This was my first experiment with FL Studio (then called Fruity Loops). It’s a fun program to write music in, as the interface sort of pushes you in creative directions I don’t normally explore.
FlixMix (1993)
So, I wrote music for three levels of a PC game (FlixMix, published by Celeris in 1993). My career goal at the time was to write music for video games, so this was a pretty good opportunity.
The game ran in DOS, supporting only the lowest-common-denominator music hardware; a sound card first released in 1987. So, the clips you’re about to hear might sound a little dated.
On top of that, there were compromises made to reduce disk space, and while I’d submit revisions to compensate for each wave of those, optimization continued for months after my involvement in the project concluded. What was eventually published didn’t sound bad, necessarily, but it didn’t sound a whole lot like what I’d written.
Here’s what the public heard:
Level 2: Quixotic Box Paradox
Level 4: Mishmash Mesh
Level 7: Juggle Jumble
Unfortunately, I don’t have the “good” versions anymore. They’re on an unlabeled disk somewhere; I didn’t think I’d need to keep track of them.
I do have this, though…
I dug up my old files for one of these a few years ago, and spit out a copy with more up-to-date technology (and way too much reverb):
Mishmash Mesh — Remix
(Permission to share these was graciously given by the publisher, whom I genuinely feel are good people.)
Anyway, this experience has had two profound effects on my career:
- I abandoned it. Completely. Walked away, never looked back.
- As a web developer now, I frequently have to weigh the creative vision of the designers I work with against a sea of technical considerations, and in these conflicts, I will always side with the designer.
Fiercely.
Irrationally.
I’ve been on the other side of that, and I know how it feels.
*shrug*