Bonus Feature: Managing Your Audio Projects -- And Bowing Out Gracefully

In Gamasutra's continuing series of new, discipline-targeted bonus features, LucasArts' Jesse Harlin discusses "surviving the overflow," looking at surviving the perils of too much freelance audio work in the game industry. Those who work freelance know that work doesn't come when it's needed -- just as there are times when there are too few jobs, there are others when there are far too many to complete. Harlin here offers advice on dealing with that disappointing situation. Says Harlin, "Few things in the game industry are more stressful than juggling multiple creative projects simultaneously. Unfortunately for freelancers, it's an all too common occurrence and a risk that comes from successful networking." "This flood of overlapping work can seem insurmountable at times. Thankfully, two different lifejackets exist to help content creators stay afloat and survive the overflow." The benefits of using ghostwriters -- or operating as one -- may be outweighed by the potential pitfalls, warns Harlin. "Some contractors hire ghostwriters as a matter of survival and regard crediting their ghostwriters as a potential threat to their professional personas. Even in these situations, permission to list the game on resumes, demos, or web sites may be given in lieu of actual in-game credit." The obvious alternative is to leave a project before signing the contract, but Harlin again warns: "Declining a gig can be a treacherous professional hazard." You can find out the finer details that will help you handle these treacherous situations in the full Gamasutra-reprinted feature. [Title photo by Jan Ramroth, used under Creative Commons license.]