Jobs in Games: Usiku Games’ Rolex Oduor on how to get a career as a sound designer

Behind every game is a team of creative developers making it happen. In our Jobs in Games series, we highlight some of the individuals working in the games industry, whether they are veteran developers with big hits under their belts or entirely new to the industry.

We ask how they broke into the sector and their advice for others on making a career in games.

In this interview, we catch up with Usiku Games’ sound designer Rolex Oduor to discuss his entry into games, alternative career paths, and advice for people looking to break into the industry.

Pocketgamer.biz: Tell us a little bit about yourself? How did you initially get into the games industry? 

Rolex Oduor: I’m a sound designer based in Nairobi, Kenya. I work as a sound designer at Usiku Games. I actually stumbled into game development or the industry as a whole. I was watching a documentary on game development and film production on YouTube.

Although I’m unable to recall the title of the documentary, it had a section about audio post-production for film and sound implementation in games. I found that interesting and started doing research on it to give it a try. 

How did you land the role of sound designer at Usiku Games? 

It’s actually an interesting story. One afternoon I was at home watching a news segment on TV and they were discussing games in Kenya.

On the panel was Usiku Games’ CEO Jay Shapiro. I reached out to him a few hours after the show had ended and sent him some of my sound design demo reels. He liked them and here we are. 

What’s your day-to-day like at the company? Do you have a go-to ritual before stepping into the office? 

We usually have daily stand-ups to give updates and discuss projects we are working on, this happens in the morning hours. After this we set off to our work stations where each person gets to work on projects assigned to them.

I’m not sure if trying to find trending topics/news on social media would count as a go-to ritual or habit, but I find myself perusing sites every morning before going jumping into work.

Why a career in games? And if not games what would you have been doing? 

The industry offers an opportunity to be creative and I think game development has no limits. You can always bring your wildest ideas to life. Gaming also gives you the opportunity to turn a hobby into a career.

If I was not in sound design for video games I would probably be doing audio post-production in films or TV. I also have experience as a music producer but it’s been years since I worked on a music project as I’ve transitioned to sound designing full-time.

What’s been your most memorable, funny or unexpected experience you’ve had while working on a game?

One of the most memorable projects we worked on is Mission 55 Conflict in Anaka. The game was developed by PAGG, African Union, and GIZ.

It’s aimed at educating the youth on the mandate of the African Union to promote good governance and peace in Africa by targeting youths in war zones and conflict areas. While working on this project I was amazed that we could use games to demonstrate various ways on conflict resolution and crisis management. 

Has there been any particularly big highlight of something you’re most proud of so far in your career? 

I’m most proud of Electric Blue: Gecko Dash, a mobile game for which I did the sound design. The development was a collaboration between Kayfo studios in Senegal and Usiku Games, both members of the Pan AfricanGaming Group,an association that represents top video games studios in Africa. 

Since its launch in February 2024 Electric Blue Gecko Dash has over 500,000 downloads so far on Play store and has been featured by Apple as Game of the Day in countries across Europe, India and Kenya. 

What challenges are there in designing sound for a mobile game? And how does it differ from other audio design work you’ve done in the past? 

One major challenge is that sound performance can vary widely across high-end and budget smartphone devices, so it’s usually advisable to test across multiple devices to ensure consistent quality of sound.

RAM is usually a challenge too as most of it gets consumed by the operating system and other apps so you will most likely have to compress the audio file sample rate. If not done carefully it could degrade the quality of the audio to some extent, affecting the quality and experience of the overall gameplay. 

If you could play one video game forever, what game would it be and why?

I would pick Shadow Fight 4. There’s something about its immersive and ambient gameplay sounds and music that captivates and draws me into it more than any other game I’ve played before. I also find the fights intense, engaging and fun. 

Do you have any advice for people pursuing a career in sound design? As well as any advice for those laid off/struggling with work? 

For those wanting to work as a sound designer, I’ll advise you to get a digital audio workstation (DAW) that you are most comfortable with and master its ins and outs. Never be afraid to experiment with plugins, just tweak it and create, it will sound different. Also, find out what form of sound design you want to do.

You could be a film and television sound designer, game sound designer, or even an interactive media sound designer.

Passion can go a long way. I think it gets you going and will eventually set you apart from the crowd. For those laid off or struggling with work, just keep on pushing. I hope and pray it eventually works out for you.

What are you working on right now? Are there any upcoming projects you’re particularly excited about?

We are working on a number of projects but I’m most excited about a rhythm game we are building. I think it will be a huge success and I’m looking forward to sharing it with the world in due time.