Featured Employee: Jeff Seamster

Here’s why we think Jeff is swell:

Irrational’s four-person audio team may be small, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in talent, dedication and heart.  “Talent, dedication, and heart” – that sums up Jeff pretty well.

When he isn’t doing spot-on vocal impressions, kicking ass in any number of video games, or bringing his co-workers to tears with his wonderful sense of humor, Jeff can be found hard at work making our games sound oh-so-sweet.  Armed with vast skills and a devilishly handsome smile, he comes through no matter how thorny the problems he faces.  And we can always count on Jeff for an honest, unvarnished opinion on any subject, audio or otherwise.

He’d be a incredible asset to any team, but he’s ours.

All ours.

You can’t have him.

Your title is ‘Senior Sound Designer.’  What does that mean?

I design, author and implement sound effects for all aspects of our games. These range from one-off sounds for things like weapons, Foley and explosions, to more complex subjects like ambients, animations, and full-blown cinematics.

What games have you worked on?

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Blitz: The League 2, SimCity Societies: Destinations, SimCity Societies, Caesar IV and Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War

Describe Life at Irrational in three words or less.

Inspiring beyond measure

What is your favorite game of all time?

You know that question is totally unfair, right? At least have the decency to ask for a Top 3.  But if I must pick an all-time favorite, a game that I can always come back to, it’s Beyond Good & Evil. It delivers the total package with beautiful and unique environments, charming characters, an amazingly diverse soundtrack, and a nice variety of gameplay. It continues to inspire my work to this day.

Name a game everyone should play once in their life.

Fallout 2. Trade in your lousy paper money for caps and start your journey into the wasteland.

What is your favorite movie?

Ameliebladerunnerjaws. Did I get away with that? I could honestly watch those movies every day of my life.

What are your hobbies outside of work?

I was a musician before I was ever a sound designer so I continue to write and play music whenever there’s time.  From time to time I can be spotted on a Geocaching hunt, and I also love to cook.

Geocaching?  That must result in some ridiculously nerdy adventures.

Geocaching is a bit nerdy with all the sneaking around in broad daylight, but it seems to be gaining traction now that almost every mobile phone has a built-in GPS. My adventures in Geocaching have ranged from creepy to hilarious.  Creepy: finding a monument buried deep in the woods of Massachusetts left in memoriam of a town that was all but wiped out by smallpox in the 1600s. Hilarious:  running into a person or group on the hunt for the same Geocache as you.  You pace back and forth for 15 minutes trying to be inconspicuous and eventually someone says, “Ok ok, we’re both looking for the Geocache, right?”  If the person just stares at you, the best option is to run away serpentine as though you’re being chased by a crocodile.

You confess that you like cooking.  Any recipes you could recommend to people that are challenged by the culinary arts?

As a native of New Orleans, I had to bring some Creole cooking with me to Boston. I’m also studying up on classic French cooking which not only starts off relatively easy, but also leads to natural improvisation with recipes. For those feeling noobish in the kitchen but interested in some authentic New Orleans fare, start off with Red Beans & Rice. It’s easy and almost impossible to screw up. Once you’ve mastered that, forge onward and keep your knives sharp!  Holler at me on the Community section when you’re ready to take on the Seamster gumbo recipe.

What’s your favorite Irrational story?

My favorite story so far comes from my first day on the job. As soon as I walked through the door, our audio director grabs me and says we’re going out to record the Fore River Bridge between Quincy and Weymouth. He’d gotten a tip from our art director that it was going to be raised so that a large ship could pass underneath. The recording gear was packed up and we hauled ass to make it down to the bridge in time. We readied ourselves for some great throaty metal sounds because this bridge is a hulking beast of steel. The warning gates went up and the bridge began to move.

Believe me when I tell you that this bridge must have been designed by a squad of ninjas and padding specialists because it was utterly silent. Not even a peep when the bridge came to rest on what I speculate to be a bed of marshmallows. The only sound that truly stood out during this experience came from a deckhand on the passing ship who whistled Suicide is Painless (the theme from M*A*S*H) as the vessel lazily drifted by. So, if you need a recording of a silent bridge, now you know where to go.