Australian Gamer Interview :: Mick from LavaInjection Interview

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Mick from LavaInjection Interview

We interview Mick from LavaInjection.com about what it's like working in the Video Game Sound and Music Industry.

We were lucky enough to manage to pin down Mick Gordon, who manages the award winning game audio company Lava Injection (www.lavainjection.com). His base of operations is situated in Brisbane, and theres a good chance you have played a game that he has worked on.

He is also doing alot of PR work for the upcoming Video Games Live concert hitting Australia later this year, which is extremely exciting. Of course, Mick will no doubt become most rich and famous for creating the Official AustralianGamer.com podcast music, which you can download right here. You can also listen to him when he sat in on one of our podcasts which you can download here.

But enough introductions, lets get down to business:

Tell us a bit about who you are and what you do
My name is Mick Gordon and I have the wonderful pleasure of getting paid to make noises and put them into video games. For the past five years I have run a game audio business called Lava Injection Studios from my home studio in Brisbane. The studio is set up to accommodate every single aspect of game audio production including writing and recording music, producing sound effects, remote implementation, dialogue recording sessions, surround sound mastering and picking my nose (the most underrated skill of game development).

How did you initially get into the video game music industry?
I started teaching music, touring in bands and working in recording studios when I was about 13 years old and I always wanted to be a professional musician. When I left school, I moved to Brisbane and found that professional musicians make stuff all money (and they smell bad), so I started looking at different ways to make money from music. I worked out quickly that my hat wasn't big enough to become a country star, and my breasts were not big enough to become a pop star (although this topic frequently comes under debate), so I turned to writing and producing music for film, radio and TV. After doing this for a while I found that there were heaps of composers doing the same thing, but not many doing games, so, I starting hunting game developers for work. I ended up meeting a cool dude over the net who happened to work at Fuzzyeyes, about the same time they were needing audio for Hotdogs Hotgals. Then, after 12 months of negotiations, I finally got the job and I used the money to set up a studio at my house.

What games have you worked on?
Hotdogs Hotgals, Mixem Deluxe, Champions of Atlantis, Tactica Online, Buzz: The Big Quiz, Singstar:Rocks!, SOCOM3:US Navy SEALs, Destroy All Humans 2, and a bunch more that if I talk about, I will suffer a visit from the castration officer.

What was your favourite game that you worked on and why?
Every project I work on is completely different from the rest and they all have good and bad elements. Hotdogs Hotgals was exciting because it was my first major project, and I have 40 minutes of music, a handful of sound effects and several lines of dialogue all to be produced in a month. Tactica Online was great because the developers had a lot of unique ideas about game audio, but sadly the project got canned a few months out from release. I would say that my favourite game so far would be Destroy All Humans 2. Working at Pandemic was an absolute blast and they have an incredibly creative and talented team

What do you think of the Australian games industry?
Australia has a whole bunch of really talented people and some top notch companies. Unfortunately, we do suffer from a bit of that 'little country down under' view from the rest of the world, but that hasn't stopped us. I personally have a lot of trouble getting work from Australian developers as most of them have an in house team, or they go overseas for their audio, and subsequently I go overseas to get work.

You must have some good stories about your experiences, can you give us one?
This year I got to go to GDC in San Jose which was an absolute blast and it was also my first trip to the States. Now, when you are in a different country, it can be hard to find out certain 'local information', such as what time the train stops running. Anyway, on the last night of the GDC, the Friday, we all went on to party at the Fairmont after the Video Games Live gig. I decided to leave at about 1:00am, and I friend of mine offered to share a taxi. I said, "Na mate, it's cool, I'll take the train".

Now, even though the conference was in San Jose, I was staying in Santa Clara (that's a whole different story) which is about 30mins train ride from San Jose. I jump on the train, sit down and start to reflect on the awesome week that I have just had, then, about halfway through the journey, the train just stops. I asked the driver, "What's going on?" "This Train stops at 1:30" he said.

I got out, sat on the platform, and watched the Train leave on its way to the depot. I sat there for half an hour waiting for another Train, but nothing showed up. I managed to find a timetable after walking up and down the platform for a while, and after reading over it a few times, I realized: "Crap! The next train is a 6:30am ... better get a Taxi!"

Now, you would think that the pay phones in the States would have the number for a Taxi somewhere, but they don't. Not only that, but they don't even have a phone directory! Then I remembered hearing that you can call '411' to get directory services ... I'm saved! So, I dial 411, and I ask the person on the line if I can have the number for a Taxi. "We don't give out numbers sorry sir, so I'll patch you through" she said. Then, I get a recorded message that says: "Please enter your credit card details in order to make this call". Bloody hell, great time NOT to have a credit card hey!

