Category: Music For Video Games That Don’t Exist

Oh hey! In truth, I’ve been composing here and there lately, but I haven’t made much time to post between work, research, and other things.

But here’s a cute little sketch I made for The Video Game That Doesn’t Exist; it’s the music for the second town; not the protagonist’s home, but their first stop. This is the place that lets the hero know that they will find other pockets of peace along their journey.

As with most of my other work, I wrote this using the free digital audio workstation LMMS and a really great set of free SF2 files provided by the St James Orchestra, which you can find on Zanderjaz.

I can’t say that I will be updating this more regularly, but I sure hope you don’t forget me in the gaps!

Are there any levels you’d like background music for? This video game doesn’t (and is likely to never) exist, so there are no wrong answers!

Thanks for listening. I appreciate you.

While I don’t tend to have a lot of time to write new music these days (I’m learning how to program for my PhD and doing a lot of editing for my fee gig as an assistant editor, but this isn’t LinkedIn!), I have been writing little fun projects with my students to couch my theory lessons.

One of my students is learning how to employ different drum patterns, and I made a little goofy groove over the very first pattern he learned, the ubiquitous 4-on-the-floor. We decided it would make a good piece for The Video Game That Doesn’t Exist. In this scene, a new, radical frog NPC has come into the picture in order to give us a new skill.

This was written in LMMS, and most of the instruments I used can be found in the main library and the ZynAddSubFX synth. It’s nothing too fancy, but it’s been a while, and it’s about time I showed you a bit of what I’ve been up to!

Hey! How was your week? Mine was quite exciting; I got a bit of news that I can’t wait to share with you! Things are still in the works, so I’m keeping it hush-hush, but if you simply can’t wait another moment, feel free to drop me a line and ask!

Here’s a piece I wrote this last week for The Game That Doesn’t Exist. It was designed to be a Pastoral piece that plays at the beginning of the game, the tutorial level where everything is gentle and peaceful, and nothing can reasonably hurt you in a way that matters. It’s Arcadia, Joseph Campbell’s Ordinary World, Palette Town, The Kokiri Forest, the sleepy little be-flowered village from whence our hero hails.

I wrote this one (as I often do) using the free digital audio workstation LMMS and a fantastic (and free!) set of soundfonts provided by the St James Orchestra, which you can find on Zanderjaz. My biggest inspirations were Toby Fox (he is fantastic at creating a feeling!), Yasunori Nishiki, and the immortal Nobuo Uematsu.

Thanks so much for listening!

Another silly little ditty for The Game That Doesn’t Exist. I think that a good portion of the games I’ve enjoyed have a villain with a backstory that explains their villainy. This music is designed to be the background music for their expository flashback.

Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for listening!

Here’s another fun little chiptune for The Game That Doesn’t Exist, a big of a fun swung Masato Nakamura inspired 8-chord loop piece. I imagine this being paired with a quick jump-based platformer, the kind where the camera keeps moving up, with or without you.

Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for listening!

Here’s a fun little low-key piece I wrote in LMMS for a video game that doesn’t exist. This is the screen immediately before your adventure begins, wherein you are meant to input your protagonist’s name.

Hope you like it.

Thanks for listening!

This is a faux side-scroller boss theme I wrote upon the suggestion of friend and fantastic vocal arranger Eric Hagmann. Be warned: although it’s just another chip tune, it’s a bit on the intense side compared with my usual work.

I do enjoy writing music for video games that don’t exist. I wonder what this game would look like.

Thanks for listening!

Here’s a micro-tune I made for the item shop in the game that doesn’t exist. My main inspirations for this little tune were legends Keiichi Suzuki and Sue Kasper.

This was written in LMMS, and most of the instruments I used can be found in the zynaddsubfx plugin. Making silly music like this can cost next to nothing if you know where to look. Let me know if you ever want any help getting started.

Thanks for listening!

Here’s a piece I composed over a few days in LMMS for The Game That Doesn’t Exist. This underwater level was requested by my buddy D U N C on twitter. It ended up being a bit longer than I had anticipated, but I’m happy with its atmospheric background quality.

Hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much for listening!

This is a short snippet piece I made in LMMS for a video game that doesn’t exist. It’s for the obligatory ice level.

Thanks for listening!