What’s your role at FlatPonies?

Sound Designer – I create most of the sound effects: from reward sounds, player-related sounds, prop sounds, ambiences, and a bit of musical elements. Basically everything except the sound track. Through the sound effects I create, I’m responsible for creating a fun, immersive, and responsive world for the player to interact with – making the game world come alive with sound!

What makes a great work environment?

– Kind, respectful colleagues who are happy to engage in conversation!

– A generally good mood and a sense that everyone is contributing to the process – it’s a team effort!

– Flexible work hours and location!

What excites you most about our current project?

Creating sound effects that aren’t rooted in “real life” sounds is always more interesting to me. I can go completely bananas since there’s no expectation for the sounds to sound realistic. This design approach always spawns something interesting, and the whole process is just super fun. It’s like you’re being taken for a ride and you can’t wait to see where the journey takes you. Often, doing the unexpected yields more interesting sounds, in my opinion! Also, I love whenever I get to do some musical elements! I hope to do more music for games in the future!

What’s been the biggest ‘aha’ moment in development so far?

Saving all the sounds you create and compiling them into one big audio library eliminates the need for external sample libraries very quickly. Plus, you automatically keep expanding your own audio library as you work on new sounds. We did this to create a company-wide audio library that we can sync across different computers.

What’s a fun or unexpected fact about you that your teammates might not know about you? 

I’m sure they’ve noticed by now, but I’m a hobby-addict. I swap hobbies every month or so, often picking up new interests and immersing myself in them to an obsessive degree. My most recent ‘thing’ was morse code. I just sat down one afternoon and learned to read and write it. I’m still practicing listening, but I’m having a lot of fun. I think my brain just loves learning new things. 

One time, I found my old Tamagotchi and started carrying it around–brought it into the office and introduced my colleagues to “my son” for a laugh. Unfortunately, he died at age 14 or so. Perhaps it’s time for a revival?

If you could jump back in time, and play your favorite childhood video game, which one would it be and why? OR What’s a gaming moment from your childhood that you’ll never forget?

Honestly, I’m having a hard time choosing, but in general I really like the games that all my friends also play–the sense of a community around a game. Pokémon Yellow, Crystal, Ruby, and Emerald were a cool couple of years–trading and battling with your friends. Counter-Strike: Source was a banger at the after-school club and the net café–all the boys in the computer room just going crazy over this game, peeking at each other’s screens and cheating, hahaha. 

Ape Escape also has a special place in my heart. I used to play it with my sister, sometimes with a bit of help from our dad for the tougher boss battles or when the game got too difficult for us. To this day, I still listen to the soundtrack–it’s a total banger and one of my biggest inspirations of all time!

Tell us about your pony—why is it designed this way?

I often wear my green farmer jacket (though it turned black on the image somehow), and one of my biggest hobbies is messing around with my modular synthesizer system–hence the box with cables and knobs. I play live with it from time to time under the name Needles–come see me play!