Tommy Tallarico (born 1967 or 1968)[1] is an American video game music composer, sound designer, and television producer. Since the 1990s, he has helmed audio production for numerous video games through his self-titled company.[2] He co-hosted the television series Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run from 1997 until 2006.[3] In 2002, he created Video Games Live (VGL), a global video game music orchestra.
In 2018, after he became the president of Intellivision Entertainment, the company began work on and sought investors for an original video game console named the Intellivision Amico, for which Tallarico was frequently present in pitch videos. He has since stepped down from his position as CEO but remains on the company's board as president. As of 2024[update] the console has yet to be released. In 2020, it came to Tallarico's attention that a sound effect he owned, by then widely known as the "Roblox oof", was used in the video game Roblox. This led to a legal dispute which ended in 2022 with the removal of the sound effect from the game. Later in 2022, a video essay by British YouTuber Harry "Hbomberguy" Brewis documented an investigation into many disputed high-profile claims that Tallarico had made concerning his career, including his alleged involvement in creating the "oof" sound.
Tallarico's first musical project at Virgin Interactive was for the Game Boy version of Prince of Persia. "The main focus of writing video game music back then was it had to be simple and have a great melody," Tallarico said.[5] Tallarico worked on a number of other games while at Virgin Interactive, including the Sega CD version of The Terminator.[8]
Tommy Tallarico Studios
Tallarico continued working with Virgin Interactive as head of music and video division until 1994, when he went on to found Tommy Tallarico Studios. David Perry formed Shiny Entertainment at the same time, and the two studios collaborated on Earthworm Jim and MDK.[9] In 2005, Tallarico wrote part of an orchestral score for Advent Rising performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.[10]
In September 1999, the "oof" sound effect was created for the game Messiah during its development, with the involvement of sound designer Joey Kuras (then employed at Tallarico Studios) and, potentially, Tallarico.[11][12] Tallarico has at times claimed that Kuras created the sound, that it was a collaboration between the pair, and that he created it himself.[12][13] The sound effect was subsequently used in Roblox from 2006 to 2020, played after a character died in-game, and became an iconic part of the game after its adoption by meme culture.[14] Tallarico, who claims ownership of the sound, disputed Roblox's use of it in June 2019.[15] This dispute ended in July 2022 when the Roblox Corporation pulled the sound from all games on its platform.[16]
Television
In 1997, Victor Lucas, founder of the Electric Playground, started Electric Playground TV with Tallarico, which provided gaming news and reviews. In 2002, the reviews section of Electric Playground, Reviews on the Run, was spun-off into its own program, which Tallarico and Lucas hosted as well. In the U.S., Reviews on the Run was broadcast on G4 TV as Judgment Day.[17][18] In 2006, Tallarico began to spend less time on the show owing to other projects, missing almost all of 2007 and 2008. In 2009, Scott Jones took over his spot as full-time co-host with Victor Lucas.[19][20]
In 2002, Tallarico co-founded Video Games Live, a symphony orchestra concert series that plays music from video games, with Jack Wall.[21] Tallarico hosted and played guitar for the shows. He also created the visuals—scenes from video games, as well as lights and lasers—that are played in sync with the music.[22][23]
Tallarico has produced seven VGL albums. The first album, Video Games Live Volume 1, debuted at No. 10 on Billboard Top 10 for Classical Music Crossovers.[24] The second volume, Level 2, also sold as a Blu-ray DVD concert, debuted at No. 8 on the same Billboard list.[25] In August 2013, Tallarico also opened a crowdfunding campaign for the third album Level 3 on Kickstarter.[26] According to Tallarico, Kickstarter was chosen as the means to fund the album because he had not been successful in attracting support from the recording industry, which he claimed was because music producers "don't think gamers are willing to pay for music"[27] and did not recognize the perceived "culturally artistic significance" of video game soundtracks.[26] The Level 3 campaign successfully met and surpassed its goal of $250,000.[28]
In 2014, Tallarico and electronic dance music artist BT began working on Electronic Opus. As with Video Games Live, Electronic Opus presents EDM music alongside a symphony orchestra. They used Kickstarter to fund an album, with a goal of $200,000. The show opened at the Miami Winter Music Conference in 2015.[29][30] In 2016, Tallarico co-produced the Capcom Live! concert tour with Shota Nakama.[31][32]
Following the death of Keith Robinson in 2017, founder of Intellivision Productions, Tallarico purchased a stake in the company from the estate. In May 2018, Intellivision Entertainment was re-formed with him as president. In the winter of that year, he announced the intent for the company to release the Intellivision Amico with the target of October 2020.[33] As of July 2022, it is reportedly still being worked on.[34]
As of September 2022, the Amico has been delayed at least three times.[35] The console has been viewed very negatively by critics, drawing criticism for its delays,[36] fundraising tactics,[37] and use of NFTs.[38] The status of the console has been described as "grim" by TechRaptor[39] and compared to a car crash by Kotaku.[40]
In February 2022, Tallarico stepped down from his role as CEO of Intellivision, remaining on board as the company's president and largest shareholder. He was replaced by the company's former chief revenue officer Phil Adam.[41] As of May 2024, the Amico has not been released.[42]
Game Audio Network Guild
In 2002, Tallarico founded the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), a non-profit to recognize achievements in video game music and audio,[43] and served as its CEO and chairman of the board.[44] The guild hosts annual awards for achievement in game audio.[45]
Misleading claims
In November 2022, British YouTuber Harry "Hbomberguy" Brewis published a video essay which documented many of the high-profile claims that Tallarico had made concerning his career—including the number of video games he worked on, the number of Guinness World Records he earned, being the creator of the "oof" sound effect in his Roblox legal dispute, and being the first American to work on the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise—and concluded many were either exaggerations or knowingly false.[12][46][47]
According to the LA Times, his home in San Juan Capistrano "looks as if a 12-year-old with a huge bank account went wild", including a life-size Indiana Jones, several Star Wars characters, and a statue of Merlin.[52] Tallarico has falsely claimed that the house had at one point been featured on MTV Cribs.[12][46][53][54] In February 2024, he listed it for sale for $2,999,000;[55] in October of the same year, real estate broker Redfin marked the house as having been sold.[56]
↑ McLaughlin, Moira E. (February 22, 2011). "Video Game Music as art?". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
↑ Park, Brian (April 25, 2014). "The Maestro of Video Games". The Capistrano Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
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