Particularly enjoyed his work for Duke Nukem 3D, you could easily tell the difference between the tracks made by Bobby and the ones made by Lee Jackson, Bobby's tracks were a bit darker and more gloomy, adding a lot of atmosphere.
Beautifully written article by the way, as the legend deserves.
The sound of Doom was a big part of why it was so immersive, and everyone focuses on the mobs and gunshots (there's some pretty cool positional audio for the time), but the music really played a big part of the whole atmosphere.
Ah man, hell no :( The music in DOOM was such a huge influence on me. I had the Macintosh version which IIRC had the .mid files alongside the game, so I hung onto those and listened to them outside of the game quite frequently. I was just a kid at the time, and later on when I discovered bands like Pantera, Slayer, Judas Priest etc. I suddenly "got" all the references (not previously having known they were references/iterations on those bands' songs)! Great memories. RIP \m/
It's amazing how much better all these sound to me in OPL2.
When CD-ROM soundtracks because the norm it really ruined a lot of game music for me, because all that chip music perhaps inspired by guitar and orchestral music just ended up being replaced with actual guitar and orchestral music, and then games just ended up sounding like movies and it's like what even is the point?
From my side I remember painstakingly transposing Led Zeppelin into an 8 bit tracker when I was a kid and being thrilled at how much more exciting the 3-channel square wave interpration sounded, and pretty much from that point on my guitar just became something to noodle out a riff prior to inputting to the computer.
When it was actual guitar and orchestral music it was one thing, but when it was "much better but still not quite there" midi renderings of orchestras and guitars, that could be a bit uncanny valley. And even when it wasn't, stuff that was really written for a 2 op FM idea of an orchestra, often sounded a bit thin on a real orchestra.
In 1993 I thought the OPL2 version sounded better and still do now.
But my broader point was that comparing this old game music to "real" guitar music kinda takes away from what it actually was for a lot of people listening to it - something different to and unique from mainstream rock/metal. It always made me a bit sad when these guys did interviews and talked about listening to ordinary rock bands, it kinda broke the spell that games were a special little place for people who were into computer-based art for its own sake.
Presumably most midi game composers checked that their music didn't sound like trash on the AdLib sound card most users would actually have? Good music that's actually written for AdLib can be extremely good, check out Stephane Picq (who sadly also died recently).
I've been teaching my students for years about sound and music, and I always showcase Bobby Prince's work. Here's a fun clip of him playing in the early days: https://youtu.be/9w3yoIOK-9U?is=alZLs2OSL8pJ7JEQ
Hell put in a special petition to heaven to at least borrow him for a bit—not to torture him, mind, but to retain him to score their official soundtrack.
Loss of an absolute legend.
One of my favorite videos (and songs) sang by Bobby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w3yoIOK-9U (Eat Your Vegetables)
RIP. You will be missed Bobby.
Very sad news, RIP.
Particularly enjoyed his work for Duke Nukem 3D, you could easily tell the difference between the tracks made by Bobby and the ones made by Lee Jackson, Bobby's tracks were a bit darker and more gloomy, adding a lot of atmosphere.
Beautifully written article by the way, as the legend deserves.
NEDM, Prince.
The sound of Doom was a big part of why it was so immersive, and everyone focuses on the mobs and gunshots (there's some pretty cool positional audio for the time), but the music really played a big part of the whole atmosphere.
he had great taste in metal. most of the tracks were adapted (now classic) speed/thrash metal.
Yep. The Doom 1 demo theme is Painkiller by Judas Priest
https://open.spotify.com/track/0L7zm6afBEtrNKo6C6Gj08
Ah man, hell no :( The music in DOOM was such a huge influence on me. I had the Macintosh version which IIRC had the .mid files alongside the game, so I hung onto those and listened to them outside of the game quite frequently. I was just a kid at the time, and later on when I discovered bands like Pantera, Slayer, Judas Priest etc. I suddenly "got" all the references (not previously having known they were references/iterations on those bands' songs)! Great memories. RIP \m/
If anyone's interested in what songs the Doom music was referencing, here's a good overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y3RWlDz_AA
It's amazing how much better all these sound to me in OPL2.
