Have you ever wondered who creates the music of Wizard101? Today we have a guest blog from Nelson Everhart, talented composer for KingsIsle games! He’s sharing some really helpful tips about how someone can get a job as a game composer.
People often tell me that I have the best job on the planet: writing music for video games. While it’s not all (ahem) fun and games, it’s hard to argue with that statement. I get to be creative, I get to play with sounds and computers, I get to build emotions and energy, and I get to work with other people to create worlds. Having a lot of people around the globe hear and appreciate my music is really cool too!
How does somebody get a job as a game composer? There are two parts to the answer.
The first is that you have to know and practice your craft. Sure, I studied music composition in school, but I also wrote music for fun pretty much every day. I also played in bands (many of which I started), was the musical director for a ton of community musicals, and composed for anything I could: student films and projects, dances, and plays.
I didn’t know I was going to make a living writing music, I just knew I loved writing it and it seemed my music worked well accompanying other media. Consequently, I practiced writing music for everything. I videotaped (ask your parents what that means) TV commercials and movie trailers, and wrote music paced to the images and messages I saw. I loved when everything came together to create an emotional moment that moved people. If I were doing this again today, I’d be downloading videos and open-source games from the Internet and showing my work to a huge number of people.
The second part of the answer to the “how does somebody get a job as a game composer” is that you have to put yourself in a position to FIND the job you want. A lot of people, some who may be better composers than me, think that the world is going to offer them a job just because they’re good. That’s not the way it works; you’ve got to create something you’re proud of AND THEN get that out there in the world where somebody’s going to see it. Then you have to do that again and again… so you prove it’s not just a fluke. And then do it again for good measure!
Just because a job is fun doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Don’t feel like writing? Well, too bad, because you have a schedule to keep! This applies to any commercial art… writing, illustrating, sculpting, composing: you need to be really good at finding your own inspiration, which can be challenging.
Working with other creative people sometimes means you have to work the way they want you to work. Ideally, this matches up with how you’d be doing things anyway, but sometimes it doesn’t. Artists often get the reputation of being ego maniacs, but if you can learn to work with other people’s ideas, more people will be eager to work with you.
Because I work for myself, I constantly have to find my next job! Even in the middle of a project, I still have get out there and network with all my friends and contacts to remind them I’m out here in case they have any work that could use my music. People like working with those they’ve worked with successfully in the past, but it takes time and energy finding and maintaining those contacts.
But after all the hard work networking, being creative on demand, and collaborating with other creative individuals, nothing beats sitting back, turning up the speakers and seeing your hard work shape how people will feel about a new world!
Nelson Everhart
Wizard101 Composer
Today we have a guest blog from official fan site and one of KingsIsle’s fuzziest fans! Fuzzy you say? Well meet Ditto Wizard! Today Chip and Ditto bring you some question and answers about online safety and Wizard101.
Chip: What is a ‘fabricated American’?
Ditto: Great question, and one me get a lot. Fabricated Americans are just like regular folks – We play games and have friends and family and all that good stuff, not that different from everybody else. We just happen to be a little furrier and generally more colorful than regular folks, that’s all. Oh, and we all have super powers. Next Question.
Chip: I don’t have any super powers.
Ditto: Ssssh, next question Chip.
Chip: You don’t have any superpowers either, Ditto, unless snoring and eating pie are somehow super powers.
Ditto: Sssh, come on Chip, you’re ruining the mystique. Next question.
Chip: Oh, ok. Why is online safety so important to you?
Ditto: Online safety is important because being online, and especially online games, should be fun and exciting and entertaining for everyone – it should never be dangerous. Unfortunately, there are people out there who want to make it dangerous, who want to use the reach and the anonymity of the internet and online games for not so nice things. Fortunately, being anonymous online can work for us, too – nobody ever needs to know who you really are or where you really live for you to enjoy your favorite online games, and if you follow some simple safety rules and not give out your real life information, you can stay safe and have fun.
Chip: Is there really more to life than puppet shows?
Ditto: Really Chip?
Chip: It’s on the list here, Ditto.
Ditto: <sigh and head shake> Is there really more to life than puppet shows? Yes. Next question.
Chip: What first drew you to Wizard101 (and subsequently Pirate101)?
Ditto: For Wizard101, I saw a bunch of commercials for it while I was watching cartoons, and the concept of a school that trained wizards reminded me of that movie I really liked… what was it… um… The Avengers, that’s it…
Chip: That doesn’t make sense, Ditto – The Avengers came out like four years after Wizard101 did.
Ditto: Oh that’s right – the Avengers is what made me get into Pirate101 – the guy with the eye patch, he’s a pirate and captains a flying ship, right?
