Sound Design, Composition, Implementation
From MMOs to First Person Shooters, weapons to ambience, guns to stones, creatures to vehicles, if it makes a sound I want to bring it to life.
Employment History
Id Software - 3/2018 - Present
Senior Sound Designer: Doom Eternal - As Senior Sound Designer, I am responsible for all manner of sound design and implementation across our titles. Being such a small team (four people) on projects of this scope means we all do a bit of everything. Weapon design, creature design, ambience, VO processing, cinematics, mixing, etc. All sounds implemented using Wwise and Id Software’s proprietary idTech engine.
Visceral Games - 9/2017 - 10/2017
Audio Artist: Cancelled Star Wars Project - As Audio Artist at Visceral Games, I was considered a “Level Owner” so I was responsible for all audio (other than VO and Music) within the levels assigned to me. I designed sound effects and processes and implemented them utilizing EA’s proprietary Frostbite engine.
Obsidian Entertainment - 2/2016 - 2/2017
Sound Designer: Armored Warfare - As a Sound Designer at Obsidian Entertainment, I was responsible for designing, implementing (utilizing Fmod and CryEngine), optimizing, and maintaining all audio on the Armored Warfare project except for music.
Carbine Studios - 3/2010 to 2/2016
Sound Designer: Wildstar (12/2012 - 2/2016) - As Sound Designer, I was responsible for design and integration (utilizing Wwise and Carbine’s proprietary engine) of original audio assets for Wildstar both in game and in other media/marketing. I was responsible for designing and implementing spell and ability audio in the game for player classes, mobs, and quest specific spells. I was also responsible for designing and implementing ambient environmental audio throughout the game. I conceived, designed, and implemented our combat impact system utilizing the Wwise SoundSeed Impact plugin and spearheaded the overhaul of our cinematics system to give us better flexibility when mixing cinematics. I also composed numerous pieces of music used throughout the game. In addition to all of that, I optimized and mixed the entire Wwise project of well over 100,000 sounds.
Associate Sound Designer (5/2012 - 12/2012) - As an Associate Sound Designer, I took on basic sound design tasks, creating and implementing audio assets for use in game.
Audio Integration Manager (8/2011 - 5/2012) - As Audio Integration Manager, I was responsible for creating new audio assets, connecting audio assets to the game engine, fixing audio bugs, and maintaining the audio department’s task queues and scheduling. My responsibilities were equal parts implementation, production, and project management.
QA Lead (12/2010 - 8/2011) - As QA Lead, my responsibilities were to manage, schedule, grow the QA team both in numbers and in quality, and oversee all aspects of the department. I was responsible for the interview and hiring process of all QA candidates and was also responsible for any disciplinary action needed in the department. I provided supervision, technical assistance, and training to the QA Staff. I was a Jira Administrator responsible for maintaining the bug/task database. I worked closely with all departments to ensure quality studio interaction within our studio, with other NC Soft studios, and with the public.
Senior QA Tester (7/2010 - 12/2010) - As Senior QA Tester, my responsibilities were to lead one of the 2 QA focus teams in testing our Live and Staging builds. Any build that would be seen by someone outside of the studio went through my team. Acted as a liaison between QA and all other departments and performed basic scheduling and project management type tasks.
QA Tester (3/2010 - 7/2010) - As QA Tester, my responsibilities included working in a team environment at finding and accurately documenting bugs in an MMO title. My responsibilities included, but were not limited to: Smoke testing each build, exploratory testing, executing test cases and test plans, accurately documenting bugs in the bug database, regressing the known bugs when new builds arrive, and testing online network stability.
Sony Online Entertainment - 5/2007 - 3/2010
Apprentice Sound Designer: Everquest and Everquest II (3/2009 - 3/2010) - The Apprentice Sound Designer position was responsible for creating and implementing all aspects of sound inside the game world (excluding music). As a sound designer, I shipped 3 titles with Sony Online Entertainment: Everquest – Underfoot (designed environment and NPC/creature audio), Everquest - Veil of Alaris (designed some environment audio) and Everquest II – Sentinel’s Fate expansion (designed all environment audio).
Game Master (5/2007 - 3/2010) - The position of Game Master is responsible for monitoring many aspects of player interaction with a virtual, online world. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: assisting players with issues that may arise from bugs in the game, helping players who are being harassed by other players, monitoring world chat channels, disciplining or warning players who violate the Terms of Service, investigating and building cases against those who violate the Terms of Service, etc. This is a team oriented position that works closely with other team members, the Lead Game Master, and the Head Game Master, constantly communicating and cooperating to bring the best experience possible to the player (Customer). Was Acting Lead GM for all SOE games in the Lead GM’s absence.
Sony Computer Entertainment America - 5/2006 - 2/2007
Game Test Analyst - The Game Test Analyst position is responsible for working in a team environment at finding and accurately documenting software bugs in a video game title. My responsibilities included, but were not limited to: exploratory testing, executing test cases and test plans, accurately documenting bugs in the bug database, regressing the known bugs when new revisions arrive, testing online network stability in a title, and ensuring that the title adheres to the technical standards set forth by SCEA (the Technical Requirements Checklist, or TRC). As a Game Test Analyst I tested the following shipped titles: NBA ’07 (PSP), MLB ’07 The Show (PSP), ATV Offroad Fury Pro (PSP), Home (PS3), and Blast Factor (PS3).
Never stop learning
David Gilbreath is a Sound Designer and Composer with 16 years of video game industry experience shipping titles such as Doom Eternal, Wildstar, Everquest (I and II), and Armored Warfare and working with companies such as id Software, Visceral Games, Obsidian Entertainment, and Sony Online Entertainment. Video games, audio, and music have been his primary interests for most of his life and he studies every aspect of them non-stop. His insatiable desire to learn and grow has driven him from a hobbyist teenager 25 years ago, to a QA tester entering the industry 16 years ago, all the way to the upper echelons of video game sound design working for one of his dream companies on one of the most prestigious game franchises in the world.
Make it matter.
There are rare times in life where you recall a moment that would change your trajectory entirely. For David, working with id Software was the dream since the time he first saw Doom running in an Egghead Software store in 1993.
David not only has an insatiable appetite for learning, but also a drive and an ability to listen, to take direction, and to collaborate. All of this has contributed to the opportunity to work with some of the most innovative and predominant game developers in the world at id.
Find your song.
Surrounded by audio gear from the time he was born, he began his journey into audio at a young age teaching himself to use his father’s studio gear. At age 15 he discovered synthesizers and began learning to write and record music of his own. In the intervening 25 years, he has worked with music and audio both professionally and otherwise, writing and recording hundreds of musical pieces in myriad genres and styles.
While working on Wildstar with Carbine Studios, he was given the opportunity to realize a personal dream: his music was used in a video game for the first time. Not only that, but one of the many pieces he wrote for the game was recorded at Warner Brothers Studios with a full Hollywood orchestra. This was, quite literally, a dream come true.
