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Chiptune is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The term is commonly used to refer to tracker format music using extremely basic and small samples that an old computer or console could produce, as well as music that combines PSG sounds with modern musical styles. It has been described as "an interpretation of many genres" since any existing song can be arranged in a chiptune style defined more by choice of instrument and timbre than specific style elements.
Mega Man 2 is an action game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in 1988 and in North America and PAL regions the following years. Mega Man 2 continues Mega Man's battle against the evil Dr. Wily and his rogue robots. It introduced graphical and gameplay changes, many of which became series staples.
8 Bit Weapon is an American chiptune music band formed in Ventura County, California, by Seth and Michelle Sternberger. It was originally created by Seth Sternberger around 1998. Its instruments consists primarily of old 8-bit and 16-bit computers such as the VIC-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Amiga 500, and the Apple II, as well as game consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Atari 2600, and an Intellivision synthesizer.
MAGFest is an annual festival held in the Washington metropolitan area that celebrates video games and video game music, as well as their surrounding culture. MAGFest's primary features are a large open video gaming room, a hall of arcade cabinets, concerts by chiptune artists and video game cover bands, and a bring your own computer (BYOC) LAN party.
The Protomen are an American rock band who started their career composing concept albums loosely based on the video game series Mega Man. Their stage names are largely references to pop culture films, song titles, and fictional characters. The group members refer to themselves as storytellers, creating a "rock and roll fable".
Bit.Trip, stylized BIT.TRIP, is a series of nine video games developed by Choice Provisions and published by Aksys Games for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, macOS, PS Vita, and PS4. It was published by Arc System Works for WiiWare and Nintendo eShop in Japan, and by Namco Networks America Inc for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Each game revolves around the adventures of a character named "Commander Video", and features "a crazy mix of 80s aesthetics and modern game design". The styles of the games range from pong-like, to platforming, and shooting. Each game in the series features a chiptune-inspired soundtrack, but a different style of rhythm-based gameplay in each. Most games in the series have few levels; Beat, Core, Void and Flux have only three levels each while Fate has six and Runner has 36. Most of the games feature levels lasting between 10 and 25 minutes to make up for having such few levels. The games also consists of 8 modes; Nether, Hyper, Mega, Super, Ultra, Extra, Giga, and Meta; which changes based on how well the player does. Each successive game adds a new mode, the highest being Mega in Beat, and Meta in Flux.
Bit.Trip Beat, marketed as BIT.TRIP BEAT, is an arcade-style music video game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service. It was released in 2009 in North America, and released in Japan and PAL regions in the same year. It was later released for the Windows and Mac OS X through the download service Steam in 2010, while Namco Bandai published it for iOS on iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad in both Bit.Trip Beat and Bit.Trip Beat HD versions. Android and Linux versions debuted in the Humble Android Bundle 3.
Super Meat Boy is a 2010 platform game designed by Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes under the collective name of "Team Meat". It was self-published as the successor to Meat Boy, a 2008 Flash game designed by McMillen and Jonathan McEntee. In the game, the player controls Meat Boy, a red, cube-shaped character, as he attempts to rescue his girlfriend, Bandage Girl, from the game's antagonist Dr. Fetus. The gameplay is characterized by fine control and split-second timing, as the player runs and jumps through over 300 hazardous levels while avoiding obstacles. The game also supports the creation of player-created levels. Super Meat Boy was first released on the Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade in October 2010, and was later ported to Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, and the Nintendo Switch. A Wii version was in development but was ultimately cancelled.
Anamanaguchi is an American chiptune-based pop and rock band from New York City. The band has four members: lead songwriters and guitarists Peter Berkman and Ary Warnaar, bassist James DeVito, and drummer Luke Silas.
