Video Games Live

By Steve Pitzel (Intel) (54 posts) on November 16, 2009 at 9:47 am

Talk about making a dream come true! Game audio composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall have taken game audio and turned it into a very serious - and very seriously fun - fine art. Complete with it's own Grammy Category, network of game audio composers (the Game Audio Network Guild, or GANG), and, of course, Video Games Live. If you love games - VGL is one of the most seriously fun events you'll ever attend.

I'm not even sure how long it's been since I first met Tommy Tallarico at one of the San Jose GDCs way back when...  Coming from the animation side of things (and knowing how a well-timed bit of great audio has often saved a sorry shot of bad animation) I was very interested to find out how the top folks in game audio went about the job of creating music and effects that make game visuals pop.

I remember talking and jamming with Tommy along with a wild assemblage of other game music musicians and composers, and realized that I was waaaay behind the curve in understanding the impact of game audio.

From there it's been many years of GDC's, E3s and not nearly enough weekends at George Sanger's (the Fatman  and another Game Audio giant) Project BBQ - the premiere thinktank for all things Game and PC Audio, many hours of serious and not-so-serious gameplay. After all that, I've come to realize that game music is much, much more than a mood creator - it is actually just as deeply embedded in the gamer's psyche as the game characters themselves, with video game soundtracks flying off the e-shelves of online music stores.

Tommy &  Jack are the folks who dreamed up and provide the heart and soul of Video Games Live.  And if you've played anything from Pong to Mario Bros. to WOW or are anxiously waiting for the next mega game release - VGL is a show that will not only take you back - it will take you to places you can't even imagine. And you WILL have serious fun getting there.

Intel has proudly sponsored several of the VGL shows - and I hope we will be sponsoring many, many more!

- Pitz

Categories: Art, Music, & Animation
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