Chip: I think so, yeah. If you have an eye patch you’re a pirate – I think that’s the rule. His ship definitely flies, too – it’s really cool.
Ditto: Ok, right, got it. I started playing Pirate101 because of The Avengers, so Wizard101 must have been that other movie, what was it… It was released around the same time as Wizard101, in 2008, with the kids and the school and the magic, and… Oh, Wall-E, that was it. I saw the commercial and it reminded me of Wall-E, so that’s why I started playing. Next Question.
Chip: What? Oh, never mind. What inspired you to setup the camera and start recording your adventures?
Ditto: Well, here’s a behind the scenes secret I’ve never revealed publicly – I was actually playing Wizard101 from almost opening day, and when I decided to start filming my Pyromancer… I already had a level 50 Necromancer – back when that was max level. I was actually pretty good at the game, and my uncle Ben told me that with great power, comes great responsibility, so I started a new alt and decided to blog it. For the kids.
Chip: You just stole most of that from the origin of ‘Spider Man’.
Ditto: Oh, OK – gee, somebody’s picky today. I was just trying to be dramatic. .Actually I just always wanted to do a blog, and because there were no blogs out there from a Fabricated American perspective I thought I could present a unique point of view. What I didn’t expect was to be so totally embraced (embarrassed – blooper) by the amazing Wizard101 community – that was the best and most awesome surprize, and I love all my fans and followers! The thing about the level 50 necromancer is true, though.
Chip: What is Ditto Monster currently doing in game?
Ditto: Trying to get through Zafaria and finally get to the next worlds! Ditto is so far behind! But thats one of my favorite parts about Wizard 101 – even though all kinds of great new stuff is always coming out, I don’t ever feel the need to hurry or rush through anything. The game world and storylines are so rich and fun and the side quests are so well thought out and entertaining, I just play at my own pace and have a good time – that’s the most important thing for me.
Chip: What is your favorite memory for all your time playing Wizard101?
Ditto: Honestly I have so many it’s hard to choose. The first time one of my posts got featured on the Wizard101 launcher was a big one, Interviewing Fred Howard at PAX East was huge, too. In-game, I think my favorite Memory is doing Big Ben with the Ravenwood Radio crew – that was amazing and awesome, and a great quest.
Chip: What’s your favorite part of Wizard101?
Ditto: That’s easy – The community. This community is the best out there, and are so very welcoming to Fabricated Americans like me. They’re the best!
Chip: And what about in the game itself?
Ditto: Well that could only be…. Meteor Strike!!
Chip: What would you like to see added to Wizard101?
Ditto: Ever since I saw them as enemies, I always thought having a giant one of those mechanical clockwork spiders from Marleybone would be the coolest mount. That’s like my #1 dream in Wizard101. Also, adding cooking to crafting, so you can gather ingredients and make pies, and eating the pies can give you buffs. OR you could throw pies at enemies.
Chip: I was waiting for him to get the pie reference in… Ditto, you never disappoint.
Ditto: Thank you. Me think. Next question.
Chip. OK, last question – What would you say to encourage others to be creative and embark on creating their own fansite?
Ditto: I would say the key element is making sure you have a link to Ditto Monster’s site – that’s very important for a successful fansite. Maybe more important than actually talking about the game.
Chip: Ditto….
Ditto: OK, me only kidding. The key element is to find your own voice, your own passion, and build on that. You can use the other fansites for inspiration – I know I did, definitely; I was reading sites like Friendly Necromancer and Diary of a Wizard and Homework in a Graveyard daily – but build your own identity, make sure your fansite says something about you, make sure it’s uniquely yours. There are so many wonderful aspects of these games and this community, everyone has a place and every idea can be built upon to make something that’s special and that stands out as uniquely yours. Also, as always, have fun and play safe!!
I recently had the opportunity to speak at a conference with Dr. Aaron Delwiche and Dr. Jennifer Henderson discussing gaming. Remember a couple weeks back we did a blog about the research the two professors from Trinity University did with over 34,000 Wizard101 players? There were other professors and professionals on the panel and in the audience. The overall tenor of the panel was very positive and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations that took place both during the panel as well as after. That being said there was one topic that came up that really bothered me. It seems that very little work/research is being done on potential benefits of gaming. From the conversations I had it seemed that a great amount of academic research and funding was going to studies trying to tie video gaming to real world violence or to uncover the downsides to video gaming.
