In addition to occasional scoring projects, I teach around the subject of technology and sound/music. Incoming students are coming in with an increased focus on pop music production and also gaming.
Nuendo has game audio focused features and I believe it could really take a lead if it incorporated more. I believe there are many approaches to this and I don’t have strong opinions on what approach should be taken. However, if workflows can improved it could make an impact.
I’m new to the subject of game audio myself. I’ve mostly spoken to peers and coworkers who are discussing an interest in more game focused projects from their students. I know I’d love to explore more of that in Nuendo, since it has become a big part of my music production process.
Any thoughts or insights from anyone else?
I think the answer to this question lies in the reasons why Reaper is currently the DAW of choice for sound designers. I know off-hand customization and workflow are the most commonly cited reasons, but that is not in my domain, so I can’t list off specifics.
I know macros are far more extensible in Reaper than Cubendo, and the efficiency of Reaper’s audio editing and rendering workflow is bar none. Game Audio Connect just doesn’t cut it, and it’s a little disconcerting an export feature was the only effort, for years, that was put into game audio and sound design as whole.
Meanwhile, SFX houses, sound design software devs, and middleware devs cater to users of Reaper almost exclusively.
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That’s good to know. I was not aware. I’ve mostly just seen discussions of Reaper within the traditional music production context. With that in mind, it may be an example that Steinberg should really look at.
As it is now, I find myself using Max/MSP in order to explore and prototype interactive musical ideas. That’s not something I imagine Nuendo OR Reaper will ever want to do. I’m curious as to what Steinberg’s goals are in this regard.
Yes Nuendo has to get up to speed on some rendering features, like second pass export, video render to markers and find a way to compete with the way scripting functions in Reaper. Project logical editor is pretty powerful as well but does fall flat in comparison on some aspects. However Nuendo did introduce more than just Audio Connect, as it also have some cool plug ins built in the box related to game design like the randomizer tool, voice designer,etc. I do think the cheaper price to entry with 60$ on Reaper’s side also has contributed to its dominance in the gaming world though. Nuendo is still going to be the best of both worlds for me with its built in mixing functionality (plus atmos) and it does have some amazing editing tools with macro capabilities once you really get under the hood. Not to mention its sequencer power for Midi stuff.