I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of “video games” that let you create things, music in particular. Mario Paint, MTV Music Generator, Electroplankton, and most recently Detune’s line of portable music workstations on the DS and 3DS. Fascinated, but not dedicated. I’ve fiddled with the virtual knobs of these apps in the past but never dug into them or even heard the work of those who have.
It makes Trotus and the Gameboy an especially interesting listen as the album was composed, produced and mixed with KORG M01D, the $34 audio workstation available on the 3DS eShop. Trotus released the album over a year ago on Bandcamp but just linked to it on the 3DS subreddit this past week and it’s generated the most exposure I’ve seen so far.
Self-described as encompassing “chiptune, chill beats, and boss battle house with groovy odd time signatures”, Trotus reveals among the positive comments that he’s drawn inspiration from the likes of Earthbound and Cave Story for some of the tracks.
In another reply he gives his thoughts on using the KORG app. “I love this program. Honestly it’s not too daunting and quite user friendly once you get the hang of it. Touch screen interface and the portability actually are huge draw-ins to me compared to computer DAWs (digital audio workstations for anyone out there unfamiliar.) It’s easy to just loop a drum beat, and sequence in chords, or record melodies/basslines, etc. (it has a nice little piano roll).”
Take a listen for yourself above, grab the album for pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp, and follow Trotus’ page if you like what you hear; he’s currently working on ten new songs. Let us know what you think of Trotus and the Gameboy in the comments and link us to some of your favorite made-in-a-game music while you’re at it.
