In today’s world, the internet has opened tons of opportunities for talented people who have a sound academic background, or who have created an outstanding portfolio based on their natural skills, and the experience achieved throughout a certain amount of time, without having attended any college or university.
And this is precisely the case with music production and sound design in the video game industry.
Short 1-3 month online courses or 1-year certificates can help with acquiring specific skills to succeed in making music and creating the sound design of a game. The goal is to produce a high-quality portfolio to demonstrate a suitable level of technical and artistic skills in music production, sound effects, and programming.
In this post, I present the three best options to get the necessary training to make the music and sound design of a game.
The first is dedicated to 3-4 years bachelor programs. The second shows 1-year certificate programs and 3-12 weeks courses. The third one shows free online courses and other free resources. I also show a list of titles you can get hands-on right away, perfect for every skill. Let’s begin:
- What Type of Education Do Video Game Sound Designers Need
- Bachelor Programs for Music Composition and Sound Design
- Courses and Certificates for Game Music Composition and Sound Design
- Video Game Music Composition and Sound Design Courses
- Free Video Game Sound Design Online Resources
- Recommended Bibliography
What Type of Education Do Video Game Sound Designers Need
The first question to solve is to know if sound design and music composition are regulated occupations or not. A regulated occupation demands a bachelor’s degree, and in many cases, post-graduate studies and frequent up-to-date courses.
The type of education a video game sound designer or music composer needs can be short online 1-3 months courses, 1-year certifications in specific areas, or 3-4 years bachelor programs. Sound designing and music composition for video games are not regulated occupations under the approval of any regulatory body.
Thus, it’s now clear that any person who enjoys making music, feels comfortable with some programming knowledge, and cares for achieving professional results, can perfectly become a sound designer or music composer for video games.
If you already have a college certificate in audio engineering technology, you are much closer to becoming a game composer and sound designer than starting from scratch.
Take a look at my recommended strategy for designing your own path towards creating an outstanding portfolio (see below).
Bachelor Programs for Music Composition and Sound Design
A bachelor’s program in music composition and sound design is perfect for you if…
- You’re definitely a beginner and prefer taking classroom lectures and practical sessions at the facilities of a certified institution
- You prefer to get as many courses as possible for a lower price than taking them separately
- You prefer to create your portfolio step by step as you study every year of the program
- You can afford the tuition fees of the entire program or have the certainty that you’ll be able to pay back your student loan without experiencing tough moments
The strategy I find the most useful if you consider taking separate courses rather than a bachelor’s program is:
- Check the curriculum or plan study of at least 4 bachelor’s programs
- List the courses that develop music composition skills. Then, do it as well for sound design
- After that, match what online short courses or 1-year certificates are similar to the ones offered by bachelor’s programs
- Then cross out the ones where you already have a good level of expertise
- Now you have created your own path to achieve the skills that you really need to develop to design your portfolio
These are the most popular bachelor programs for video game sound design and music composition in the US and Canada:
| University College Course | Type of Program | Length | Fee |
| Berklee College of Music | Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games Bachelor’s Degree | 2 – 4 years | $59,880 |
| Northeastern University | Game Design and Music with Concentration in Music Technology Bachelor’s Degree | 4 years | From website |
| Champlain College | Game Sound Design Bachelor of Science | 4 years | $21,282 Fall/Spring Semester |
| DigiPen Institute of Technology | Music and Sound Design Bachelor of Arts | 4 years | $35,700 per year |
| Columbia College Chicago | Game Design with Concentration in Sound Design Bachelor of Arts | 4 years | $26,610 per year |
| SCAD | Sound Design Bachelor in Fine Arts | 4 years | $38,340 per year |
- Game development programs are not included in this table, as they focus on animation, writing, or programming, with only a few courses dedicated to audio
Courses and Certificates for Game Music Composition and Sound Design
Studying online offers a great advantage for talented people who are willing to learn the necessary skills to produce a top-quality portfolio for video game music and sound design.
All they have to do is write a checklist of the specific courses and bibliography that can lead them to the preparation they need to acquire. This is the strategy I find the most useful:
- Scan all the topics and lessons each course offers before registering.
- Order them into two categories: music and sound design for games.
- Compare and contrast those contents with the previous knowledge and expertise you already have.
- Pay attention to what courses have requirements like showing evidence of other previous courses. That tends to be very common.
- Cross out from the list the courses that correspond to the skills you have already developed.
- Order the remaining courses into two categories: one for music composition and the other for sound design.
This is the lowest budget option to pursue a career in music and sound design, not only for gaming but also for TV, movies, audiobooks, podcasts, and audio products that require music, soundtracks, and sound effects.
Producing a high-quality portfolio for game music and sound effects is the real evidence indie and top game companies are looking at. Show your best work and make sure there is plenty of material to demonstrate a high level of technical and artistic skills in music production, sound effects, and programming.
- Game development companies make a decision based on your portfolio and a satisfactory interview to detect if you can work well with other people on a time-limited lapse and with tons of pending tasks.
Here are the Best Courses and Certificates for Game Music Composition and Sound Design:
Video Game Music Composition and Sound Design Courses
The best online courses for sound design and music composition for video games are the ones that are created for specific skills. This way you can study only the necessary courses that will enable you to create a great portfolio at the lowest cost possible.
