Best Akash Thakkar Podcasts (2024)

1
The Psychology of Working in Game Audio with Raison Varner 1:05:02

4h ago1:05:02

1:05:02

#78: My guest today is Raison Varner, a voice actor, sound designer, composer, videographer, and writer. He’s had a very broad and varied career, starting in 2006 as an intern on the original Prey game, then working as a composer, sound designer, voice actor, and writer for the Borderlands games for 12 years. He has also worked as an art director f…

1
Episode 096 - Sasha, Athanasia Developer 1:01:37

6d ago1:01:37

1:01:37

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 96 where I speak with Anthanasia dev Sasha, where we talk about their upcoming dinosaur immersive sim Anthanasia, immersive sims, how they got into the industry and words of wisdom, the games that made them want to make games, their life outside of games, and some lightning round questions. 0:00 Star…

1
Becoming a Sound Designer Later On During Your Career with James Thatcher 43:05

14d ago43:05

43:05

#77: My guest today is James Thatcher, a sound designer and nature recordist based out of Seattle, Washington. He has had an incredibly diverse set of experiences before getting into the world of pro audio, most notably working in Michelin Star restaurants in France before making his way into the world of game audio years later. He has released app…

1
Episode 095 - Dan Pearce, Lead Developer I AM YOUR BEAST 1:24:56

16d ago1:24:56

1:24:56

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 95 where I speak with Dan Pearce, lead developer on the newly released I AM YOUR BEAST from Strange Scaffold. In this episode we talk about Strange Scaffold and how it differs from other places he's worked, how Dan got into the industry and words of wisdom from his experiences, the games that made hi…

1
Creating the Audio of The Bear with Steve “Major” Giammaria & Evan Benjamin 45:31

1M ago45:31

45:31

#76: My guests today are Steve “Major” Giammaria & Evan Benjamin, who are re-recording mixers and dialogue editors based out of the audio production house Sound Lounge in New York City. In this episode, we dive into their recent work on the hit series The Bear, their process for creating and enhancing the soundscape for such a tense and dramatic sh…

1
Episode 94 - Luiza Tanaka, Riot Environmental Artist 1:14:12

1M ago1:14:12

1:14:12

Hey Link here,thanks for joining me for episode 94 where I speak with Luiza Tanaka, where wetalk about how she got into the industry and words of wisdom from herexperiences, the games that made her want to make games, what she enjoys aboutgaming, game series she feels should be more popular, games that don't getenough credit, her favorite games, he…

1
From Sound Designer to Hollywood Composer with Nainita Desai 45:12

2M ago45:12

45:12

#75: Today's guest is Nainita Desai, an award-winning composer based out of London, England. She has worked with dozens of high profile clients including Peter Gabriel and A24, as well as documentaries, film, game, TV, and game projects such as Immortality, American Murder, Call of Duty, and Tales of Kenzera: Zau. In this episode, we talk about Nai…

1
Episode 93 - Akash Thakkar, Sound Designer 1:01:49

2M ago1:01:49

1:01:49

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 93 where I speak with Akash Thakkar, where we talk about how they got into the industry, how they realized making game music was a possibility, their perfect game, games that didn't age well, their favorite recent trend in games, their life outside of games, and some lightning round questions! Before…

1
Standing Out as an Audio Generalist with Nathan Moody 44:14

2M ago44:14

44:14

#74: Today's guest is Nathan Moody, a composer, sound designer, mastering engineer, and interaction designer based out of California. He has worked on an insane variety of projects ranging from The Callisto Protocol, Pentiment, to MLK: Now Is The Time. He has also created sound effects for World War II Battleships, and is even currently working wit…

1
Episode 092 - Robert Bailey, Sony Santa Monica Technical Narrative Designer 1:12:08

2M ago1:12:08

1:12:08

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 92 where I speak with Robert Bailey. In this episode we talk about how they got into the industry and words of wisdom from their experiences, games that made them want to get into the industry, games they feel didn't get enough credit, their life outside of gaming, some lightning round questions, as …

