Student of the Game: Navigating a Decade in the Video Game Industry

Navigating the video game industry is like playing on expert mode – without a strategy guide.

In this rapidly evolving, hit-driven industry, technology advances at breakneck speed while personalities and business dynamics shift constantly. Many aspiring professionals ask how to break into game audio, but fewer discuss what happens after you’re in – or how to avoid getting lost along the way.

Student of the Game offers a rare, unfiltered perspective from an independent video game composer who has survived and thrived over the past decade. Through candid anecdotes and hard-won insights, this book reveals:

• The reality behind industry buzzwords like “networking” and “imposter syndrome”
• Practical strategies for building sustainable professional relationships
• Red flags and pitfalls that can derail promising collaborations
• Mental frameworks for persistence when facing inevitable setbacks
• The truth about gigs that didn’t work out – and why

This isn’t just another “how to break in” guide. It’s a survival manual for anyone serious about building a lasting career in game audio, complete with the aches, breaks and breakthroughs that define professional growth in this challenging but rewarding field.

Chase Bethea is a multi-award-winning video game composer known as the “Swiss army knife of video game composition.” His acclaimed scores include I Can’t Escape: Darkness, Aground and On the Peril of Parrots. Chase has made history multiple times, including being the first video game composer on the Mogami Cable roster and being featured in books such as Global Histories of Video Game Music Technology and The Theory and Practice of Writing Music for Games. He has delivered 60+ talks at GDC, PAX, Berklee and more.