Disney Princess Magical Tiara Adventures Game

November 5th, 2016 | By Lance Hayes

Disney Princess Magical Tiara Adventures Game

Just in time for Christmas, all of your magical princess dreams really can come true! I’m excited to announce my role as composer and sound designer on this inventive and really fun game released by Disney and available in Toys R Us and Target across the US this holiday season.

Of course we have one here and have found that it’s a really fun toy that appeals to both boys and girls. You put the Tiara onto your head and it detects your motion to propel the dancing, adventure and action games. You get to play as many of the famous princesses from the Disney cannon including modern favorites like Tiana, Merida, Rapunzel, Jasmine and Ariel. There are dance party games and it’s beautifully simple to use.

Working closely with Audio Director Korby Sears and the brilliant team at Forrest-Pruzan Creative was an absolute pleasure. A special shout out to the always amazing Deirdre Cross for thinking of me and putting us together.

I can say that the soundtrack was a joy to write and produce while the sound design was a challenge to create that in the end was wonderfully implemented by Korby making the game really come to life with the stellar voice over work. I hope that little princes and princesses enjoy being part of the adventure, I had a great time working on this one!

Beep: A Documentary History of Game Sound!

August 2nd, 2016 | By Lance Hayes

I‘m very proud to be featured in the new book Beep: A Documentary History of Game Sound! A labor of love for Karen Collins and Chris Greening that has spanned half a decade of work and dozens of interviews with the top game audio talent of this and previous generations. Here’s more info from the Beep site:

The Beep Book is transcripts of interviews with over 100 game audio professionals from a range of areas of game sound’s history. The majority of the interviews were conducted as part of the Beep documentary film project by director and author Karen Collins. These are supplemented by interviews done for Video Game Music Online by Chris Greening. The book is ~410,000 words in length–a huge volume of material spanning decades of video game and pinball audio history. Interviews include artists such as Marty O’Donnell (Halo), George “The Fat Man” Sanger (7th Guest), Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy), Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts), and many, many more. The interviews aim to explore the changing nature of game audio over time. Interviews are with people from all over the world, including Japan, USA, Canada & Europe, and took place from October 2014 to July 2016. They cover a range of expertise and experience levels, and include composers, sound designers, voice actors and directors, record labels, conductor, orchestrators, chip musicians, hardware and software creators, and more. 

If you’d like to check out my input, head over to Volume 1 page 215. Truthfully the whole thing is a marvel of deep dives and forward thinking that spans the entire history of games. A worthwhile read for the game audio enthusiast as well as students and anyone interested in hearing from a unique perspective on the development of the video games that have shaped our lives.

Beep is currently available on Amazon.

Speaking Engagement: PAX Dev – Aug 26-27, 2015

July 19th, 2015 | By Lance Hayes

UPDATE: The PAX Dev schedule is live and our panel “Demystifying Audio” is slated for Thursday (the 27th) at 2:15 pm.

PAX Prime 2015 is almost upon us, and as always I look forward to taking in the sights and sounds of the amazing games that will be visiting Seattle this year. Last year I had an fantastic time speaking at PAX Dev, which immediately precedes PAX Prime, and it looks like history is going to repeat itself this year as I’ll be teaming up with fellow luminaries Marty O’Donnell and Akash Thakkar for what promises to be a fun, informative session about game audio. More details soon, and don’t forget to check out my Twitter and Facebook pages for up the day, or week, updates!

Cheers

What Can We Do For You?

January 27th, 2015 | By Lance Hayes

Over the years I’ve had the good fortune to work on projects of all sizes for developers and publishers such as Microsoft, Activision and Nintendo. To assist me I’ve assembled a crack team of audio professionals and contractors. I’ve worked with the best on projects ranging from composing 8bit to orchestral soundtracks, creating original sound design and field recordings to implementation and more.

As an independent contractor I’ve spent years crafting audio that fits perfectly into titles so my team and I are focused on delivering great audio experiences. With award winning talent from projects that span next gen consoles, handheld and PC titles our skills range across the entire spectrum of audio disciplines, (a list of some of the titles we’ve worked can be found here). We specialize in bringing the sound of the games we work on to life.