1
Building Team Audio with Ariel Gross 1:02:22

3M ago1:02:22

1:02:22

#73: Today's guest is Ariel Gross, a game audio veteran based out of Texas with over 20 years of experience in the game industry. He started his career on PC and Game Boy Advance games in the late 90s and early 2000s, and eventually ended up as an audio lead—working on titles like Saints Row, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and so many more. Ariel is …

1
Episode 091 - Patrick Gauthier, Reky Studios' head 55:04

3M ago55:04

55:04

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 91 where I speak with Patrick Gauthier where we talk about how they landed on wholesome games, how they got into making games and words of wisdom, games that made them want to be a game dev, their favorite games, how Kickstarter works for them and the upcoming Cinnabunny, other influences for their g…

1
Building Your Own Path & Dealing with Game Industry Layoffs with Aaron Brown 39:46

3M ago39:46

39:46

#72: Today's guest is Aaron Brown, a video game composer, sound designer, and audio director based out of Austin, Texas. He has worked in the game industry for over 20 years now and has worked on projects such as Call Of Duty, Uncharted, Redfall, Donkey Kong: Country Tropical Freeze, and so many others. In this episode, Aaron and I talk about how t…

1
Episode 090 - Brendan Steppig AKA Looloopaa, Pixel Artist 53:53

3M ago53:53

53:53

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 90 where I speak with Brendan Steppig, AKA Looloopaa where we talk about how they got into the industry, words of wisdom from their experiences, games that made them want to make games, their favorite games, upcoming games they are looking forward to, what they enjoy about games, their life outside o…

1
Composing for Film & Theater with Philomène Gatien 39:05

4M ago39:05

39:05

#71: Today's guest is Philomène Gatien, a composer and orchestrator based out of Montreal, Canada. She has worked on films like My Salinger Year and theatrical plays such as Thank You For Coming, and even game-specific software such as Wwise in her theater performances. In this episode, we talk about how Philomène started as a composer, how she sta…

1
Episode 089 - Legendary Game Producer David Mullich 1:16:26

4M ago1:16:26

1:16:26

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 89 where I speak with the legendary game producer David Mullich where we talk about indie development in the early days vs today, how they got into the industry, words of wisdom from their experiences, their thoughts on the future of game development, trends they've enjoyed over the years, their life…

1
Episode 088 - Kris Durrschmidt, CEO at Crazy Viking Studio 1:22:12

4M ago1:22:12

1:22:12

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 88 where I speak with Kris Durrschmidt where we talk about topics like how their development story, words of wisdom from their experiences, making Volgarr, their favorite games, their life outside of gaming, and some lightning round questions. Before we get started, don't forget there are links in th…

1
Episode 087 - Nessa Cannon, Narrative Designer 1:09:29

5M ago1:09:29

1:09:29

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 87 where I speak with Nessa Cannon, where we talk about who they are, how they got into the industry, words of wisdom from their experiences, if they always wanted to write for games, their favorite or perfect game, what makes gaming enjoyable to them, their life outside of gaming, and some random qu…

1
Episode 086 - Conor Walsh, Obsidian Entertainment Narrative Designer 1:24:16

5M ago1:24:16

1:24:16

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 86 where I speak with Conor Walsh, where we talk about who they are, how they got into making games, words of wisdom from their experiences, their favorite games, their life outside of gaming, and some lightning round questions. Before we get started, don't forget there are link in the episode descri…

1
Episode 085 - Giuseppe Navarria, Splash Damage Tech Design Director 1:28:28

6M ago1:28:28

1:28:28

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 85 where I speak with Giuseppe Navarria where we talk about how they got into making games, words of wisdom from their experiences, the games that made them want to be in the industry, their favorite games, their opinion on the current state of games preservation, their life outside of gaming, and so…

1
Surviving Cancer & Winning Grammys with Carla Patullo 30:42

6M ago30:42

30:42

#70: Today's guest is Carla Patullo, Grammy-winning songwriter and composer based out of Los Angeles. She has worked on projects such as Maxine on Disney Plus, films like The Ignition, and more recently her personal project and Grammy-winning album, So She Howls. In this episode, we talk about how Carla's career as a songwriter and composer, how sh…

