Issue #12 / November 2025
When I Grow Up, I Want to be a Video Game Composer… Hi! Winter’s around the corner. Time to stay indoors and warm up beside a computer screen with my favorite DAW! ;)
What’s Been Going On?
As always, I’ve been keeping busy with musical projects since the last time I shared news. I finally completed Stellar Saga, a Sega Genesis inspired album, with fellow composer HydroGene. This was our third collaborative project together, and by far the biggest. After that, I connected with a local game developer and wrote a couple of tracks for his project, a PICO-8 dungeon crawl game called Chapel Perilous. Over the last few months, I was also commissioned to compose the next nine tracks of Shadow Maiden, so there’s plenty of new JRPG music goodness for you to discover. I recently found out that the local game dev community held a show-and-tell event every month called Dirty Rectangles. When I attend my first meeting, I hope to give a short talk on the making of the music of Shadow Maiden. Last month, I became a PRO member of Video Game Music Alliance, a network of aspiring and professional video game composers. We share tracks, discuss music production techniques, follow online courses, participate in masterclasses with professional composers over Zoom and benefit from monthly coaching sessions. So far, the experience has been nothing short of terrific and it’s all thanks to VGMA founder and host, Steven Melin. Lastly, I recently joined Bluesky, so be sure to follow me if you want occasional news and updates!
Music Asset Packs
One way to add value to my music is to share it in the form of asset packs that are made available on itch.io or other internet marketplaces. Most of my asset packs are free for the taking, but the best ones are paid content. I’ve made quite a few sales, and there’s been thousands of downloads since I’ve started sharing my music with the community. I’m actually running a Black Friday Sale right now that’s about to end soon! Game developers often reach out to signal that they used my music in their games. In the last couple of months, quite a few of those projects were released. Some are free for you to try, so don’t be shy and click on the following links: Some Little Adventures, Wyrm Warrior, Super Cosmolite, Boned Again: Survivors and AGSnake.
16-bit Sea-Themed Music
I’m currently working on a new collection of 16-bit adventure and JRPG music tracks that will end up as my next paid music asset pack. This one will be released on all four online marketplaces (Unity Asset Store, Fab, itch.io and GameDev Market). For this collection, I was inspired by the video game Sea of Stars which I’m currently playing with my son. My music doesn’t sound at all like the game, but the themes are very similar: the sea, boats, seaside villages, beaches, etc. Be sure to listen to the tracks that I have so far completed.
Classical Guitar News
Over the next two weeks, I’ll be busy with my Christmas classical guitar recitals. I’m holding a virtual one for relatives and friends, and another one at my home. This recital will showcase the progress that I’ve made since I started working on my RCM level 10. It will also feature seven other musicians performing solo or in small ensembles. Another newsworthy announcement is that this February, I will be joining a classical guitar orchestra on stage and will accompany two world-class ensembles: the LAGQ and the Canadian Guitar Quartet. We will be performing in the very same concert hall that I go to hear the symphonic orchestra perform video game and movie music, the gorgeous Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre. Get your tickets!
Featured Music
I would like to highlight the most meaningful music that I made over the last few months. Firstly, Dungeon Crawl is a track that I wrote for a local game developer, Cameron Gazey. The original track was designed for PICO-8, but I reworked it into my blend of chiptune for your listening pleasure. Secondly, I’d like to put the spotlight on Echoes of the Sea, the first track I made for my new 16-bit collection. It features the type of melancholy that I love injecting into my music. Thirdly, Starlight Farewell is the ending track to Stellar Saga, and it showcases various themes found throughout the album (the main theme, the airship, combat music, etc.), all rearranged for dramatic purposes. It was co-written with HydroGene. Enjoy!
Exclusive Content For Subscribers
I was lucky enough to participate in a masterclass with professional video game composer Alex Moukala (Rift of the NecroDancer, 2XKO) this month. He listened to Echoes by the Sea and gave me a bunch of useful advice. He said to listen to my favorite video game tracks and to transcribe them by ear, so that’s exactly what I did. I picked my favorite track of all time, Wind Scene from Chrono Trigger, by Yasunori Mitsuda, and figured out instruments, volumes, panning, etc. Here’s my transcription of Wind Scene. Happy listening!
What’s Next?
After completing my 16-bit sea-themed music asset pack, I’ll turn my attention once again towards the symphonic orchestra. I plan on writing exploration music, in the style of Skyrim and Oblivion, to practice my skills at scoring for the orchestra. During the winter, I hope to record a live musician in my studio to add a human touch to those orchestral tracks. I’m also very keen on improving my music production, which entails mixing and mastering. I will focus on those topics during my next coaching sessions. Be sure to stay tuned to find out more about Stellar Saga’s epic release on all digital streaming services! I wish you health and happiness, especially during the holidays. Game Over... Until the Next Score!
