I am starting a series of articles called “How to Be Seen in #gameaudio” and it’s about how to get noticed in the world of video game audio, based on my personal experience of 14 years in the industry, in the hopes of helping newcomers discover the path to creating music or sound design for video games.
A long time ago I came across an interesting article about first impressions when meeting people, and it said something like this:
“When we form a first impression of another person it's not really a single impression. We're really forming two. We're judging how warm and trustworthy the person is, and that’s trying to answer the question, “What are this person's intentions toward me?” And we're also asking ourselves, “How strong and competent is this person?” That's really about whether or not they're capable of enacting their intentions. Research shows that these two trait dimensions account for 80 to 90 percent of an overall first impression, and that holds true across cultures.” - Amy Cuddy
Link to the full article here: First Impressions: The Science of Meeting People
What I found interesting was the fact that when we meet someone for the first time we’re looking to find out if we can trust that person and then we ask ourselves if he can deliver. The metrics by which we assess trustworthiness in a person are subjective, it’s based on our own experience of the people around us, so it’s really hard to have one answer for every person out there. What conveys trust for me may be different than what would convey trust for you, but fundamentally there are a few things that inspire trust in others, and I want to talk a bit about that in this article.
A while back I got an email from a game developer needing my services and what caught my attention was something he told me: “I’ve seen you around the industry for quite a while now, and I thought that you had to be good if you’ve lasted that long. We would like you to make some sounds for us.”
He trusted that I could deliver based only on seeing me around the industry. Now, what I’ve done behind the scenes was actually showing up.
Showing up to networking events, and game dev meetups, showing up on social media where he could see me. It wasn't just about physically being present; it was about actively engaging, participating, and contributing wherever I could. Consistency in showing up not only built familiarity but also demonstrated reliability and commitment.
Ask questions from a place of genuine interest in other people. A lot of people don’t know how to properly engage in a conversation, they think they have to talk about themselves, to prove themselves to a possible client, and this is the wrong approach. Nobody wants to be held hostage in a conversation.
As a golden rule, whenever you’re at a networking event, think about this: it’s all about the other person, you’re there to get to know them, and in turn, they will want to know more about you.
Get out there and make friends, people want to work with friends.
Keep your word. I’ve talked a bit about this in an earlier article here. Every time you keep your word, you deliver on deadline; every time your actions match your words you gain a little bit of trust. The Deadline is Sacred!
Think about Netflix, if a new TV show appears and they say “New episode every Monday at 8”, you know it’s going to be on Monday at 8.
Be generous. Another way to get people to know you and your craft better, and trust you is by being generous. Share your knowledge, and help others get from A to B. They will want to help you back, and at some point in time you may need their help. Generosity fosters reciprocity, creating a network of mutual support and trust.
I'm building a community on Discord where we can discuss more about how to get noticed as a freelance composer or sound designer in the video game industry,
you can join here: https://discord.gg/JUmzFdPXXe