Travis Didluck and Jeff Hartling - Alumni Spotlight

Travis Didluck (’09) and Jeff Hartling (’09) are sound designers for the London Ontario based video game developer Digital Extremes (DE). Digital Extremes has again been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2016, and was ranked 29/50 on Deloitte’s Fast 50 Technology companies for Canada. Travis and Jeff have designed sounds for games such as Star Trek, Darkness 2, Retro Pinball and Halo 4 multiplayer and are currently working on DE’s most successful project, the online multiplayer game Warframe. They record and create ambiences, character sounds, weapon sounds and more to integrate into the game play and must update them constantly. This has entailed everything from recording high powered weapons on location at a firing range, to capturing water sounds in a pool or generating new sounds using synthesis techniques.

Travis (left) and Jeff (right), pictured here attending the Game Developer’s Conference, speak enthusiastically about the role OIART’s audio and music production program played in their careers. Travis said, “My time at OIART was, in every way, a truly unforgettable experience. Not only for the skills acquired throughout the curriculum, but also for the network that lasts a lifetime. The creative and technical take away became the cornerstone of my career.” Jeff adds, “OIART gave me the foundation required to build a successful career doing what I love.”