#MeetIronGalaxy - Michael Metz

Ever wonder about the individuals who create those crunchy, delectable sounds when you bonk an enemy in a game? Or maybe you’re curious about how that one silly voice line from that random NPC came to be. There’s so much to consider when it comes to the audio for a game. To better understand Iron Galaxy’s approach, we poked our Audio Manager for the latest edition of #MeetIronGalaxy.

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Iron Galaxy: Hi there. Tell us who you are and what would you do here at Iron Galaxy?

Michael Metz: My name is Michael Metz and I am Iron Galaxy’s Audio Dude! I am in charge of sound design, VO direction and recording, sound for linear cinematics and company videos, as well as audio implementation.  I have been working on audio for games since 2003 and have worked on over 45 titles. A lot of these were during the Wii years and shoveling out lots of children’s games, Go Diego Go!

IG: Wow! What an accomplishment in a specific area of game dev. You’re in charge of a lot to say the least. What’s the most challenging aspect of audio work?

MM: Being in audio in games means wearing many hats. In most other gigs like audio for films, you have a specific audio person for each job. One for sound design, one for mixing, one for voice direction, one for recording foley etc. But in games, for the most part, the audio person needs to be able to do all those things, plus be tech savvy enough to get the sounds working in the games correctly.

IG: Interesting perspective on what audio looks like in various industries. What’s the one skill you learned growing up that you use the most in your role today?

MM: One that comes to mind is studio psychology. Before I got into games, I recorded a lot of my own bands and friend’s bands. Learning to get the best take out of someone, being constructive yet gentle, takes some learning. And this would carry over into getting the best take out of an actor (or co-worker!) when recording VO for games.

IG: A whole other layer to consider in your line of work. What has been your proudest moment as a member of the Iron Galaxy team?

MM: This might seem sort of trivial but I’m proud of how the music turned out for Rumbleverse! Hip hop was the chosen genre, and usually with hip hop you might license a well-known artist for the tracks, like GTA for example. We wanted original music and to give Rumbleverse a brand/theme. I took a chance on a composer named Yoo Soo Kim (who turned out to be from Chicago) and together with team leadership, we came up with a style guide, what instruments we wanted, how the songs should make you feel, etc. It was challenging because we didn’t want it to sound too old or too new. It had to be just right, and I think we ended up nailing it! RIP Rumbleverse (for now)!

IG: How is your specific job unique when compared to other roles in our company.

MM: One way that I think it is unique is you have to work with every department and touch almost all aspects of a game in the development process. You have to know where UI assets live and who is head of UI. You need to know how to open animations and add sounds there, where do VFX live, knowing about level art and what surface types you may need for certain sounds, or working with design on VO or level progression sounds. Working with programmers to set up mechanics or work on audio performance issues. You really get your hands dirty and have to be good at spinning a lot of plates.  Also, sometimes you get a unique office!

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IG: If you could give someone who wanted to follow in your career’s footsteps one piece of advice, what would it be?

MM: Learn the tech! In the old days you could just be an “artist” and as long as you knew your way around a computer, you were all good. Now I see a lot of job openings looking for a “Technical Sound Designer.” You need to be able to build systems inside of Unreal, for example.

IG: Tell us the best thing about working at a video game development company?

MM: Obviously the creative aspect for me, getting to bring things to life that didn’t exist before is huge. I also have been lucky enough to work on all sorts of different types of games and different IP’s. Getting to switch it up every few years keeps it fresh!

IG: What’s your favorite perk associated with your job?

MM: The audio room and having access to quality gear!

IG: What’s something about game audio that a casual gamer may not think about but appreciate when it’s brought to their attention?

MM: How a sound makes you feel. A lot of times I will have a designer come to me and be like I want this pick-up sound to sound just like this, and then they will play a very lo-fi 8-bit sound from a game they played when they were 17 in 1999. Now if the game is not some sort of retro game, I know they don’t actually want a sound of the same quality, they want a sound that makes them feel the same way that sound made them feel, like maybe the pickup sound was so satisfying and made their brain felt rewarded. That’s what they want, the same feeling.

IG: The heart coins in Rumbleverse come to mind for a sound that brought joy to our dev team’s ears. We can’t wait to share your latest efforts next! How has audio evolved within games over the past 20 years?

MM: There used to be so many restrictions on memory and how many sounds you could play. In the early PS2 days almost all the in-memory sounds were 22k mono. We would do a whole game with under 2megs of in-memory audio. There are still performance restrictions obviously but nothing like 20 years ago!

IG: Memory restrictions are an interesting factor to consider during game development. What were your favorite bits of fiction to write for Rumbleverse?