We’re available for new projects, no game is too big or too small, Indie to Fortune 500. Please contact djdm at djdm.com for more information to make your project’s audio stand out!

For the latest updates about the studio please see our Twitter and Facebook pages.

Speaking Engagement: PNW AES Section

November 18th, 2014 | By Lance Hayes

Following the score for Forza Motorsport 5 Original Soundtrack at Skywalker Ranch

UPDATE 01/03/14: Click here for the Facebook event

I’m looking forward discussing and dissecting my work on the Forza Motorsport 5 Soundtrack for the Pacific Northwest chapter of the Audio Engineering Society over at Microsoft Research on Thursday, January 8th, 2015 at 7:30pm.

If you want to know more about scoring, adaptive concepts and music for AAA video games then this session is for you. There’s more information from the AES site below. Hope to see you there!

From the AES site:

Steve Malott
AES PNW 2014-2015 Section Chair

Speaking Engagement: PAX Dev 2014

June 18th, 2014 | By Lance Hayes

07/23/14 Update: Our panel has been scheduled in the Fifth Avenue Room on Thursday, August 28th at 11:30am and the description has been posted here.

Now back to the original post:

I’m looking forward to speaking at this years PAX Dev. Our session titled “Game Audio Pipeline: Core Concepts and Roles” will focus on audio team roles, best practices, vetting suggestions and practical tips to help ensure that you get the best audio for your project.

Speaking with me are fellow game audio specialists, industry vets and all around nice guys Jason Poss, Akash Thakkar, Mathew Steele and Mark Shoemaker. If you’re attending, expect a fun session that will leave you better informed on the roles that the various audio team members play as well as how to find them and what to look for in a candidate. Not to be missed and there will be more details soon.

PAX Dev 2014 (Developer) runs for the two day before PAX Prime in Seattle on August 27th and 28th.

You can also check my Facebook and Twitter feeds for more timely updates.

Propellerhead Rack Extensions Video

June 11th, 2014 | By Lance Hayes

I’m pleased to be featured in the latest Propellerhead video talking about their brilliant Rack Extensions. It’s an honor to be included alongside industry luminaries, designers and friends in this piece discussing one of my favorite developments in the Reason rack.

FM5 Soundtrack Nominated for Annual Game Music Awards 2013

April 4th, 2014 | By Lance Hayes

I’m honored that the Forza Motorsport 5 soundtrack has been nominated along with the splendid in-game sound design for two Annual Game Music Awards. In the “Production of the Year” category the soundtrack is up for “Outstanding Achievement – In-Game Music” and sound design is up for “Outstanding Achievement – Sound Design”. Congratulations to all of the nominees, it’s a thrill to be considered in such prestigious company!

Forza Motorsport 5’s tribute to LaFerrari

April 3rd, 2014 | By Lance Hayes

I’m excited that the trailer I scored for Forza Motorsport 5’s tribute to LaFerrari has gone live. It was a thrill to have the opportunity to score these gorgeous shots of this amazing car.

Forza 5 Nominated for Game Developer’s Choice “Best Audio” Award

January 9th, 2014 | By Lance Hayes

Forza Motorsport 5 has been nominated for a 2014 Game Developer’s Choice Award for “Best Audio”. I’m very honored to have played a role on Turn 10’s audio team bringing this title to Xbox One.

(For a list of additional awards, including twin BAFTAs, that Forza Motorsport 5 has been nominated for and or received head over to the Awards page)

Here’s a little more about the Game Developer’s Choice Awards from their site:

14th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards

“The Game Developers Choice Awards are the premier accolades for peer recognition in the digital games industry. Each year, the Choice Awards recognize and celebrate the creativity, artistry and technical genius of the finest developers and games created in the last year.”

Located at the Game Developers Conference

Moscone Convention Center, West Hall
Wednesday, March 19, 2014

6:30 – 8:30 pm
*All badges allowed entry