The reason I found this concerning is because over the last 5 years we have been flooded by communications from our players on the benefits they experienced in Wizard101 (and now Pirate101). I explained in the panel that we have had thousands of submissions of fan art and fan fiction over the years in an era where creative writing and art programs are being cut from our schools. I also talked about hundreds of messages from parents of autistic children gushing about how significantly their children have progressed interacting socially in Wizard101. I brought up the stories of children struggling to read that went up multiple reading levels over a summer while playing because they were so intent on reading the story. There are also stories of people that were housebound or separated from family members that once again have great involvement with community, friends and family through our games. I told the professors these cases in hopes of a better understanding as to why more research on positive impacts weren’t being pursued. The answer I got back about why no one is researching the benefits of gaming: government funding isn’t there for this and the press doesn’t seem to think positive findings drive traffic and sales.
I’m not suggesting parents have a lack of caution or oversight on the levels of violence our children are exposed to or that we shouldn’t have research try to understand the impact. I have always believed that all activities (physical, educational, entertainment) should be in moderation and balanced. But I really wish that the academic world and even press coverage of POSITIVE things that come from gaming could get more traction. As a side note, I was encouraged by President Obama’s positive comments on the potential career opportunities for children that could be exposed to game design at an early age.
I would love to hear if you agree with me and if you have had or seen positive experiences from your gaming. Thank you!
Fred Howard
Vice President of Marketing
You know that we have tons of talented people creating Wizard101 and Pirate101, but did you know they enjoy playing the games too? Today David Beau Paul tells about what it’s like to both work and play your favorite game!
You might think that because I help write the story of Pirate101 and that I always know what’s going to happen next would make playing Pirate a bit of a bore to me. Well, you couldn’t be more wrong. I LOVE playing Pirate! In fact, I may have played more Pirate101 than just about anyone! (It helps that I get to play at work. 🙂 )
When I first started here at KingsIsle Entertainment, a good deal of the Pirate101 story was already written. One of the first tasks I was given was to familiarize myself with the main quests and side quests and to play through them while checking to make sure that all the lines were being spoken and spelled correctly and that the characters and environments looked the way they were supposed to look.
It didn’t take me long to get hooked on the game! To say this was my favorite job ever wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Before I knew it I became the very first member of our team to play Pirate straight all the way through from Avery’s office in Skull Island all the way to Marazume Castle in Subata.
My favorite part of the game is getting a new power for myself or a companion and figuring out how best to use it to give myself an edge. Sometimes it can take me a little while to figure out what works best for my character, but it’s always a rush when I figure out the perfect way to employ a new tactic.
Because I love powers so much I gravitated to the Witchdoctor class first. Witchdoctor spells are really visually spectacular and I love that! Over time though, I’ve grown to love certain things about every class, whether it’s the trick shots of a Musketeer, the brute strength of a Buccaneer, the awesome acrobatics of a Swashbuckler or the defensive ploys of a Privateer. I like ‘em all! Not only am I the first person to play through all of Pirate’s available content, I’m the first to do it with every character class as well!
Every time I play it helps me really get a feel on this incredible world that I’ve helped create (and makes me appreciate just how amazing our “crew” of designers, artists and programmers here at KingsIsle really is!). Playing through not only ensures that the visions of our design team are correct, it also inspires me to help make our new content even more spectacular. So being a Pirate 101 player not only makes me really happy, it also makes me better at my job!
I hope you guys like playing Pirate101 as much as I like playing it (and writing it)!
David Beau Paul
Associate Creative Designer II
You know we spend a lot of time in the office working on your favorite games, but what about outside of work! This holiday weekend, we asked KingsIsle employees to share a little of their Labor Day weekend adventures with us. Here’s what some of us got up to this past weekend:
During my holiday weekend I will be working on building my Proton Pack for the local Ghostbusters group I’m a part of, Ghostbusters ATX. We dress up in full Ghostbusters gear and attend conventions but our main goal is to work with charities and help our community. Currently we are working with the American Cancer Society raising money for the Relay for Life which will be held at the Dell Diamond this year on Sept. 21st. Aside from doing that I am going to see George Takei aka Mr. Sulu at Dragons Lair on Sept. 2nd, can’t think of a better way to spend my holiday weekend. If anyone wants more info on our Ghostbusters group feel free to check us out on on Facebook or our website.
James Kane
QA Tester
Arrgh Fellow Pirates!
The summer be a season fer relaxing and getting some things done too. I spent my spare time planting a garden and painting up my little house near Flotsam. Lastly although all Pirates love the skyways for traveling, sometimes we also yearn for old fashioned water. So to round out my vacation I went to a pool party to end the summer with a big Splash.
Hope yers was as good as mine,
Old Ned
Over the Labor Day weekend my wife and I packed up our car and three boys and drove the 3 ½ hours down to the Texas coast. They’re not exactly the white sandy beaches of Florida but we had a great family trip. Boys loved digging in the sand and the water was warm and calm to swim in.
