References

“I don’t tend to recommend past or current colleagues, however my experiences working with Mr. Decker on a number of projects over the last decade have been so outstanding that I wanted to pass on my experiences. I worked with Duane as a colleague, supervised him for a time at Microsoft, and I have hired him as a contractor since leaving to form my own studio. Duane has been responsible for the score and other sound work on a number of projects I have led or been involved with from triple-A high-budget productions that were several years in development, to smaller projects requiring rapid development of content. In every case Duane not only brought amazing artistry and outstanding production values to all aspects of the musical score and sound effects work, but also a sharp technical mind that quickly adapted to the varied needs of each project, developing new approaches to make full use of evolving interactive music and audio technologies. Duane’s scores lend a production quality to projects that is second to none, and his easy working style and zero-ego creative approach coupled with a ferocious work ethic and passion for quality explain why he is so frequently approached with new projects and asked to return to expand on his previous work in sequels such as the Mechwarrior and Mechcommander series, the Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends products, and other franchises I have been involved with. In addition to lending his creative abilities to a number of my past projects, Duane also worked for me at Microsoft and set up the production facilities for the Microsoft Entertainment Business Unit – the group responsible for games and other consumer products. Duane was the key design and problem solving guy responsible for turning facilities and production methods that had been a mess into an effective production studio and his contribution greatly advanced our internal production abilities on a very tight schedule. I have just finished up a project where Duane provided all the sound effects work as well as an original fully interactive score. It was a modest project in scope and budget compared to many that he has worked with me in the past, but it received the same attention and level of quality as if it were a large budget feature. The scope of technical and creative challenges I have seen Duane master in the last decade or so are far too long for a short recommendation to include, but bottom line is that on project after project his work has always exceeded my expectations and the experience if working with him has always been a blast. Duane has earned right of first refusal on all my studio's future projects and I look forward to the next opportunity to collaborate with him.” December 15, 2008

Dave McCoy - Creative Director/Art Director, Co-founder at Hidden Path Entertainment (Source: LinkedIn.com profile)

“I worked with Duane closely on Defense Grid: The Awakening. During the year of development, Duane was extremely reliable and very flexible with our shifting schedule. When feedback on his work was given, he managed to always come back with exactly what we wanted! Duane contributed an amazing soundtrack and sound effects to the game, and it certainly would not be the quality product it is now without them. Duane also has the sometimes rare quality of being a true pleasure to work with. He always had a smile with his greeting when walking into our office. I recommend Duane to anyone looking for reliability, quality, quick turnaround, and a pleasant working relationship.” December 21, 2008

Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Creative

Dacey Willoughby -
Associate Producer at Hidden Path Entertainment (Source: LinkedIn.com profile)

“I worked with Duane while we were making Civilization Revolution here at Firaxis. Sid Meier was a big fan of his work on Rise of Nations so I contacted him to see if we could get him for our game. Overall I would say the experience was great. Sid had a few very specific and somewhat unorthodox ideas for making the music fit into the game and Duane was always supportive and right on the money. He took any criticism and suggestions well and was always a consummate professional. I would not hesitate to use Duane again on future titles that would benefit from his style and experience.” November 3, 2008

Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, High Integrity

Barry Caudill - Executive Producer at Firaxis Games (Source: LinkedIn.com profile)

“Duane's compositional abilities speak for themselves. One need only listen to almost any composition he's done to hear his talent and ability. What sets him apart, however, is that Duane is very easy to work with. He is a great composer who listens and understands your feedback resulting in extraordinarily well-crafted compositions that match the mood and feel of a game perfectly.” November 3, 2008

Frank Savage - Lead Programmer, FASA Interactive (Source: LinkedIn.com profile)

“I worked with Duane at FASA Interactive and later at Microsoft. Duane is a very willing collaborator who works hard to do what's right for the game, the player and his "customer"--the producer. Although all of Duane's audio work was good, I most enjoyed working with him as a composer to get the "sound" of the different characters in our games..” November 4, 2008

Mitch Gitelman - Executive Producer/Studio Manager, Microsoft (Source: LinkedIn.com profile)

“Duane Decker came to Microsoft Game Studios through the acquisition of FASA Interactive in January, 1999.  In his post as Audio Lead and later as Composer, he consistently contributed his talents and expertise to help create world-class entertainment products for our studios and developer partners.

Duane’s contributions have included original game music scores, cinema post production, independently released music soundtracks, sound design, audio engineering, and technical audio expertise.  He was also active in the creation of the 5.1 Dolby Digital surround audio spec for Xbox.

Throughout his tenure at MGS, Duane has always pushed the boundaries of conventional thinking to create compelling and highly entertaining games.  This is evidenced by the consistent positive reviews from the press and consumers and successful sales numbers.  His experience and passion for music technology has assured the highest quality audio, while keeping a watchful eye on the budget.  And despite the tight schedules that are common in the industry, he has always delivered his materials on time.

Duane has shown that he needs very little supervision and works well within the team environment to accomplish a goal.  His integrity and passion for his work makes him a valuable asset to any creative team.”  December 2003

Ed Fries – Vice President, Microsoft Game Studios (Source: written reference – copy available on request)

“Over the last 7 years I’ve had the good fortune to work closely with Duane Decker on several high profile entertainment titles for the PC, Xbox and location based entertainment projects.  In each case the projects benefited from his considerable skills as a composer, musician and sound technician.  In all cases, Duane’s work received the highest marks from trade magazines and most importantly the consumers themselves.

Frequently in game development, integrating sound and music in the experience ends up happening very late in the development cycle.  Typically this can cause frustration and limit the quality of the end product.  Through perseverance, patience and long hours Duane was able to overcome the technical challenges each project faced.  In the end, Duane had created award winning sound and music tracks for our games that clearly added to the player’s enjoyment and satisfaction.

Additionally, Duane is easy to communicate with and has a collaborative style that engages teams members and promotes the exchange of ideas.  While Duane’s first responsibility was to the individual projects we quickly found Duane to be a valuable contributor to promotional videos and public relations materials.

Simply put, Duane has the skill set, work ethic and integrity to make impressive contributions to any project requiring the tight integration of music, voice and sound effects.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.”  December 9, 2003

Denny Thorley – President, Day 1 Studios  (Source: written reference – copy available on request)

NOTE: Please email a request for more references and contact information.