When CD-ROM soundtracks because the norm it really ruined a lot of game music for me, because all that chip music perhaps inspired by guitar and orchestral music just ended up being replaced with actual guitar and orchestral music, and then games just ended up sounding like movies and it's like what even is the point?
From my side I remember painstakingly transposing Led Zeppelin into an 8 bit tracker when I was a kid and being thrilled at how much more exciting the 3-channel square wave interpration sounded, and pretty much from that point on my guitar just became something to noodle out a riff prior to inputting to the computer.
When it was actual guitar and orchestral music it was one thing, but when it was "much better but still not quite there" midi renderings of orchestras and guitars, that could be a bit uncanny valley. And even when it wasn't, stuff that was really written for a 2 op FM idea of an orchestra, often sounded a bit thin on a real orchestra.
Huh? Those are the original MIDI versions of the music, which is how Bobby Prince composed them on a Roland SC-55. There is no more authentic sound.
I doubt anyone in 1993 thought the OPL2 version of the music sounded better. General MIDI was mind-blowing in comparison.
In 1993 I thought the OPL2 version sounded better and still do now.
But my broader point was that comparing this old game music to "real" guitar music kinda takes away from what it actually was for a lot of people listening to it - something different to and unique from mainstream rock/metal. It always made me a bit sad when these guys did interviews and talked about listening to ordinary rock bands, it kinda broke the spell that games were a special little place for people who were into computer-based art for its own sake.
Presumably most midi game composers checked that their music didn't sound like trash on the AdLib sound card most users would actually have? Good music that's actually written for AdLib can be extremely good, check out Stephane Picq (who sadly also died recently).
It sounded great on my Gravis Ultrasound with custom midi samples.
(it was also a pain when the Sound Blaster compatibility was needed, dma 1 irq 5).
OP is right. A waveform generator chip is a much more "real" musical instrument than a glorified sampler.
Wolfenstein 3D has such memorable tracks for me.. thanks for the music Bobby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UgvFSV2xxI
Wondering About My Loved Ones is one of my favorites. Appears also in Spear of Destiny https://chiptune.app/?play=C-eWH0LI
I knew I should’ve paid extra and gotten the Sound Blaster!
Yeah... look at all these rich kids with their fancy sound cards! Peasants like us had to make do with a humble PC speaker and a monochrome monitor.
Seriously though, playing old DOS games with fancy music and a color monitor just feels wrong to me.
Thats Ad Lib type music no?
Sound Blaster is an Ad Lib (Yamaha OPL2) that mixes in a PCM stream
I can easily recall the Duke nukem music, even though I haven't played it in about two decades
Today I learned that he also did (all of?) the sound effects for Doom.
RIP (and tear)
I've been teaching my students for years about sound and music, and I always showcase Bobby Prince's work. Here's a fun clip of him playing in the early days: https://youtu.be/9w3yoIOK-9U?is=alZLs2OSL8pJ7JEQ
RIP Legend.
Neat that just last month the Library of Congress added the Doom soundtrack to its registry too
https://newsroom.loc.gov/news/national-recording-registry-in...
At Doom's Gate has been stuck in my head for decades. RIP.
Pulled out my guitar to play the Duke Nukem theme and At Doom's Gate (...uh, minus those runs...)
RIP Legend.
F.
Such a good composer for all of those games I can remember those songs still.
Shame. E1M8 (Sign of Evil) is still a great metal tune
RIP King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrIgnNtZrN4
Hell put in a special petition to heaven to at least borrow him for a bit—not to torture him, mind, but to retain him to score their official soundtrack.
F to a Legend and titan.
Related, including a great segment with the man himself talking about some of the music:
A Visit to id Software (November 1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpEBUV_g9vU
(https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48600671)
RIP one of the best.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qVn6C6uiFo0
That E1M1 song is iconic. That will be played 00s of years from now, it will stand the test of time.
still entire duke nukem theme just start running in my head each time i see that name what a classic. rest in peace
Alas. Loved his work on Major Stryker.
mein leben!
Hot dog!
Guten Tag!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Prince
Doom 1 Music Player (Sound Blaster | OPL3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_yIgqw-qR4
Rest in peace.