1
Episode 084 - Studio Hybrid's Jack Breen 1:23:32

6M ago1:23:32

1:23:32

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 84 where I speak with Jack Breen. In this episode we talk about their game Giga Sword, how they got into making games, their favorite games, what they enjoy about gaming, their life outside of games, and a few lighting round questions. Before we get started, don't forget there are links in the episod…

1
The Myth of Overnight Success with Aaron Cherof 41:32

7M ago41:32

41:32

#69: Today's guest is Aaron Cherof, a composer based in Seattle. He has been composing for indie games for well over a decade and has most recently worked on two games that have become huge hits, such as Cobalt Core and Minecraft. In this episode, we talk about how Aaron has spent 15 years as a composer before he was able to go full-time. We also t…

1
Episode 083 - Raymond Cripps, Project Feline developer 1:14:35

7M ago1:14:35

1:14:35

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 83 where I speak with Raymond Cripps, developer of Project Feline. In this episode we talk about how they got into game making, games they enjoy the most, a game they feel doesn't get enough credit, their life outside of gaming, and words of wisdom. We also run through 3 amusing lightning round quest…

1
Episode 082 - Strange Scaffold's Xalavier Nelson Jr. 1:06:14

7M ago1:06:14

1:06:14

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 82 where I speak with Xalavier Nelson Jr, where we talk about who they are and what they enjoy doing outside of games, how they got into the industry and wisdom they can share from their experiences, their favorite and perfect games, and some wild lightning round questions. Before we get started, don…

1
Episode 081 - The ever-versatile Jared R Bair 1:26:42

8M ago1:26:42

1:26:42

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 81 where I speak with Jared R Bair. In this episode we talk about who they are, the upcoming 100 Acre Woods and how it got started, content creation and the state of the industry, wisdom learned from his experiences, words of reassurance to the Pooh fans, what made them want to make games, life outsi…

1
Episode 080 - Conversation with Sound Designer Emily Meo 1:03:17

8M ago1:03:17

1:03:17

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 80 where I speak with Emily Meo. In this episode we talk about how she got into the industry and some words of wisdom from her experiences, the games that made her want to make games, her favorite games, and what makes gaming enjoyable to them. We also talk about her hobbies outside of gaming, and he…

1
How to Build a Composing Career with Zach Heyde 43:48

8M ago43:48

43:48

#68: Today's guest is Zach Heyde, a composer based out of Los Angeles. He has worked on a ton of different projects with clients like Disney, Dreamworks, Roblox, and many others. He also runs an online course called "The Composing Career Bootcamp" where he teaches composers how to build a full-time career. In this episode, Zach and I talk about the…

1
Episode 079 - Conversation Bungie Sr. Concept Artist Janice Chu! 53:25

9M ago53:25

53:25

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 79 where I speak with Janice Chu. In this episode we speak about how she got into the industry and some words of wisdom learned from her experiences; the games that made her want to get into the industry; her favorite games, and how she has enjoyed gaming with her family and friends. We also discuss …

1
How to Thrive in Game Audio (Even after Countless Rejections) with Kian How 46:33

9M ago46:33

46:33

#67: Today's guest is Kian How, a composer, sound designer, and music performer based out of Shanghai, China. Kian has worked on a ton of different projects, such as games like Spec Ops The Line, Dishonored, and Marvel: Heroes Unite. He has also worked with clients such as Huawei and is also a player of the Egyptian oud, which is similar to a lute.…

1
Episode 078 - Conversation with Tomas Guinan - Game dev at Spoony Bard Productions 1:07:17

9M ago1:07:17

1:07:17

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 78 where I speakwith Tomas Guy-nan. In this episode we talk about the usual like how he gotinto the industry, words of wisdom based on hisexperiences, the games that made them want to make games, what makes gamingenjoyable, and their current comfort games. As well as a bunch of NES centricthings such…

