Issue #14 / May 2026
When I Grow Up, I Want to be a Video Game Composer… Hi friends! It’s already been three months, time is fleeting. I hope you are well. Over the past few months, I’ve been steadily composing orchestral and electronic music, I released another album, two music packs, new music on my YouTube channel, I went to my first in-person networking event and I attended two video game concerts. Read on to find out more about these adventures!
Orchestral Studies, a New Album and Upcoming Music Packs
Over the past three years, I’ve spent a lot of time writing 8-bit and 16-bit music inspired by the video games that I grew up playing. In fact, I suspect that most people that have subscribed to my YouTube channel and that have hired me for custom music have done so because of my retro catalogue. I’m very comfortable writing this kind of music, but what I’ve always dreamed of composing is epic orchestral music, as daunting a task as it may be. I’ve been reading a lot about orchestration, following along with tutorials, and most recently taking orchestra lessons with a video game composer, and I can say that I’m getting more and more comfortable with handling a large amount of instruments, creating orchestral textures and converting piano sketches into full arrangements. For the foreseeable future, composing orchestral music will be my main focus. Well, great news, I have released my very first orchestral album! You can listen to RPG & Fantasy - Volume I: Exploration on all major streaming services, and you can even purchase the music pack if you want to use it in your video game! You’ll notice that I now have a landing page for the products that I sell, all thanks to Rick, the wonderful genius behind my website. The next set of orchestral tracks feature action music, and you can already listen to the tracks that have already been published. Be on the lookout for more of these!
VGM Concerts
On the topic of orchestral music for video games, I was lucky enough to attend two fantastic concerts recently. A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY, the sister orchestra to the famed Distant Worlds touring orchestra, was in town for a concert in April. And just a week ago, in Montreal, L’Orchestre de Jeux Vidéo gave an indie video game concert that included music from many great indie games such as Sea of Stars and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I was accompanied by my son, who’s already looking forward to their upcoming Zelda concert in October! We are now both completely obsessed with Clair Obscur’s amazing soundtrack, especially the song Lumière.
Electronic Music
Between orchestral compositions, I sometimes like to dip my toes into electronic/hybrid music. I turned out a few more One Hour Challenges in the style of electronic music and got some more coaching from award-winning composer Brandon Boone. You can listen to all of my One Hour Challenges here. From that collection, I refined the sci-fi tracks and created a music pack, completely FREE, for game developers to use in their games. I’m going to do the same for the fantasy ones as well, so stay tuned! Thanks Brandon for being the inspiration for this amazing creative method!
Networking
Did you know that we have a video game community where I live, here in Ottawa? We have a major studio, Snowed In Studios, that gets contracted to work on games from companies like Blizzard and Ubisoft, and we have a few smaller studios and independent game developers. This city trains a lot of video game developers and artists with programs like the one at Algonquin College. I’ve been following the Ottawa Games group for a while (you’ll even find me on their website!), but just a few weeks ago, I was finally able to attend a live meetup with affiliate Ottawa Game Makers. This was actually the second time that I got to network with game developers, the first being at Comiccon Ottawa last September. I met a few developers, had interesting conversations and heard presentations from college students that created video games for their third year of college. And just last week, when attending the Montreal concert, a handful of small studios were showcasing their games in the lobby and I got to chat with more developers as well as the composer for the game Aloft. I’d like to give a shout out to Pierre-Henri, a fellow video game composer and VGMA member, that I got to meet for the first time in person at that concert. Tu sais, PH, j’ai bien aimé te rencontrer en personne. Tu donnes le même «vibe» de gentillesse et d’accueil qu’à l’écran. Bon succès dans tes projets!
Featured Music
I’m featuring three special and contrasting pieces this time. The first one is homework that I had to do for my orchestration coaching sessions. I was asked to write combat music using only strings, and then later on, I was asked to add brass to the original track. The brass in The Frozen Tyrant is very effective at accentuating the action in the music. The second track was a local demand. The people at Ottawa Games asked me to write music for their trailer showcasing all the local games that were made during recent game jams. Marshmallow Jam is a feel good track to celebrate these games, and you can watch the trailer right here! The final track is a One Hour Challenge that turned out to be one of my favorite original compositions of 2026. There’s just something about underwater music that fills me with joy and serenity… So, soothe yourself with Beneath the Tides. Happy listening!
What’s Next?
The next few months will mostly be taken over by my classical guitar studies. I’m getting ready for my virtual and in-person recitals, happening in June. Then, I’m enrolling in Music History 10, a stepping stone towards my level 10 guitar examination. After that, in August, I’ll be attending the Camp Musical Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean for the fourth summer in a row. Once again, I had the opportunity to arrange a couple of pieces for the guitar orchestra. This summer, I’ll be conducting Echoes by the Sea and Underwater Passage, from my 2026 album Secrets of the Archipelago. And finally, my next orchestral album will probably be released before summer’s end. Before we go, here’s a quick note for all of you game developers out there. My paid asset packs were given a new lower price point of $5 USD! And don’t forget that I still have a few free ones! Well, folks, enjoy your summer and stay healthy and happy. Game Over... Until the Next Score!