MM: I wouldn’t say favorite but the most interesting was when I was tasked to come up with the basic plot points for the main characters. I had never done anything like that and it wasn’t easy! You would find yourself saying “well if his motive is this than that other thing doesn’t make sense and that contradicts with his other motive!” or whatever it was. It gets tricky to piece it all together. In the end I don’t think any of my original plot points were used, but they did serve as a jumping point! Some of my highlights for the fiction team were that I came up with the name Skip Leggerday and the island name Low Key Key.

IG: Memorable names that helped shape the game! What town do you call home?

MM: Belvidere IL. Biggest county fair in the tri-state area and that’s about it.

IG: What’s a favorite hobby of yours?

MM: I love seeing live music, playing music, watching films, eating at new restaurants and cooking. Cooking has been my biggest passion over the last few years. I am always searching for something new to cook. I love exploring different cuisines from around the world as well as just making something like a meatball sandwich from scratch. I also love a good grocery store with a lot of options. There is a local chain in Chicago called Angelo Caputo’s that always gets me excited when I have the chance to shop there. They have a lot of stuff other grocers don’t carry like fish heads and animal bones for making home made stocks.

IG: Chef Mike, will you share your pasta carbonara recipe with us?

MM: Sure, how about a video demonstration?

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IG: We are all now hungry and have had our fill of humor. What’s something you have always wanted to create?

MM: I haven’t figured it out yet, but I want to create a game that is part battle royale and part sketch comedy. A game that somehow feels like a I Think You Should Leave Now skit but only lasts 15 minutes.

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IG: You may be onto something. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

MM: Oh man, I like this question better if it would be what would you eat on your deathbed.

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IG: PAUSE. What would you eat on your deathbed?

MM: I am pretty sure I would just go with an Italian beef. I had Portillos catered for my wedding two years ago. We even had a cheese fountain.

IG: Our hearts are burning in the best and worst way. A belated congratulations on getting married. What is your favorite destination that you’ve visited?

MM: When I was 22 (1998?) I got a Euro Rail pass and traveled Europe for 3 weeks by myself. No cell phone, just a guidebook recommended by Rick Steves. I went to a bunch of different countries and met all sorts of people staying in hostiles.

IG: The classic American euro trip. What is one place that you hope to see one day?

MM: Any place that has Lava. I would really like to see some Lava before I die. Not a huge deal, but it would be nice.

IG: What is your favorite book or series?

MM: Not necessarily a series but always been a big fan of Steinbeck. I think by now I have read most of them.

IG: What was the last concert you saw?

MM: Vampire Weekend. I was not a super fan or anything, but man after seeing them live it made me realize what virtuosos those guys are. Everyone in the band has chops. Also, Maya Rudolph opened for them as a surprise guest which was cool! The price of two beers at that Northerly Island show? $40!

IG: We hope your thirst was quenched. If you could pick a song to play every time you entered the room, what would it be?

MM: I think the theme from the old tv show Taxi would be pretty cool.

IG: Queue the slow head bob. Amazing choice. Name a scene from a movie that makes you cry, every time…

MM: I hadn’t seen it since like 2013, but recently I made my wife watch Beasts of the Southern Wild and I would say that at least the last quarter of that movie we were both sobbing like little babies. Like literal snot and drool, the whole nine yards.

IG: You’ve revealed exactly why you’ve put off watching the movie for so long. The occasional cry is great for the soul. What movie have you seen the most times?

MM: Probably Groundhogs Day. It was filmed near my hometown (I was 16) and an acquaintance had a cousin working on the set. So, we got to go on set and Bill Murry jokingly kicked me in my butt. Caddyshack was one of my favorite movies then, so it was a big moment for me! Also got to say hi to Harold Ramis and Andi McDowell politely smiled at me.

IG: Wow what a memory that’ll last forever. If you had one wish, what would you wish for?

MM: Ever since I was a little boy, I heard on TV someone wish for world peace. I have wasted all of my birthday wishes on that till this day (oh shoot, I guess I am not supposed to say that out loud).

IG: Keep optimism, they weren’t a waste! If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would you invite?

MM: I think a fun table would be Jesus, Elvis, and Ozzy. Which is also coincidentally the three names I picked for my kids, but my ex-wife did not go for any of them.

IG: Covering a lot of bases there. Which historical figure would you want to show the modern world? What do you think they’d say?

MM: I always fantasize about what if Beethoven could hear modern day music.  Would he be like “oh, you only need a handful of chords that just repeat to make a good song? Bob Dylan doesn’t even have a chorus in this one?” But he would probably just be like “oh, so you all went with folk music then and then added electricity, nice.”

We may never know his thoughts, but that guess is probably a really good one. Thanks for etching out the time in your busy schedule to speak with us. We’re thankful for each interview we get to have with the individuals who make up Iron Galaxy Studios. We appreciate the invite into your audio world and for your perspectives on player, developer, and voice actor psychology.

Read about our people in our #MeetIronGalaxy interview series. Stay up-to-date with all official IGS news here or across our social media channels.