Press

"If I could have the music from Hatsworth's boss fight against Lance Banson (Sky Pirate Magazine's Handsomest Most Eligible Bachelor of the Year) playing on loop for every boss fight in any videogame ever, I would do it." 9.0 - IGN

"All of this silliness is funked out with great music during the battles which is evilly catchy and corresponds well to the moves, headphones are a must have."

- Console Obsession

"...the audio is "just about as good as it gets" and everything here adds to the game's overall atmosphere ... there's the wonderful score ... the sound effects are also spot on. - DS-x2

"...an excellent balance of both music and sound effects ... crisp and distinguished. - NintendoDS Advanced

"Great music - 8/10" - Gamespot"

"The musical score is epic, somber, and moody, a perfect accompaniment to the epic tale being told. - Planet GameCube

"The game's audio is very solid ... the background music is well done and fits the game perfectly." - PGNx Media.

G.A.N.G. Awards 2003: Best Handheld Audio

"Awesome soundtrack that goes great with the action. 9/10." - IGN

"...probably the first GBA game to have a full-length song, complete with vocals, during its credits sequence. 8/10" - Gamespot

"... some games have shown us that the GBAs sound hardware can put out "surprisingly high quality sound effects and music. Everything or Nothing is one of those games." - Worth Playing

"Particularly Impressive for a Gameboy Advance game ... 8/10" - PGNX Media

"... one of the clearest GBA titles I’ve played. Excellent compositions, but I must also give credit to the sound guys for making the sound quality as high as possible." - GameZone

"... What also can't be denied is the quality of the music ... its closeness to the console versions' score is amazing, and the victory fanfare's enough to send shivers up your spine if you're wearing headphones." - 1UP.com

"Outstanding use of the GBA hardware for a fantastic soundtrack. Crank up those headphones. 9/10" - IGN

About Me

My profession is contract game audio. You probably already guessed this. My specialty and passion is classic video game sounds, the sort of thing I grew up with playing NES and SNES. Platforms like the GBA and DS have given me the opportunity to work within similar limitations of this golden age of game audio, which is a huge privilege.

My dream project would be a survival horror game.

My idol is Hip Tanaka.

When I'm not doing music and sound, I program in C#. My most ambitious pet project is the NesTracker, though I've also made a bunch of tools that automate my build processes for work. My favorite custom tool lets me compose DS music using my all time favorite music making tool, Impulse Tracker.

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New Office Space

So I have external office space now. Since I started doing this over five years ago, I have been working out of a home office (literally my bedroom). I was able to get things done but it was just too frustrating working at home every day. Those of you who freelance from home know how this goes... there are tons of tips out there on Lifehacker and similar sites (in fact, this month's Wired had tips on working from home). "Get dressed for work." "Set specific work hours." "Buy a Do Not Disturb sign." These helped me maintain sanity in the short term, but the basic fact is that I need to work somewhere away from home, and every now and then I need to work around other people.

No more isolation! :-)

The psychological effect of "going to work" and "coming home from work" is amazing. Not to mention having my house back--all work related hardware is now a 10 minute drive away. When I am at the office, I am in work mode. When I am at home, I can relax.

My officemate and I don't work on any of the same projects. I met him through a "coworking" wiki and after meeting for coffee a couple times, we decided to split the cost of an office. Having someone else working in the same room has really helped me want to "look busy" when the temptation of distraction or zoning out kicks in.

It's been forever since I've posted. Too busy? ...My workload hasn't been as insane as it's been in the past. I've been enjoying weekends and nights off. I have spent the past few months hunkering down on some projects, and this site has been kind of neglected. I think there are even a couple recent releases that need to be added to the resume.

Basically, I just needed to take a break to think about what this blog really is to me. Is it my personal journal that other people might be interested in reading? Is it marketing so I can land new gigs? I haven't really decided, but my aim is to post on a more personal level from here on out. Trying to be ultra professional has really just stifled my ability to post, since I was second-guessing everything I saw. It's just a blog.

I'm not really sure if there is a particular topic I'll be writing on from here on out. I think I'll mostly touch on what it's like to do what I do, as a freelance game audio guy.

I also got an Indian Banjo last week, so if I have time I'll post pictures. And maybe even sounds.

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Reader Comments (1)

Ian, that's awesome! I should think about that someday. Isolation makes it easier for self sufficient destraction
September 4, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterNick Vasallo

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