Lyndsay Mohr, a senior in the Department of Media and Information majoring in Games and Interactive Media, was one of the just five students from the U.S. and Canada to receive a guild scholarship this year from the Game Audio Network Guild. The honor allowed her to attend GameSoundCon 2023, a national video game audio conference, in Burbank, California.
“It was a fantastic time,” Mohr said. “I got to meet a lot of really cool, supportive people in the industry and hear their experiences. I learned a lot of good, pertinent information for things I’m doing now and hopefully continue to do in the future.”
As a Games and Interactive Media major, Mohr focuses on audio composition. She’s created sound effects for everything from sports like badminton and snowboarding to educational virtual reality (VR) games. She views her job as crafting an aesthetic that enhances a storyline.
“Right now we’re working on a VR game called Happy Trails,” Mohr explains. “It’s about a gunslinging, cocktail-making cowboy. I’ve put in various sound effects. (You hear) the gun shooting, the bullet hits a liquor bottle, and then you hear the liquor bottle shatter and then the liquid goes into the cup to be served up to the customer. And then of course, you hear the music in the background the whole time.”
Mohr has also delved into more serious projects during her time at MSU. Earlier this year, she undertook an internship with the Games for Entertainment and Learning Lab (GEL). There, Mohr worked on a team to design real-world game applications.
“We worked on educational games for kids in Africa who might developmentally be a little bit behind,” she explained. “We also did a project called Stoma VR, which is for speech-language pathologists (SLP) to be able to get a little bit more hands on with laryngectomy and tracheostomy patients.”
At GameSoundCon 2023, Mohr was paired up with a mentor who helped her get the most out of her networking experience. Her scholarship also includes a one-year membership to the Game Audio Network Guild. Mohr says she now has a “whole network of resources” to help shape her career path.
That’s important, Mohr says, in such a fast-moving industry.
“I’ll definitely be keeping that in my back pocket when I’m graduating and hopefully finding a job.”
By Kevin Lavery