Ryan McCabe

Biography

Ryan McCabe brings over 18 years of experience in the video game industry as a seasoned game designer, leaving his creative imprint on several celebrated franchises, including Ghost Recon and Saints Row.

While Ryan's expertise primarily lies in game design, his deep-rooted passion for music and its role in interactive experiences has been a driving force throughout his career. Ryan's unique background enriches his approach to teaching game music as an important yet sometimes uncelebrated experiential factor in games. His musical journey began as a member of various auditioned choir groups, ranging from concert choir to acapella jazz groups in his high school years, and was a member of the first high school choir to have a solo performance at Carnegie Hall.

Ryan previously taught "The Sound of Play: Eliciting Emotion Through the Aural Experience in Games," a class dedicated to understanding and harnessing the emotional power of audio and music; underlining the synergy between game design and sound in evoking emotions and crafting immersive player experiences. He believes that the aural experience should tell as much of a story as the visuals, from the specific sound used when a punch wallops an enemy tothe leitmotif that reminds the player of their relationship with the final villain they now face.