20 Years making audio!
It feels surreal to write this but my audio company turns 20 TODAY. While in graduate school, my soon-to-be father-in-law took me over to tour Ensemble Studios, as he knew many of the founding members there. Up until this studio tour, working in game audio had just been a “pie in the sky” dream. I would sometimes talk about it but didn’t know how to make it all happen. Plus, I was already well on my way to becoming a band director. But I knew I loved two things: music and video games. My father-in-law said he saw a spark in my eye during that whole tour and I began to think “maybe I can do this after all!”
After that tour I picked up The Complete Guide to Game Audio by Aaron Marks. This book proved to be instrumental in equipping me with some of the business techniques I needed to launch my own career.
Humble Beginnings
Like most dreams, things started off quite humble. While I had been producing music for fun for five years, I’d never actually attempted to get work with my craft. I’d never promoted myself. I didn’t have a brand yet. I didn’t have any friends or relatives working in games and didn’t really have much of a network. So, I wrote 12 short musical demos and created a VERY basic HTML website to begin promoting my music. I began to research game dev communities, both virtual and in-person and hustling for work.
First Project!
I wrote my first email to prospective clients exactly 20 years ago today. I can vividly remember thinking:
“If I can just do audio for ONE video game, I would’ve made it!”
I got lucky and landed a job writing music and producing sound design for a futuristic racing game on the Nintendo DS. The team was super tiny: one programmer, two artists and me doing audio. I had done very little sound design prior to this so it proved to be a big learning opportunity. I also got experience making samples and building up interactive music for Nintendo’s DS music system. Ultimately, the game was finished and I was paid but the publisher didn’t ship the game. It was too bad as I was pretty proud of it.
Mechs, Lasers and Blue Hair
About a year later (2006), I got the chance to interview for a composer/sound designer job at FUNimation Entertainment. This was my first time working with voice actors and at the time I don’t think I fully appreciated how amazing of a launching pad my job at FUNimation would be. Very early in my career, I got the opportunity to work on top-tier brands known around the world. Even more, my assignments moved fast, enabling me to increase my completed projects list quickly. I’m so thankful for my time at FUNimation. (Spoiler alert: ten years later, I would rejoin FUNi as a freelancer and help make additional trailers for them right up until the Crunchyroll acquisition.)
Moving to Denver for LEGO Universe
In 2008, NetDevil hired me to be the lead audio designer for LEGO Universe, which was a blast. Denver, CO has remained my favorite spot to have lived. The climate, food, people and views are simply stunning. I learned a great deal during this time period and made close friends. It was here that I first learned how to work with FMOD.
Going Solo
After two years at NetDevil, I was laid off and went full-time freelance for the next five years. Up until this point, my freelancing was always a side gig. This was my first time going full-time for myself and I grew a tremendous amount during this period. I worked hard on branding myself, building up a network of clients from literally all over the globe, and working on several really cool projects.
Slots and Cornfields
In 2015, we made a big move from Denver back to Texas and I joined BeeCave Games. I was there for 11 months before the whole studio closed and then I joined SciPlay up in Cedar Falls, IA. Living in Iowa wasn’t something my wife and I had ever even consider but, turns out, we loved our time there! Working at SciPlay really shaped me in so many ways. Looking back at it now, I can see that I knew my craft well, but what SciPlay taught me was how to really impact and build culture and relationships. One way I did this was by joining the Cook Team, which helped prep and serve food to the whole company once a week.
I didn’t want to only know and interact with a few people at SciPlay. I wanted to know everyone. And I wanted them to know me as more than just a sound guy.
Moving back to Texas
Eventually, we moved back to Texas to be closer to family and I worked out of SciPlay’s Austin based branch. It was in this office that I joined the Culture League (social party committee), where I learned how to plan and run parties and events supporting up to 300 people. I worked my way up to the Principal Composer/Sound Designer role and learned so much about slots and how slot audio works. More and more, I was training other audio staff and doing higher level department work during this time.
I also made friends with a cow on my regular jogs in the neighborhood. Yes, we had an actual cow in our neighborhood! That feels very apropos for Texas. She even made a guest appearance in our family photo session a few years back. My wife’s expression as well as the reaction of my two sons is hilarious!