Fred Howard
Vice President of Marketing
I played daddy day care with my 1 week old new born son at home. I gave him a sponge bath and he made funny noises. I padded him on the back for a job well done drinking all that milk, and he gave me the longest burps. I made fun of how little he was and he made weird faces at me. At the end of the day we were both very exhausted and slept for a long time.
Tiger Ouyang
Lead Engineer
This Labor Day weekend, I went to College Station to visit my sister! The trip was a great opportunity to catch up with family – and for our dogs to have fun goofing off together! I got to enjoy a lazy drive through some of the small towns East of Austin – and some fantastic venison shish-ka-bobs. My puppy and I wrapped up the weekend with a trip to Red Bud Isle here in Austin with the dog – a great swimming hole for our four-legged friends! With summer coming to a close, every weekend counts!
Brendan McLeod
Senior Game Designer I
My Mom went iFlying over the weekend – or — researching what it’d be like if she walked the plank on a Pirate ship inside a skyway vortex?
Evan C
Principal Artist
I went to Florida and spent the weekend with an old friend on the beach! Was the most rejuvenating break I have had in a long time….Here was the highlight of my weekend….clear blue waters and dodging jelly fish!
Christy Lane
Producer
I spent most of the weekend hunting in South Texas, followed by a dip in the Colorado river. We went on a kayak trip down the Colorado river where we swam, swung on ropes swings from trees, climbed cliffs and let my dog run free. As you can see she likes to hang out on the tip of my kayak keeping a lookout for icebergs and squirrels.
Russell Hughes
Principal Cinematics/FX
My name is Bobby Menkedick and I am a Sound Designer at KingIsle. My wife and I flew to Denver, CO to see two concerts of our favorite band, Phish. We also hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park and took a train ride through the mountains. I always bring my microphone on trips and made sure to record the steam locomotive. The sounds might even make it into one of our games!
Bobby Menkedick
Sound Designer
I took the family down to San Antonio for the weekend. While I was at Worldcon, watching the Hugos and schmoozing with fantastic writers and amazing fans, the family explored the Riverwalk. It was a great weekend to refuel creatively, share fun stories, take a river boat ride with the kids, and explore the Alamo!
Jesse “King Artorius” Scoble
Senior Writer, Wizard101
I headed back to the east coast to my home state, North Carolina, for some beach time! We hung out with my family, took the boat out on the Intracoastal Waterway, and enjoyed the salt air sitting on the beach.
Lauren Mauldin
Marketing Website Producer
Joel “Mr. Trelawny” White and Leah “Professor Falmea” Ruben spent Labor Day swimming, biking, and running in the hot sun at Tri Rock Austin. This triathlon was a 1500m swim in Ladybird Lake, a 25 mile bike ride around beautiful downtown Austin, and a 10k run surrounding Auditorium Shores. We both survived the heat, and lived to claim our medals and our victory tacos upon crossing the finish line!
Mr. Trelawny and Professor Falmea
Aiden’s 6th birthday party was a blast! All of the children enjoyed the special cake made by his mother, which was hand-decorated with all of the emblems of the various Schools of Magic wizards can join in Wizard101. When he saw the poster signed by all of the friendly staff at KingsIsle Entertainment, he was overjoyed. He and the other children even pointed out all of the main characters featured on the poster.
Mike Stone
Associate Producer
I spent my Labor Day weekend isolated in the beautiful forests that surround the prestigious Shoal Creek Golf Course near Birmingham, AL. Although I am not a golfer, I managed to play a few rounds without losing any golf balls! It was the perfect escape for quiet and relaxation.
Natalie Akilian
Assoc. Product Marketing Manager
My buddies and I checked out the Leander Car Show. Every first Sunday of the month in downtown Leander, they rope off a city block and folks show off their sports cars and classic hotrods. The range of cars varies, including Camaros, Corvettes, Torinos, Minis, Porsches, Chargers, Challengers and even Ferraris. They even a have a truck with a dynometer so people can test how much horsepower their cars have.
Jeff Wand
Artist
It was a very hot and crowded day at Lake Pflugerville (A man-made lake in the outskirts of Austin Texas) over Labor Day Weekend, so we didn’t stay too long, but it was nice to get our feet wet, enjoy the water and splash around with the family a bit. The rest of the long weekend was spent mostly playing video games in a much cooler, indoor environment and just enjoying our family time together.
One-Eyed Jack
Community Manager
Well, we obviously had a great time over our vacation weekend! Now it’s time to get back to hard work in the studio. Hope you got up to fun adventures of your own last weekend 🙂
KingsIsle Blog 