Sound or music is an important feature of any game. But music is more difficult to compose compared to other art forms. Not anyone with music instruments can compose music. You need a professional composer to compose music for you. Games has different requirement of sounds like background music, action sounds, cinematic audio and character sounds. It’s almost impossible to get all these music as royalty free. In this post we will see how and where to fire good music composers or sound designers for your game.
Difference between a music composer and a video game sound designer
The difference can be understood by the contextual use of the words sound and music. Generally anything that defines the noises around us are called sounds. Whereas music is created or composed to represent a mood or emotion. In video games, most of your audio requirements are sounds like wind flow, bullet fire, screaming, punching or kicking sound etc. Music requirement comes only during a cutscene which is mostly overlooked with dialogues or actions.
The other major difference is the type of instruments they use. Music composers use traditional instruments like piano, violin etc. Sound designers use instruments that create noise like Street Percussion, Cinematic guitars etc. Sound designers also use virtual instruments to create the required sounds.
Music composers are highly paid compared to sound designers. So, it’s better to go with sound designers for your game.
Hirring a sound designer vs using Royalty free sounds
Royalty free sounds are awesome if you are making a simple game. You might be able to get all the sounds required with some tweaks. But if you are making a large game with multiple sound requirement you will just be wasting your time searching for free music to match your requirement.
Alternatively, hiring a sound designer will save you a lot of time and you need not compromise on your requirements. Just tell the sound designer your requirement and leave it to them to make the required sound. Royalty free music as different license requirements, you should check them out before using it.
Where to hire Sound designers
There are multiple platforms and Facebook groups to hire sound designers. I will suggest you go with a freelance platform as you will be able to see the reviews given by other users. Personally, I use Fiverr for my games and has been great till now. Check out our post on hiring game developers if you are looking to hire a sound designer as a part of complete package.
Why you should go with Fiverr
- Lots of options.
- You can browse for gigs like an ecommerce store.
- Talk to multiple designers before placing the order.
- Some gigs offer money back policy.
- Gig specific reviews are available.
Average cost to hire sound designers on Fiverr
| Type of Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Sound effects | $5-$50 |
| Music for games | $30-150 |
| Dialogue sounds | $10-$100 |
| VR sounds for games | $100-$300 |