Joining Unbroken Studios
In 2022, I had the opportunity to help make sound for Harry Potter Quidditch Champions, which turned out to be a dream come true. The folks at Unbroken Studios are truly one-of-a-kind! I feel so welcomed, supported and loved here. I joined at a Senior Audio Designer and became their Lead Audio Designer, which is the position I still hold. I can’t talk much about what I’m currently working on but I’m very excited about it! Given the state of the industry, I’m so thankful to be fully employed.
Giving Back
Right around the time I joined Unbroken, I was asked to join the faculty at The University of Tennessee Knoxville and design a 14-part course covering Interactive Game Audio. I’ve had several moments of ironic synchronicity in my career, which I always appreciate. My efforts to learn Unreal would help me at Unbroken for my day job and also help me become a better, more effective instructor for my side teaching gig. I’m currently in my fourth year of teaching at UTK and love doing it!
Everyday I’m hustling
I’m still hustling, doing freelancing, teaching and learning as much as I can about this wonderful thing called game audio. Looking back at the last 20 years, I cannot help but have such a sense of gratitude. Nobody builds a career on their own. Their loved ones support and sacrifice. They cheerlead and provide a shoulder or attentive ear when things are rough. Another thing I’ve learned is just how important good, high-quality co-workers truly are. And I’m not speaking solely about their craft, the quality of their hearts and character are just as important, if not more! Surround yourself with good, honest people who are passionate and creative. Then go make something incredible!
I’m so appreciative of each client who’s worked with me. Especially in the earlier years, when I was less vetted. I’m so thankful for each hiring manager who said, “Yup, let’s hire Nate.” To the colleagues who have taught me, worked with me, and helped sharpen me into what I am today: thank you!
It’s also always fun to win awards, and this was no exception. SkateBIRD was a pure joy to work on!
Reflecting on 20 years
Looking back over all of it… relationships are paramount. You don’t get jobs solely because of your portfolio or your resume. Especially in this market! You get opportunities by working hard and creating relationships with others. I started this dream with the hope of just landing one video game project. Now, two decades later, I’ve worked on over 1,100 projects (of drastically varying scope) and support a family of four (five if you count the dog). It’s hard to believe and, yet, I’ve worked so hard for all of this. I love collaborating and making games come to life. I love what I get to do and who I get to do it with. This is what I was made to do.
Tonight we’re celebrating like any American would: by consuming vast amounts of calories. My wife got some incredible-looking steaks that I’ll be grilling, and I ordered a pan of brownies from a good friend who’s starting up her own bakery. Check her stuff out, everything we’ve eaten has been straight up delicious.
Advice
If I had any bit of advice based on what I’ve learned over the past 20 years, it would be summed down to this:
Work really hard.
Be likable. Make it easy to work with you.
Constantly be learning and leveling up your skill set.
That’s it, really. If you do those three things, much of what you’ll need will either be gained through your own efforts, or others will pour into you and help build you up. People will seek you out when new opportunities arise. You don’t have to be the best at your work. You don’t need to be cutthroat. The goal isn’t perfection because that’s not attainable.
Treat people well, show passion in your work, and constantly work at getting better.
If you’ve made it THIS far, thank you for reading! It’s my wish that everyone would find their purpose in this life. Thanks again to all of my clients, colleagues, and mentors. Thank you to my loved ones and family.
I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
BIO
Nate Madsen is an established composer, sound designer, and implementer with 20 years of experience and over 1,100 credits. He’s worked in-house at FUNimation Entertainment, NetDevil, Bee Cave Games, SciPlay, and is the Lead Audio Designer at Unbroken Studios. His recent side quests include Virballs, Harry Potter Magic Caster Wand, Great Wolf Lodge’s Magiquest, and Glass Bottom Game’s SkateBIRD. Nate also teaches Interactive Game Audio at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He lives in Austin, Texas, loves craft beer, and dreams of queso. He’s also scheming how to pull off the world’s largest Thin Mints heist. Be sure to reach out to Nathan with any audio needs you may have!