Transcript
The following questions were excerpted from the Gametalk message board during Gary's week "on call".

Question: (r/s)
"I understand why the industry started moving away from MIDI based music a few years back. The digital music allowed for the true sound that the composers intended, better quality at the time, etc. But now, with the proliferation of some very good wave-table boards, do you think there's gonna be another shift back to MIDI based scores? Not that I have a preference, although I'd assume that a digital score would chew up a few more CPU cycles, wouldn't it?"

Gary's Answer:
"I think there will be some games going back to *shudder* MIDI, especially with the big push from the Borg to use DirectMusic, but there's a fatal flaw in this logic. Played on a minimum requirement wavetable board. That means a limited sound set and minimal effects. This is something that may be able to be sacrificed in arcade style games, but for anything larger or more dramatic I find it unacceptable. As CPU speeds increase exponentially, I can only see actual digital wavefiles becoming more prominent. I insist on them in the first design sessions. Just keep repeating 'MIDI is bad' to your producer until they're willing to capitulate."

Question: (Reven)
"I happen to like CD audio. It's universally compatible, is in the best-sounding format, and it doesn't require hardly any CPU cycles to play. It's the best you can get, why would we want to move back to an out-dated format? That's like asking us to trade in our color tvs for black and white."

Gary's Answer:
"Redbook is a problem because of it's very nature. In order to do redbook, you have to tie up the CD-ROM indefinitely. That means all the rest of your game data must be pre-loaded or stored on your hard drive (read: 255Mb install). Streaming is the better option. With streaming, your only limitation is the speed of the CD-Rom. With a 4X CD-Rom, you can pull down 1 second of audio in 1/4 second, leaving 3/4 of a second for other data. It still takes CPU to chew on that wave data, though. While streaming IS the better audio option, it does have it's price."

Question: (JD)
"I remember seeing a question on the Half Life bulletin board recently, asking if games would start using the MP3 format. No one really knew enough to answer it at the time, so I am wondering if you could."

Gary's Answer:
"We're all looking into MP3 with awe and excitement. We here at Sierra love the sound and are pleased this compression scheme is universal enought that we just might be able to use it."

Question: (Joe Jaquette)
"When you write music for a game, does the designer say he wants music that feels a certain way, or do you compose something and then go ask for his opinion?"

Gary's Answer:
"The designer always comes in with an opinion of what they want the music to sound like. Often, your designer is not a musician, thus you're left to interpret the random hummings and vague descriptions you're given. I take all these musings under advisement and treat them like parameters, then I go write whatever I want, keeping those parameters in mind. Sometimes I think the designer doesn't have a clear course, so I'll write what I feel is right, then sync it up to video and prove my point. Know your designer, though. Some megalomaniacs don't care how it was done, as long as it was donr their way. A good political tongue can help you get the right music in sometimes."

Question: (Dyslextic)
"Well my sound question is simple or so I think. What do you think are the best sound cards out o nthe market. Since your a sound designer, I figure you probably have some godo ideas on this, espically features you think are important for sound cards to have"

Gary's Answer:
"YOu know, it's funny, but I don't give them much thought. As a composer, my commercial grade sound cards (Event Gina and Audiomedia III) are required for composition, but I also use a good old soundblaster for reference. As a minimum platform, I have to think at all times, "How would this sound on a Sound Blaster?" Even the big studios use cheap stereos and TV speakers for reference. In short, sorry. I don't know. Just make for bloody sure the bugger's drivers are DirectX Compatible. My Gina's aren't. Makes it irritating as Hell."

Question: (Joe Jaquette)
"What is good for a composer's setup? What sound card, synthesizer/MIDI keyboard, software should I look into? This is assuming that you work on a PC. Thanks"

Gary's Answer:
"Actually, I compose on a MAC. I fing the PC very irritating to configure. (IRQ set to F3? What the smeg? I write music!) I use digital performer with a Protools Project system driving a Roland XP-50. The XP-50 is the warhorse. Thing's got photorealistic orchestral sounds. I also supplement that with a Korg 03/Rw and a soundcanvas"

Question: (Emptyhead)
"I have had a long time dream of composing music for a video games, but cannot find a single posting for "musician wanted", "composer needed", etc. I'm curious...is there some #$@#! computer somewhere that writes all the music for video games and developers just access the machine with their super-duper secret access code and presto-wando a soundtrack spits out for their video game? I produce some very fine tunes, but am having trouble finding out where I can solicit my work...be a sport and lend me a hand...I'll let you have my first born for the favor."

Gary's Answer:
"I realize I'm about to disappoint you, but this kind of job you don't pursue. You fall backwards into it. I got this one because I was in a band with the lead programmer of another game. My advice is to go work. Do whatever. Do music. Let the wind carry you wherever the hell it wants to, and keep your eye open for places to land. I assure you, you'll land several places before you take root. Sorry, but that's the way the music business works."