and upkeep.
- Assisted with the disestablishment of the set and removal of facility equipment upon program termination.
Esteem
GRANT KIRKHOPE
Audio Director & Composer
Big Huge Games/38 Studios
Big Huge Games/38 Studios
"Ian was a fantastic addition to the audio team at Big Huge Games. He added so much to the sound of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. He took on some of the huge bosses in his first few weeks of being there and nailed them immediately. lan has a high degree of technical savvy which is always a great addition to a sound designers tool kit and he was always looking for ways to improve on anything that he did, can honestly say, hand on heart, that he would be a valuable addition to any sound team anywhere, I really can't recommend him highly enough!"
MATT HOCKENSMITH
Product Director
Pari-max Games
Pari-max Games
"Ian handles the audio production and design pipelines for all of the casino gaming products from AmTote. There is no question that since bringing lan onto the project that the quality of the products we produce have rapidly increased. He has designed compelling and unique audio experiences for our titles that have pushed the boundaries of the kinds of player experiences we're able to create. I would not hesitate to recommend Ian for any project requiring a high quality audio experience. The quality of his work and his professionalism are reflected consistently in everything he has produced."
ADAM REXRODE
Tools Programmer
Sparkypants Studios
"I worked closely with Ian at Sparkypants when setting up various aspects of audio for our games and tools. He is very knowledgeable in creating and optimizing audio assets as well as real-time content. Along with his skill in working with all things sound related, he was always very personable and a pleasure to work with. lan's can-do attitude and his depth of audio knowledge played a vital role in getting things done under tight deadlines. He would make an excellent addition to any team and I would gladly work with him again in the future."
MARK CROMER
Audio Director & Composer
Big Huge Games/ 38 Studios
"I've had the pleasure of working with lan Smith at 2 separate game development companies over a 5 year span. Both times Ian excelled at providing AAA audio for the games we were working on. He is both creative and diligent in his work ethic, and the quality of his work is exceptional. He has a deep understand of digital audio software and sound implementation tools for any style of games, from strategy to role playing and every style in-between. Each time had opportunity to work with Ian he contributed greatly to the current project at hand and was a consummate team member. He is steady under pressure and willing to go the extra mile on any project, no matter what the demands are. Given the opportunity I would hire lan again and I hope to have opportunity to do so in the future!"
JASON COLEMAN
CEO
Sparkypants Studios
"I highly recommend lan as an audio designer for games. We contracted with lan for some spot help early on for DropZone but eventually contracted with him full-time. Ian took feedback well when we gave it and was able to work autonomously when his job was simply to "make it sound great". He is capable of complete self-management and produces great results whether working remotely or on-site. If you need audio design at any level of complexity, lan can make it happen."
TIM TRAIN
CEO
Big Huge Games 2.0
"Ian did strong work on the audio for Domi-Nations. It was great to have a turnkey specialist who could handle music and sound effects. We had a very hazy idea of what we wanted for our historical strategy game, but lan was able to translate that into the audio vision for the game. He was also very responsive to feedback and turned work around quickly. Ultimately the audio speaks for itself - check it out in-game!"
ANDREW AUSEON
Lead Producer
Big Huge Games/ 38 Studios
"I've had the pleasure of working with lan several times during my career, and I've been consistently impressed with his talent and professionalism. On DropZone, our most recent collaboration, Ian quite literally saved the content team with his veteran's approach to game's sound design and his incredible asset output. An expert in game audio, VO, and music, he ended up working across many dev teams on multiple projects, including trailers, voice direction, pitches, marketing assets, and, of course, the ongoing pipeline of asset creation. I can't think of anything more valuable in game production than wisdom and reliability, and Ian possesses both in abundance. He is a great teammate and leader, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with him on more than one occasion."
GEOFF KNORR
Composer & Orchestrator
Firaxis Games
""Ian is an excellent sound designer with an attention to detail and the drive the deliver well-crafted sound assets on time. He has extensive experience developing audio for games at all stages of game development, from the first concept builds all the way to RTM. He is quick to learn new software and implementation methods, and his resume includes shipped titles ranging from large AAA games to small casual ones. He is a well-rounded, hard working team player, and I highly recommend him."
Contact Me
Ian Smith
ian@ninj4udio.net
Phone: Ask me ;)