Here I present a good list of options to study online, pointing exactly at the courses you may need to reach a professional level in music composition and sound design for video games:
| University College Course | Type of Program | Length | Fee |
| Vancouver Film School VFS | Sound Design for Visual Media | 1 year | $43,750 CAD |
| Berklee College of Music | Specialization in Sound Design for Video Games Requirement: Bachelor of Music in Electronic Production and Design (Four-year program) | 1 year | Upon request |
| Berklee College of Music | Introduction to Game Audio Course (Online) | 12 weeks | $1,497 |
| Berklee College of Music | Game Design Principles Course (Online) | 12 weeks | $1,497 |
| Berklee College of Music | Game Audio Production with Wwise Course (Online) | 12 weeks | $1,497 |
| Berklee College of Music | Interactive Scoring for Games Course (Online) | 12 weeks | $1,497 |
| Berklee College of Music | Game Audio Design and Production Certificate (Online) | 12 weeks | $4,491 |
| Udemy | Game Music Composition: Make Music For Games From Scratch | You set your own pace 20.12 hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Ultimate Sound Design Complete: Mastering Sound Design | You set your own pace 7.5 hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Game Audio 101: How to Create Sounds for Games | You set your own pace 5 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Game Audio 201: Advanced Sound Design & Recording Techniques | You set your own pace 5.40 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Game Audio 301: Sound & Music Implementation using Wwise | You set your own pace 7 hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Orchestral Music Composition & Music Theory for Video Games | You set your own pace 12.5 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Ultimate Sound Design Complete: Mastering Sound Design | You set your own pace 7.5 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Music Composition – How to Compose Ambient Music | You set your own pace 3.5 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | How to make Epic Cinematic Music | You set your own pace 3.5 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Layering Audio to Create Realistic Sound Effects | You set your own pace 1 hour of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Sound Design – Create your own Transition FX | You set your own pace 1.5 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Soundtrack Composer Masterclass: Score Films and Video Games | You set your own pace 4.5 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Music Theory for Electronic Producers – The Complete Course! | You set your own pace 8.5 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | What No One Taught Me as a Film, TV, & Game Music Comp | You set your own pace 84 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Why You Still Aren’t Getting Paid to Write Video Game Music | You set your own pace 82 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Unity Game Audio 1: Adding Sound to a Game for Beginners | You set your own pace 4 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Remaking Illaois Tentacle Smash Sound from League of Legends | You set your own pace 2.5 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
| Udemy | Make music with free software and sound libraries | You set your own pace 6 total hours of video lectures | Usually under $100 Price changes depending on seasonal sales |
Free Video Game Sound Design Online Resources
The following table shows you the most recent compendium of free online resources (videos and downloadable audio files) to help you preview how to create specific sounds, common problems, a few good ideas to create your own soundbank, and really good free sound effects:
Recommended Bibliography for Video Game Music and Sound Design
These are three main publishing houses that specialize in video game music and sound design: CRC Press, Focal Press, and Berklee Press. These titles are commonly used in bachelor programs, 1-year certificates. and 3-12 weeks online courses:
| Title | Publishing House | Author(s) | Price |
| The Essential Guide to Game AudioThe Theory and Practice of Sound for Games | Routledge | Steve Horowitz, Scott R. Looney | $63,96 Ebook or Paperback |
| The Game Audio Strategy Guide: A Practical Course | Focal Press | Gina Zdanowicz, Spencer Bambrick | $63,94 Ebook or Paperback |
| Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games | A K PetersCRC Press | Tracy Fullerton | $59,96 Ebook or Paperback |
| The Art of Game Design, A Book of Lenses | CRC Press | Jesse Schell, A K Peters | $50,21 Kindle $53,85 Paperback |
| Principles of Game Audio and Sound Design: Sound Design and Audio Implementation for Interactive and Immersive media | Focal Press | Jean-Luc Sinclair | $32.36 KIndle $32,83 Paperback |
| Writing Interactive Music for Games, A Composer’s Guide | Addison-Wesley Professional | Michael Sweet, | $28.79 Ebook |
| Audio for Games: Planning, Process, and Production(New Riders Games Series) | Alexander Brandon | Alexander Brandon | $65 on average (used, Amazon) |
| A Composer’s Guide to Game Music | The MIT Press | Winifred Phillips | $18,99 Kindle $23,95 Paperback |
| Music for New Media: Composing for Videogames, Web Sites, Presentations, and Other Interactive Media | Berklee Press | Paul Hoffert | $62,50 Paperback |
| The Sound Effects Bible, How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects | Michael Wiese Productions | Ric Viers | $20,49 Kindle |
| Game Audio Development with Unity 5.x | Packt | Michael Lanham | $22,39 Kindle $44,99 Paperback |
| Game Audio with FMOD and Unity | Routledge | Ciarán Robinson | $47,96 Ebook or Paperback |
| The Complete Guide to Game Audio: For Composers, Musicians, Sound Designers, and Game Developers | A K Peters/CRC Press | Aaron Marks | $51,96 Ebook or Paperback |
| Game Audio Programming | CRC Press | Guy Somberg | $43,96 Ebook or Paperback |
| Game Audio Programming 2 | A K Peters/CRC Press | Guy Somberg | $96 Ebook |
| Game Audio Programming 3 | CRC Press | Guy Somberg | $55,96 Ebook or Paperback |
| Composing Music for GamesThe Art, Technology, and Business of Video Game Scoring | Routledge | Chance Thomas | $55,16 Ebook or Paperback |
| Music In Video GamesStudying Play | Routledge | K.J. Donnelly, William Gibbons, Neil Lerner | $39,16 Ebook or Paperback |