Today we’d like to introduce you to Kartika Luky.
Kartika, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My career and journey today as a video game sound designer started with a dream in my tiny bedroom in the apartment I rented in Boston when I studied at Berklee College of Music. I enjoy making sound effects for visuals, I have always loved sci-fi and video games, so I thought to myself, if such a career would exist where I would make sounds every day for AAA video games, that’s what I wanted to do. And here I am today, at Respawn Entertainment in the audio team working on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor that’s coming soon in 2023. I remember back in 2019 I started to pick up sound design by taking classes at school and doing all the class projects. Then Covid happened, everything shut down, and I took the opportunity to connect virtually with people in the industry as much as I could, which made me learn a lot about sound design and the industry. With things that are much more advanced in today’s world, it also helped me try to get involved in so many activities and side projects whether from school and outside. I remember going to a couple of virtual game jams where you gathered with several people on Discord and made a game within 48-72 hours. I got involved in a VR project at school as well. Those always ended up giving me useful experience and knowledge. I did those until about mid 2021 where I started focusing more to get mentorship from my network, build my portfolio reel, and try to get a job. It took me quite some time. I applied to internships and got rejected, same as applying for a couple of jobs. I didn’t give up until eventually after a few tries and failures to break into the industry, I made it here to my first job that I’m doing right now, and it’s been about a year since I got here. I started working here at Respawn around this time in November last year in 2021. I am very very thankful to my team for this opportunity and also for all the skills/knowledge I have gained since I came here. It’s been a great ride here for the past year, I feel very fortunate and grateful to be here.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
What’s challenging I think is that I’ve realized the quality bar over the past few years has kept rising higher and higher within a short period of time because tech, creative, and entertainment industries are fast-paced environments that we have to keep up and adapt to things quickly. That sometimes could end up for me having to work extra miles not only to get things done but also try to meet the high standards. At work, especially or just generally in my industry, every time I get stuck or I run into something that I’m confused or not sure about, I always reach out for help right away and ask questions. I find in my experience, that never turns out bad, and instead, I always end up getting a breakthrough and improvements. I’m glad all the people that I’ve asked for help about sound design, they have always been very helpful and never been rude to me, so that made me learn that I shouldn’t be afraid of asking help or think that I’m asking stupid questions or any of that sort. Another thing that I’ve noticed challenging is burnout. I am obviously not immune from burnout. Especially when you start working long hours and things like that to catch deadlines, it’s impossible for me to take a long break, or too much time off, or vacation, so I have to find ways and solutions for this. There are few practices that have helped me a lot in these past few months though. Step out from my workstation, take a walk outside where I can breathe fresh air and disconnect shortly from work, give myself some nice treats (like food maybe, or taking a nap), always squeeze time for a quick exercise/stretch at the gym, or play games/watch series for an hour or so after work hours. I also always make sure to get enough sleep every night, no matter how busy I am, sleep is always really important. It could be some simple things that don’t take too much time, but they’re effective as a quick refresh, then you come back to work and feel inspired. I think the key is to find something simple that you could enjoy and it can take your mind off work for a bit for a recharge.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I currently work at Respawn Entertainment as their Associate Sound Designer for the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor game that’s coming in March 2023.
Prior to this, I was at Berklee College of Music, studying Electronic Production and Design. That’s where I found my passion in sound design and decided that I wanted to pursue a career as a video game sound designer, working on AAA titles. After graduating last year in 2021, I got this job at Respawn. I make sound effects contents for in-game stuff and implement those in the game engines. My job is a mixture of both technical and creative work here at Respawn, and I love it here, I love the work, my team, and the studio.
Being a game sound designer itself is already quite unique, to begin with. Every now and then, when people ask me what I do, and I tell them I do sound design, 9/10 I always end up having to describe what it is, so I’d tell people I make sound effects for games, media, and visuals. It’s a young industry, and there are not that many people who do what we do out there, although this field is still very competitive. Among the skills and knowledge that I’ve picked up, one more thing that I’ve learned being in this industry, and I’m sure this is not just for video game sound designers, is to always believe in hard work and big dreams. I think it’s always important to know the direction you’re going in life and work your way to get there.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think every choice we make in life will always have risks whether it’s small or big. I didn’t simply get to where I am today without any risks. Prior to having this job, I didn’t have any full time job lined up, I also got so many rejections from all the jobs I applied for, I really couldn’t tell what my future would look like after college. I did a part time job for two months after college and before working here at Respawn, to sustain me for a bit. Being an immigrant as well here in the States, I don’t really have that freedom and time to stay without having a job or a specific reason approved by the government. I had people telling me to give up, but I did not, though I didn’t know if I could land on any single opportunity or not. I’m glad today that I ended up not quitting to pursue my dream. That turned out to be one of the biggest things I’ve learned. Pursuing dreams is a steady grind. It takes passion, failures, perseverance, and hard work. I strongly believe that hard work always pays off. Had I given up when people told me to, I’d never be where I am today, working on my dream job. One thing less to worry about, the next was my visa. For immigrants, usually after finishing a college degree here in the States, you’re given an option to either take one-year program (known as OPT) where you can work legally, so I did that, but obviously to be able to continue working after that, you need a working visa to maintain your legal status, otherwise you’re not allowed to work, and you’d need to go back home. September 2021 was supposed to be when my OPT ended, I started applying for a working visa back in May 2021. I honestly was pretty scared, because if that didn’t go through, things would have gone south and I might not even be here now. I didn’t know what other option I could get either, so I knew it was a big risk. Long story short, I got approved early September before my OPT expired, and that was a huge weight off my chest this year. After all, what I think is also important to have when I’m facing difficulties and dealing with risks is a great support system to go through all those things, such as family, friends, and mentors to not only help me to be better but also believing and supporting me throughout the whole time, even when things were not easy for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kartikaluky.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kartikaluky/?hl=en
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/kartikaluky_
