PC Gamer has interviewed Alexander Brandon, whom you may know as the composer behind the original Unreal or Deus Ex. The musician, who is also an audio director and voice actor, says he simply can't find a new job in the industry despite his 30+ year career.
"My take on things is: Full-time is far less likely, high-paying full-time is probably more competitive than it's ever been. I've submitted 50 resumes and gotten one interview in the last year", Alexander Brandon told PC Gamer.
The renowned composer, who was laid off from his position at Frost Giant (Stormgate) last year, attributes the difficulty to AI taking over at big studios, who don't want to bother having a full-time, in-house composer. People like Darren Korb at Supergiant, fingerspit at Deconstructeam, or Drew Redman at Sunset Visitor are something of an exception to the rule.
Earlier this month, Brandon hosted a roundtable about the impact of AI in audio production at the Game Developers Conference, in San Francisco. He's part of a Special Interest Group focused on the technology, and wants to raise awareness about the ethical concerns and legal risks surrounding artificial intelligence.
However, he isn't an anti-AI activist, and doesn't believe rejecting the technology is the best course of action. He has even found some success in using AI tools to save time with middleware, research, and documentation.