1
How to Stand Out as a Composer with James Landino 32:02

9M ago32:02

32:02

#66: Today's guest is James Landino, a composer and DJ based out of Tokyo, Japan. He has worked on a variety of projects including Battlegrounds Mobile, No Straight Roads, Tower of God, Roblox, and many, many others. In this episode, we talk about how James developed his iconic electronic music style, what upcoming composers can do to stand out in …

1
Episode 76 - Conversation with Osama Dorias - Lead gameplay designer at Brass Lion Entertainment 1:09:53

9M ago1:09:53

1:09:53

0:00 Intro 15:30 Words of wisdom from their experiences 37:30 Games that made him get into the industry 50:00 Games that don't get enough credit 57:00 Life outside of games 1:01:30 Wrap up Check Osama out on Twitter at https://twitter.com/osamadorias To see more of what Osama has worked on, check them out on Linked In https://ca.linkedin.com/in/osa…

1
Episode 077 - Conversation with Vince Miller - 3D Realms Brand Manager 1:55:57

9M ago1:55:57

1:55:57

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 77 where I speak with Vince Miller, also known as Vince Steel, brand manager at 3D Realms where we talk about the standard questions such as their journey into the industry, words of wisdom from their experiences, the game that made them want to be part of the industry, their favorite trend over the …

1
From the Philippines to Hollywood with Mastering Engineer Jett Galindo 53:10

10M ago53:10

53:10

#65: Today's guest is Jett Galindo, a mixing and mastering engineer and soprano singer based in Los Angeles. She has worked on countless high-profile projects such as the soundtracks for La La Land, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, and has worked with artists such as Pink Floyd, Towa Bird, and countless others. In this episode, we talk about Jett's journe…

1
Teaching the Art of Foley with Bastian Gerner 38:55

10M ago38:55

38:55

#64: Today's guest is Bastian Gerner, a Foley artist based out of Düsseldorf, Germany. He has worked in the film and game industries as a Foley artist for decades and, most recently, worked as a full-time senior Foley artist for Ubisoft. Nowadays, on top of his freelancing business, he also coaches up and coming sound designers on breaking into the…

1
Episode 075 - Conversation with Audi Sorlie & Seth Fulkerson; Making Arzette Jewel of Faramore 1:36:17

10M ago1:36:17

1:36:17

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 75 where I speak with both Audi Sorlie and Seth Fulkerson, who are both working on Arzette The Jewel of Faramore. We talk about the staples such as how both Audi and Seth got into the industry and some words of wisdom they can share, their favorite video games, games that don't get enough credit, and…

1
Creating a Niche of Your Own with Myuu 33:12

11M ago33:12

33:12

#63: Today's guest is Nicolas Gasparini, also known as Myuu. Nicolas is a long-time pianist and composer who's been uploading dark piano horror music since 2006 and has built a huge following in that time with over 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and another 300,000 subscribers on YouTube. He's also worked on short films and video games and i…

1
Episode 074 - Conversation with Niklas Hallin, creator of Molly Medusa Queen of Spit 1:11:32

11M ago1:11:32

1:11:32

Hey Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 74 where I speak with Niklas Hallin, creator of Yono and the Celestial Elephants and Molly Medusa Queen of Spit. We talk about the staples such as how Niklas got into making games, words of wisdom they can share, favorite games, the game that made him want to make games, and what they do outside of g…

1
How to Move to LA (And Succeed) with Joy Ngiaw 36:55

11M ago36:55

36:55

#62: Today's guest is Joy Ngiaw, an award-winning composer based in Los Angeles. Joy has worked on a ton of projects including the animated short Blush, Disney's experimental short series Short Circuit, Cobra Kai, What Remains of Edith Finch, and many others. In this episode, we talk about how she grew up in rural Malaysia, made her way to Shanghai…

1
Episode 073 - Conversation with developer Phillip Woytowitz, currently making Olliefrog Toad Skater 53:20

12M ago53:20

53:20

Hey, Link here, thanks for joining me for episode 73 where I speak with Phillip Woytowitz, also known as Mr.Thee, developer of the upcoming game Olliefrog Toad Skater. We talk about the staples such as Olliefrog Toad Skater, how he got started in the industry and some words of wisdom; The game that made him want to get into development; His favorit…

