Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Dr Richard Stevens
Course Director
Dr Richard Stevens is Course Director for the postgraduate programmes in music and sound at Leeds Beckett University. He has published and presented widely on the topic of Game Audio and Game Audio Education including at the Audio Engineering Society, Ludomusicology, and Game Developers conferences.
Richard has been awarded the position of University Teacher Fellow in recognition of his innovative pedagogical work, and co-authored the first practical text book in the field, The Game Audio Tutorial (Focal Press, 2011). Along with a second volume, Game Audio Implementation (CRC Press, 2015), numerous conference presentations and workshops, and his work as chair of the Interactive Audio Special Interest group, his work over the last decade has informed teaching curricula in the subject throughout the world. Richard is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Sound and Music in Games.
Current Teaching
Richard leads the MSc. in Sound and Music for Interactive Games and teaches Game Audio and Music for Film and Television at undergraduate level.
Research Interests
Richard's recent research has brought psychological research methods to bear on developing an understanding of the impact of interactive music systems on the video game player experience. His PhD examined how dissonances between the ludic and narrative functions of music in games might be resolved through a more integrated design approach – where game events may consider musical timings as an input to decision making processes. These ideas are summarised in his contribution to the Oxford Handbook of Interactive Audio, Designing a game for music: Integrated design approaches for ludic music and interactivity.
He retains close links to game audio professionals and the game industry, collaborating with Senior Audio Director at EA DICE, Ben Minto, for the Soundtrack Journal paper The reality paradox: Authenticity, fidelity and the real in Battlefield 4. He is also working alongside composers and sound artists to investigate how video games engines might provide opportunities as a platform for the composition and performance of, and medium for, spatial music and sound art.
Ask Me About
- Games
- Video Games
- Sound
Selected Outputs
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Stevens RC (2021) The inherent conflicts of musical interactivity in video games. In: Fritsch M; Summers T ed. The Cambridge Companion to Video Game Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
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Stevens RC; Raybould D (2014) Designing a Game for Music: Integrated Design Approaches for Ludic Music & Interactivity. In: Collins K; Kapralos B; Tessler H ed. The Oxford Handbook of Interactive Audio. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
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Stevens RC (2018) Going nowhere: Stasis, ambiguity, and the infinite riser in video game music. In: Ludomusicology Conference, 13 April 2018 - 16 April 2018, Liepzig University.
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Stevens RC; Raybould D (2015) Game Audio Implementation. Burlington, MA: Focal Press.
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Stevens RC; Raybould D (2011) The Game Audio Tutorial: A practical guide to the implementation of sound and music within the UDK engine. Focal Press.
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Stevens RC; Raybould D; McDermott D (2015) Extreme Ninjas use windows not doors: Addressing video game fidelity through Ludo-Narrative music in the stealth genre. In: Audio Engineering Society 56th International Conference, 11 February 2015 - 13 February 2015, London.
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Collins K; Felton K; Fuller B; Hankinson T; Harwood S; Heiden K; Horowitz S; Javelosa D; Kazandjian R; Rippie J (2011) Game Audio Curriculum Guidelines.
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Summers T; Cook J; Famer W; Raffafaella Ferre E; Harrison L; Hemming R; Ivanescu A; Reed L; Roberts F; Tatlow S (2021) Music and Sound in Virtual/Augmented Realities—Questions, Challenges and Approaches. Journal of Sound and Music in Games, 2 (2), pp. 63-83.
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Stevens RC; Raybould D (2015) The reality paradox: Authenticity, fidelity, and the real in Battlefield 4. The Soundtrack, 8 (1-2), pp. 57-75.
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Stevens RC; Collins K; Onen U (2011) Designing an International Curriculum Guideline for Game Audio: Problems and Solutions. Journal of Game Design and Development Education, 1