So, I'm stuck at a train station, at 2:00am, in a foreign country with no credit card or mobile phone. Then, the rain started. And this isn't like a wet shower that we get in summer here in Australia, this is blistering cold rain/sleet to accommodate for the 4 degrees Celsius. Knowing that a train station probably isn't the best place to sleep (especially with two large bags full of conference crap), I realized that the hotel was somewhere along the Train line ... so, I started walking.

I walked along the Train line, in the middle of San Jose, for two hours in the pouring, freezing rain, and I finally reached the Hotel. I staggered into the elevator, found my room and crashed onto the bed. The next thing I heard was the cleaning lady at 3:00pm banging on the door saying "You want room service?" It was such an awesome experience and I can't wait to get back there next year!

Do you do non-commercial music?
By the term 'non-commercial music' do you mean music that I make for fun, in my spare time, for no money?

Yeah, pretty much
I guess I would like to, but I really don't have enough spare time in order to do so. Any spare time I have is usually spent playing guitar, skateboarding (which I totally suck at), catching up on movies/games, and cleaning the house!

What instruments can you personally play?
I'm not one of those guys who has an entire repertoire of instrumental skills. The phrase, 'jack of all trades, ace of none' comes to mind. So, I focus solely on Guitar and I have been playing since I was 12. I use a keyboard a lot when getting music into the computer, but I can't play it to save myself and I would never call myself a 'keyboard player'.

Can you tell us a bit about VideoGamesLive?
Video Games Live is a live concert with an orchestra, massive TV screen and laser light show, playing two hours worth of video game soundtracks. There is music from games such as Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, God of War, Myst, Halo, Beyond Good and Evil, Castlevania, Pong, Frogger, Sonic, and a whole section dedicated to Tron! The show has been an awesome success in America and Video Games Live is starting its world tour this year. It will be coming to Australia for shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in late October/early November. Check out www.videogameslive.com for more information, and as soon as dates are announced, I will be doing a competition offering backstage passes, signed merchandise, and concert tickets as prizes through you dudes at Australian gamer, and an Australian/New Zealand game development website called Sumea (www.sumea.com.au).

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into the same industry as you?
Game audio is an incredibly difficult thing to get into. You have two options : work in house, or freelance : and each has their pros and cons. For example, if you land a job in house, you are guaranteed a pay cheque every week and you know that you are always going to be doing something. Where as freelance work comes in waves and you have to be ready to go for months with out earning any money, but when you do, it can be ten times the amount that you would make in house.

As for getting in, you need to be an absolute gun at audio. If you produce incredible, original music or make wicked sound effects, those skills will get you in. I personally wouldn't bother going to study anywhere, as most educational places do nothing but tie your life up for a few years and give you a big bill at the end.

The best thing you can do is join GANG (the Game Audio Network Guild) which will give you exposure to over 1200 game audio professionals from around the world. Check out www.audiogang.org.

Are there any particular people in the industry you hope to one day work with?
There are so many great developers out there making so many cool games. Especially right at the moment, with the transition into the next generation taking place, everyone is doing a lot of exciting stuff. That being said, I would love to work with CryTek, Ninja Theory, Illusion Softworks, ID Software, Bioware and I would jump at the chance to work with Pandemic again!

So can you do a bit of namedropping and tell some of the famous people you've worked with so far?
Ha, you fanboi Yug.

Cmon, you know you want to :)
The game industry, thankfully, shies away from 'tabloidism' and fame. I mean, that's great right? Can you imagine having a game developer for a role model at 12? However, I think that the game industry needs a rock star : someone who smashes hotel rooms, gets done for drugs, dates supermodels, and punches game critics!

Anyway, I've met a lot of really cool people such as David Jaffe, Will Wright, Nile Rodgers, Marty O'Donnell, Bobby Prince, Dave Perry, Jack Wall, Tom Salta, Chance Thomas, Tim Larkin, Steve Vai, Steve Morse and Nuno Bettencourt, but none made me wet my pants and cry like a teenager (although David Jaffe's vocabulary did).

Can you tell us about any upcoming projects you will be working on?
Unfortunately, the game industry is always extremely tight lipped about anything they are working on. It's always a great laugh going to a conference, or developer party and watching conversations:

Dev A : "Hey man!" Dev B : "Wassup" Dev A : "So what are you guys working on" Dev B : "Can't say, but it's revolutionary!" Dev A : "Oh cool" Dev B : "Yeah, what are you guys working on?" Dev A : "Can't say, but it's gonna be awesome!"

Anyway, I am doing a few things with Red Tribe in Melbourne, as well as a few film projects from a certain director. Other than that, I am talking to a few places in the UK, but I can't really say much more than that, except that it's gonna be wicked-sick!

Great stuff, thanks heaps for your time and keep up the good work!

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