Edge is a puzzle-platform game developed by Mobigame for PC and iOS devices. The objective is to guide a rolling cube through maze-like levels and reach the goal. Originally released on the App Store in December 2008, it has been removed and re-added to the store multiple times due to a trademark dispute with Tim Langdell of Edge Games, concerning the use of the word "Edge" in the title. This had caused the game to be briefly released as Edge by Mobigame and Edgy, before ultimately returning to the App Store under its original name in January 2010. The game was released on multiple platforms including mobile phones, PlayStation Portable, Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS. It was released on Steam in August 2011 by publisher Two Tribes.
Nintendocore is a broadly defined style of music that most commonly fuses chiptune and video game music with hardcore punk and/or heavy metal. The genre is sometimes considered a direct subgenre of post-hardcore and a fusion genre between metalcore and chiptune. The genre originated in the early 2000s and peaked around the late 2000s with bands like Horse the Band, I Fight Dragons, Math the Band, An Albatross, The NESkimos and Minibosses pioneering the genre.
Retro City Rampage is an action-adventure game developed by Vblank Entertainment. It is a parody of retro games and 1980s and 1990s pop culture, as well as Grand Theft Auto and similar games. It was first released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and Microsoft Windows in 2012, with ports later releasing for several other platforms. An enhanced version, Retro City Rampage DX, was released for Nintendo 3DS in 2014, followed by later ports for other platforms. Previous ports of the original version were later updated to the DX version via free updates.
Bit.Trip Runner is an arcade-style rhythm game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service. It is the fourth game to be released in the Bit.Trip series of games, serving as the successor to Bit.Trip Beat, Bit.Trip Core and Bit.Trip Void, and as the predecessor to Bit.Trip Fate and Bit.Trip Flux.
Levi "Doctor Octoroc" Buffum is an American chiptune musician and pixel artist based in Philadelphia.
Brendan Becker, known by his stage name Inverse Phase, is an American video game composer and chiptune musician, using Atari, Commodore, and Nintendo hardware. He also speaks and hosts workshops on video game music, chiptunes, and composing.
Daniel Behrens, better known by his stage name Danimal Cannon, is an American video game composer and chiptune music performer. He is most known for combining guitar playing with Game Boy music. He is also known for his presentations on chipmusic, having hosted panels at Penny Arcade Expo, YouTube tutorials, a TEDx Talk, and a Game Boy masterclass workshop at Blip Festival 2012.
Grant Henry, better known by his stage name Stemage, is an American guitarist and composer. He is known for his video game and television soundtracks, including Cartoon Network's animated series Steven Universe. He is also known for his involvement in several video game cover projects, including Metroid Metal and Viking Guitar.
Temple of Yog is a 2D retro-style shoot 'em up roguelike, developed and published by independent video game developer ChudChud Industries. The game was released exclusively on the Nintendo Wii U in North America on December 16, 2015, and in Europe on January 7, 2016. While the game received generally mixed reviews, it was notably praised for its unique use of the Wii U GamePad.
Chris Davidson, better known by his stage name DJ Cutman, is an American chiptune DJ. He is known for his remixes of video game soundtracks through his label GameChops, such as Zelda & Chill, as well as his live performances at video game events and his web series This Week in Chiptune. His stage name and costume during live performances are derived from the Mega Man character Cut Man.
References
- ↑ "Meet the world's only "extreme chiptune dance metal band:" Denver's Rainbowdragoneyes", Westword, 2014, retrieved 2015-05-15
- 1 2 "MAGFest - Dr. Zilog", MAGFest, 2018, retrieved 2015-05-15
- ↑ "8-bit metal special!", Can This Even Be Called Music, 2013, retrieved 2015-05-15
- ↑ "8-Bit Players Take on Miles Davis and MGMT", Wired, 2009, retrieved 2015-05-15
- ↑ "Dr. Zilog's 8-Bit 'My Girls' Cover", GameSetWatch, 2009, retrieved 2015-05-15
- ↑ "Review: Temple of Yog", Hardcore Gamer, 2015, retrieved 2015-05-15
- ↑ "Got a Wii U? Love a Bit of Ritual Slaughter? 'Temple of Yog' Might Be the Game for You". VICE. 8 January 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
