July 2022
John Morgan is the Audio Director at the Coalition Studios, leading the franchise development of Microsoft’s Gears of War. He grew up listening to synth bands such as Depeche Mode and Skinny Puppy, eventually following this musical path into electronic music production in the late 80’s.
John is a specialist in all types of interactive audio for games, learning his craft since 1997 at EA Canada, working on titles such as SSX, Need for Speed and FIFA Street.
His work on the interactive music for the SSX series was pioneering in the use of a vertical approach to adaptive music and remixing licensed popular score.
During the last 12 years he’s been working on growing an audio team that has journeyed deep into the frontlines of new Unreal Engine 5 development with Wwise, and has collaborated with creatives to deliver an award-winning audio vision that holds up to the ever-changing modes of gameplay we see in today’s AAA titles.
John and his team at the Coalition Studios, along with Microsoft Research, recently pioneered the creation of Project Acoustics, a wave acoustics engine for virtual 3D environments. John’s music can be found on television shows such as the Sopranos, NCIS, and Big Bang Theory and in 2010 John did the sound design for the Olympic Winter Games opening ceremonies.
MASA: It would be great to hear how you got started in the world of audio? How did you get your foot in the door of the industry and what was it about gaming, as opposed to other media, that attracted you?
JOHN: This is a great question. I get asked this a lot by students I teach and graduates working to get into the industry. So much has changed from when I started in video games. I came by things honestly with a passion for electronic music. I actually had a keyboard band in the 80s with a high school friend, which eventually led to me working on music and playing keyboards with bands and musicians in Vancouver Canada such as Devin Townsend. In 1997, after living the touring life for a few years, another musician friend who had been working at Electronic Arts asked me to send in a demo and resume. I did and they hired me almost right away. I think this almost never happens now as most game audio jobs require some sort training and schooling, but in the 90’s most of that knowledge was self-taught by just doing music and recording. The gaming industry attracted me as the people I knew that worked at Electronic Arts were young and having so much fun – it seemed like a dream job really. At that time, all of the EA music was written in-house so it was such a fun place to be – musicians such as Crispin Hands, Saki Kaskas, Rom Di Prisco, Traz Damji, Jeff Dyke and Hiwatt Marshall were all working there and I learned so much from them.
MASA: What does your role at The Coalition entail? A vast question, we realize!
JOHN: I’m the Audio Director at TC, so that involves managing the audio team here, giving feedback on designs, working with our team of software engineers to develop audio tools and technology, planning projects, and working with composers and other contractors such as cinematics post-production and performance capture.
MASA: And what do you find the most rewarding aspect of it?
JOHN: I think the most rewarding aspect of it is the process of creating art with others on such a large scale. It’s amazing to see everything come together at the end to make a fantastic game.
MASA: What is the structure of your team?
JOHN: Our audio team consists of Sound Designers, Technical Sound Designers, Audio Software Engineers, Composers, Dialogue Specialists, Audio Producers, and Cinematics Post-Production Specialists.
MASA: Can you tell us about any interesting audio challenges the team has had to overcome on Gears of War?
JOHN: The biggest challenge for audio on Gears of War is in staying true to the franchise core pillars, while still innovating and modernizing the audio content and systems to deliver a best-in-class shooter experience. This can be quite difficult as there is so much more about a game the size of Gears of War – along with incredible campaign story we also have e-sports and post launch multi-player support .As well, all of this has to be done from a 1st party perspective, where we try to showcase the hardware and amazing technology we have with the Xbox.
MASA: Which sounds in Gears of War are you most proud of, and why?
JOHN: I can’t say any particular sound specifically rather than the whole game for Gears 5. I think at times it sounds as good as any movie, and at other times it serves gameplay the best – where we choose to play certain sounds louder or more focused, so they support gameplay. Our sound design team at TC really made all the Swarm Monsters sound incredible. Ramin Djawadi’s music was very memorable, and he really gave it an epic and emotion feel as he did with Game of Thrones.
MASA: Can you tell us more about the creation of Project Acoustics?
JOHN: Project Acoustics (formerly know as Triton) is an offline system that looks at the geometry and materials of a virtual map inside UE5 and then pre-computes all the acoustic permeations for a given set of sources. Using this method, we can simulate acoustics in a natural manner, and apply reverb reflections, and occlusion exactly as to how it would be heard in the real-world. The result is incredible, as we no longer have to approximate reverbs or apply reverb volumes to spaces – this is all done in advance by Project Acoustics. To me, the real sonic advantage to Project Acoustics is in the transitions from space to space – the acoustics will change naturally as the player moves from room to room within a map or gameplay level. Our team and TC worked with Microsoft Research for over 10 years to help bring this technology from a research whitepaper to a usable functioning product for games and many other applications.
MASA: Any advice to up-and-coming sound designers in terms of getting into the industry?
JOHN: Have a great demo reel and keep working any contacts you have to get a gig. Make sure everything you do is your best work and always deliver your work on-time with the best attitude ever. People will remember you and call you again if the experience and audio are great.
MASA: How do you think a competition like The Music+Sound Awards impacts the industry?
JOHN: I think industry awards give recognition to artists that have worked hard to push the craft farther and create the best content they can throughout the past year. The Music+Sound awards have a deep range of categories that are specific to the audio industry, and are judged by a diverse selected jury for each discipline which makes it much more relevant than a fan judged contest. By having these awards in this manner I think it pushes the industry to always be original, creative, and moving the needle on what is the best in music and sound.
MASA: And lastly, what will you be looking for when judging? What makes a piece of work worthy of a Music+Sound Award?
JOHN: I’m listening for content that is compelling and immersive. Sound design that makes me want to play and explore further. Music that is memorable and original. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive production, or the most detailed, but is presented well in the context of the game. If it stands out in this manner, to me it will be worthy of a Music+Sound Award.
MASA: Thank you John. Having you on the jury is a great honour and we hope you enjoy the experience.
Visit The Coalition’s website HERE
