Grad makes the music behind the games
Fanshawe graduate of Music Industry Arts and head of video game music and sound production company, Zygomatic Productions, David Kerr is becoming a central figure in London's game development industry.
Kerr has worked as a composer and sound designer on multimillion dollar projects, like the famed Battlefield series with DICE Canada before it was closed in 2006, and continues to work on games ranging from the triple A to the casual under his Zygomatic moniker.
More recently Kerr took up the reins of Chapter Coordinator of the London chapter of the International Game Developers Association, or IGDA for short. In this week's interview, I had the opportunity to meet with Kerr to find out more about London-based Zygomatic Productions and what plans he has for the IGDA in the city.
Interrobang: What is the scale of Zygomatic Productions?
Kerr: It's pretty much just me. My wife helps out quite a bit, and I have a couple key people I pull in, musicians and stuff like that, but basically it's just me.
Interrobang: Any particular reason Zygomatic Productions primarily works with game developers?
Kerr: It's just what I started in. Trying to get into the TV industry is really tough. You just kinda get into something and stick with it. I do enjoy it quite a bit. TV's very linear, and I like the none linearity of video games.
Interrobang: How did Zygomatic Productions get started?
Kerr: Just out of necessity I guess. You know, people asking me to do contract projects, so I just went and registered the business. You know, need a name, and started promoting and get the website going and stuff.
Interrobang: What's the significance of the name?
Kerr: The name, actually my wife came up with that. There's a muscle in your face called the zygomaticus or something, and it's only triggered when you truly smile. When you see those fake smiles on people, they're not using their zygomatic muscle. So, that's where it stems from.
Interrobang: What do you hope for in the future for Zygomatic Productions?
Kerr: We're dabbling in the music game and sound game genre, and I do work with a couple programmers on little iPhone games and stuff like that. Just trying to get more sound games, instead of just using sound for the background, bringing it more to the forefront. I do think there is a bit of a market there for it, plus I also design games. I have a unique ability to do both music composition and game design, so, I figured I'd put it to use.
Interrobang: How much do you talk to game developers in town?
Kerr: I talk to all of them, quite closely. I'm good friends with all the owners and everything. I don't think there is a company in town I don't know.
Interrobang: How is it helpful?
Kerr: It's good to get a bigger picture of what's going on in London, where the needs are. Obviously in order to eat I gotta have multiple clients, but at the same time I think I have a unique perspective because I do know all these companies, and you know, like starting up the IGDA and stuff like that, I can give people a common ground for all the different employees to come together and meet. So I have a unique perspective on the business compared to a lot of people in the industry.
Interrobang: What is the purpose of the London chapter of the IGDA, and what plans do you have for it?
Kerr: The purpose really is just to get people talking, to get people to learn from each other from different companies, to think of things as more of a career. Companies come and go all the time and it's nice for everybody to have contacts, to give people a community. [The IGDA can] give people a place to meet friends that they don't necessarily work directly with. A place for people the City as a formal entity, to try to get more funding, to establish a more legitimate community basically.
Interrobang: What advantages does London have over other gaming development hubs in Ontario and Canada?
Kerr: London's kind of an oddity that we have such an amount of developers here. If you look at Toronto, per capita, London has far more people in the industry. It's just kind of a freak accident I think. I think right now we do have the presence. It's pretty hard to create a presence where there isn't one, so we have a good starting point.
David Kerr recently headed up the first official London chapter IGDA meeting. Game developers from across the city showed up for the social event in what Kerr hopes will continue to grow and strengthen the game development community in London. My thanks to David Kerr for the interview. Next week, Dylan De Coning of London's Ponder Games and its environmentally conscience game, Pufu's Spiral.
Kerr has worked as a composer and sound designer on multimillion dollar projects, like the famed Battlefield series with DICE Canada before it was closed in 2006, and continues to work on games ranging from the triple A to the casual under his Zygomatic moniker.
More recently Kerr took up the reins of Chapter Coordinator of the London chapter of the International Game Developers Association, or IGDA for short. In this week's interview, I had the opportunity to meet with Kerr to find out more about London-based Zygomatic Productions and what plans he has for the IGDA in the city.
Interrobang: What is the scale of Zygomatic Productions?
Kerr: It's pretty much just me. My wife helps out quite a bit, and I have a couple key people I pull in, musicians and stuff like that, but basically it's just me.
Interrobang: Any particular reason Zygomatic Productions primarily works with game developers?
Kerr: It's just what I started in. Trying to get into the TV industry is really tough. You just kinda get into something and stick with it. I do enjoy it quite a bit. TV's very linear, and I like the none linearity of video games.
Interrobang: How did Zygomatic Productions get started?
Kerr: Just out of necessity I guess. You know, people asking me to do contract projects, so I just went and registered the business. You know, need a name, and started promoting and get the website going and stuff.
Interrobang: What's the significance of the name?
Kerr: The name, actually my wife came up with that. There's a muscle in your face called the zygomaticus or something, and it's only triggered when you truly smile. When you see those fake smiles on people, they're not using their zygomatic muscle. So, that's where it stems from.
Interrobang: What do you hope for in the future for Zygomatic Productions?
Kerr: We're dabbling in the music game and sound game genre, and I do work with a couple programmers on little iPhone games and stuff like that. Just trying to get more sound games, instead of just using sound for the background, bringing it more to the forefront. I do think there is a bit of a market there for it, plus I also design games. I have a unique ability to do both music composition and game design, so, I figured I'd put it to use.
Interrobang: How much do you talk to game developers in town?
Kerr: I talk to all of them, quite closely. I'm good friends with all the owners and everything. I don't think there is a company in town I don't know.
Interrobang: How is it helpful?
Kerr: It's good to get a bigger picture of what's going on in London, where the needs are. Obviously in order to eat I gotta have multiple clients, but at the same time I think I have a unique perspective because I do know all these companies, and you know, like starting up the IGDA and stuff like that, I can give people a common ground for all the different employees to come together and meet. So I have a unique perspective on the business compared to a lot of people in the industry.
Interrobang: What is the purpose of the London chapter of the IGDA, and what plans do you have for it?
Kerr: The purpose really is just to get people talking, to get people to learn from each other from different companies, to think of things as more of a career. Companies come and go all the time and it's nice for everybody to have contacts, to give people a community. [The IGDA can] give people a place to meet friends that they don't necessarily work directly with. A place for people the City as a formal entity, to try to get more funding, to establish a more legitimate community basically.
Interrobang: What advantages does London have over other gaming development hubs in Ontario and Canada?
Kerr: London's kind of an oddity that we have such an amount of developers here. If you look at Toronto, per capita, London has far more people in the industry. It's just kind of a freak accident I think. I think right now we do have the presence. It's pretty hard to create a presence where there isn't one, so we have a good starting point.
David Kerr recently headed up the first official London chapter IGDA meeting. Game developers from across the city showed up for the social event in what Kerr hopes will continue to grow and strengthen the game development community in London. My thanks to David Kerr for the interview. Next week, Dylan De Coning of London's Ponder Games and its environmentally conscience game, Pufu's Spiral.