1
How to Quickly Break In to the Game Industry with ZW Buckley 49:30

12M ago49:30

49:30

#61: Today's guest is ZW Buckley, a musician, producer, and composer based in Seattle writing in a broad variety of genres and styles for a ton of different projects. His work includes writing a pop soundtrack for Barbie: You Can Be A Fashion Designer VR, teaching music production at Point Blank Music School and running the game audio co-op, Plant …

1
Episode 072 - Conversation with SizeFive Games founder Dan Marshall 55:04

12M ago55:04

55:04

Size Five Games. Dan answers the staples like how he got into making games, his childhood favorites, and also talks about how to bully a Valve employee into getting your game onto Steam, the genres that influenced him, and things he enjoys outside of gaming like screwing off to the seaside to relax! Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe and …

1
Episode 071 with Pixel Art Artist Matt Martinez 1:07:28

1y ago1:07:28

1:07:28

In this episode I speak with Pixel Art Artist that has contributed to Vernal Edge and Pseudoregalia, Matt Martinez 0:00 Introductions 7:30 How Matt got started making games and wisdom they can share from their experiences 15:30 The game that made Matt want to work in the industry 21:30 Favorite Games 46:15 Game that doesn't get enough credit 53:30 …

1
Releasing Hit Music (Without a Record Label) with TheFatRat 41:43

1y ago41:43

41:43

#60: Today's guest is Christian Büttner A.K.A. TheFatRat, who is a producer, DJ, and musician based mainly out of Germany. Chris has millions of listeners from all over the world, and has accumulated billions of plays so far. He did this without a major record label, all while giving his music away for free. In this episode, we talk about how he st…

1
Episode 70 Conversation with game programmer Robert N Brown 1:25:47

1y ago1:25:47

1:25:47

In this episode I speak with game director and lead developer on the upcoming Kingpin Reloaded Robert N Brown 0:00 Start 9:30 How and why Robert got into game development 16:00 Words of Wisdom 22:00 Game that made Robert want to make games 39:30 Favorite games and why 56:15 What Robert does outside of Games 01:12:30 Where to find more info about Ro…

1
From Creating Metal Music to Writing for Angry Birds with Henri Sorvali 42:07

1y ago42:07

42:07

#59: Today's guest is Henri Sorvali, a musician and composer based in Finland. He started off his career has a classical and jazz pianist who ended up starting two successful Finnish black metal bands, Moonsorrow and Finntroll. He is also a full-time game composer working in-house at Rovio Entertainment, the company most famously known for The Angr…

1
Episode 069 - Gianni Matragrano, Voice Actor 1:20:42

1y ago1:20:42

1:20:42

Nice In this episode I speak with Gianni Matragrano, voice actor who has contributed to numerous anime titles, video games, and boom shoots 0:00 - Introductions/Who Gianni is and how he got into VA 16:30 - Words of wisdom from experience 26:15 - What Gianni enjoys about games and which games he enjoys 31:15 - Most enjoyed boom shoot 53:15 - What Gi…

1
Creating Sound Particles with Nuno Fonseca 45:27

1y ago45:27

45:27

#58: Today's guest is Nuno Fonseca, founder of the company Sound Particles. Sound Particles started off their journey by making a piece of software with the same name, which allows anyone to create immersive 3D audio. Since their founding, Sound Particles has gone on to be used in countless movies, TV shows, and video games such as Oppenheimer, Ass…

1
Episode 068 - Conversation with 3D Character Artist Rui-Rou Teo 59:00

1y ago59:00

59:00

In this episode I speak with Rui-Rou Teo, 3D Character Artist at Riot Games 0:00 Start 9:00 How Rui got into the industry and words of wisdom from her experiences 15:00 Games that made Rui want to be in the industry 38:00 Favorite Games 45:30 Hobbies outside of gaming 56:00 Where to find Rui and wrapping up Check Rui out on Twitter at https://twitt…

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Akash Thakkar Podcasts

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