Class of 2021 - Griffin Tyler
Audio Tracks
I composed this piece as if it was from an arcade game from the 1980s. Inspired by soundtracks from the games Super Mario Bros. and Dig Dug, I tried to achieve a nostalgic arcade sound by limiting the amount of channels I could use. Because arcade machines at the time could only play around three to five channels or voices for music I utilized three channels for the melody and harmony, and one channel for percussion. This restriction posed a great challenge to me, as I usually utilize quite a few more instruments in my production, but I feel it also encouraged the creative process in the composition of this piece.
I wanted to change things up and try a new genre with this composition, so I decided to base this piece around a hypothetical horror game inspired by the soundtracks from Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Hoping for an authentic 90s video game sound, I tweaked the instruments I used through digital signal processing to give them a distorted quality and thin frequency range. Through simple minor piano progression and sparse instrumentation I tried to give the listener/player a feeling of isolation and loneliness.
This piece was a bit of an experiment for me. Inspired by a little-known Pirates of the Caribbean game from the early 2000s, I wanted to try yet another different genre. By combining the culturally-infused themes of pirate music with Rock n Roll guitars and drums I tried to achieve an exciting and intense piece that could play during an action segment of a game. The “authentic” 2000s sound was difficult to achieve because of how music quality differed from the early to late years of the decade. I tried to find a balance between the thinner frequency range of the early 2000s and the much wider and complex sounds of the later 2000s.
The final piece of my thesis was the most fun for me to compose because I was able to really do whatever I wanted. There were no technological restrictions on composers in the 2010s, so I had no limitations on what instruments or techniques I could use. For this composition I was inspired by the games Skyrim and Breath of the Wild, which feature prominently orchestral fantasy soundtracks. I wanted this piece to feel like a grand epic, something that would inspire players as they face challenging battles in a hypothetical fantasy setting.
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