A delegation of some of Australia’s top game composers and sound designers, as well as emerging local talent, have recently returned from the renowned Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, where they explored career opportunities and developed new global networks in the rapidly expanding industry.

Supported to attend the Conference via strategic investment from the Australia Council for the Arts, the six artists spent five days meeting some of the world’s leading game development companies and engaging with international audio professionals within the industry.

Among the local composers who attended was Narayana Johnson (River Boy) who has earned a cult following as audio director for Massive Monster’s smash hit ‘Cult of the Lamb’, which sold 1 million copies in its first week and won Game of the Year (2022) at the Australian Game Developer Awards.

“I had an amazing time at GDC. I was lucky enough to connect with a bunch of composers and developers I respect greatly. Composing can often be very isolating so I think it’s important to meet others in the industry. I’ve been keeping in touch and feel like I’ve planted seeds to some great new connections/relationships,” he said.

The other artists who were part of the Australia Council’s delegation to the GDC were Angela Little, Fuligin Sound (Byron J Scullin and Mark Mitchell) who created the sound for ‘Heavenly Bodies’, Brett Leavy, Maize Wallin, and Woodes.