How fascinating! It's too bad the theme never made it in.

 

Hmmm, I don't have the game so I can't verify one way or another, but I do have a recollection of Mr. Seibert's piece also being in the game. It's a perfectly fine piece of music and it would have been silly not to include it. I think it's in.

Oh! It must be this one, then. You're right, it does sound more like Amok Time than the other one. Maybe that's the one I was thinking of to begin with.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnpKjZfkT2Y&feature=BFa&list=PLE13106492FC50BCC

Oh! It must be this one, then. You're right, it does sound more like Amok Time than the other one. Maybe that's the one I was thinking of to begin with.

 

Yep, that's the one! Good find! :D

For comparison:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XQbBxIHbHQ

Thanks for answering my question, Ken. What I meant was the part at 1:05 of this video here:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHD1uPVkyk0

 

I thought you guys inserted this section into the opening of SQ4 as a parody to the classic Battlestar series.

 

Nonetheless - I love what you did in Space Quest IV - I really dug the music back in the day. Anytime when I got my hands on a new sound card, the first game I tested it with was Space Quest IV, because the music was so very well done, especially the Opening Credits, the SQ1 bar theme and the Showdown theme. I still get a huge smile on my face when listening to the tracks nowadays. Thanks so much for doing them and sharing them with us though those games.

 

Best,

 

Christian

The podcast is up at GuysFromAndromeda.com. I hate hearing my voice.

http://guysfromandro...host-ken-allen/

Thanks for answering my question, Ken. What I meant was the part at 1:05 of this video here:

 

You know, I can see why you might think the BSG theme was an influence. So, yeah, probably. I just don't have a clear memory of what influenced my score for the SQ4 opening. Firstly, is was so long ago, and, secondly, it was a prolific and sleepless weekend for me when I produced the music for that sequence. I just wanted to impress the two guys from Andromeda and, to do so, I pulled out all the stops.

 

Hats off to Stu Phillips for composing such a wonderful score that was so inspiring.

So now that the podcast is live, I can spill one big secret I revealed in the interview.

 

After I left Sierra to become a contract composer, I actually composed a full score for SC5. Mark Crowe and the dev team were at Dynamix and pretty much operated under the radar of the Oakhurst office. But after I completed the work and got paid, I let it slip to a Sierra employee I had just finished the SQ5 music.

 

This part is second hand so, I'm not 100% sure this is true, but I heard that after Ken and Roberta Williams returned from vacationing in Barcelonam Ken was told of my involvement, and the he ordered my music pulled in favor of music from Sierra staff composers.

 

At the risk of starting a forum firefight, please allow me to defend Ken's decision. I'd left Sierra in a way some would describe as a "burning a bridge." I was writing music for his direct competition, including the group of ex-Sierra folks at Tsunami across town. And I can see that someone in Ken's position would feel betrayed.

 

I mean, If I had built a company as awesom as Sierra and heard that a disloyal former employee who was helping the competition was also getting credit in one of my company's top franchise, I'd probably be a little cranky, too.

 

The sad part is I do not have those music files, and that work is probably lost to the world. I was hoping the music extracted from the game CD and posted here would have included the lost music files. But alas, no.

Space Quest 5's soundtrack was actually very good, so no big loss, I suppose (except for you who no longer have the music :unsure:). I don't think we're quite so fickle as to turn our back on Ken Williams, either. In spite of all of the vicious jest he receives by the game designers, he basically built and managed a highly successful and prolific adventure game company.

Space Quest 5's soundtrack was actually very good, so no big loss, I suppose (except for you who no longer have the music :unsure:).

 

Yes, Chris and Tim did a great job.

The sad part is I do not have those music files, and that work is probably lost to the world. I was hoping the music extracted from the game CD and posted here would have included the lost music files. But alas, no.

That's too bad! I never really cared for SQ5's soundtrack as much as SQ4's and SQ1VGA's. SQ5's score composed by you would have been a dream come true for me. Are there at least any particular influences or similarities to other scores you could compare it to to paint a picture of what kind of score it was? Was it similar to what was ultimately composed?

 

Space Quest 5's soundtrack was actually very good, so no big loss, I suppose (except for you who no longer have the music :unsure:).

I'm not sure you understand we're talking about two alternate scores, do you? The SQ5 soundtrack composed by Ken Allen (not the one that actually was included in the final shipped game, composed by Tim Clarke and Christopher Stevens) is lost to the ages and nobody will ever hear it. Which is sad. :(

I'm very torn about this. I can understand now why Tim Clarke said it only took him two weeks to do the score- he probably only had two weeks to do it! This answers my long-unanswered question, why was SQ5 such a short soundtrack and why did it have so much darned tracked (same music repeated in different scenes) music.

 

While I very much enjoy the music composed by Chris and Tim, I would have much rather had Ken's score. It would have probably been longer, more orchestral, more symphonic and less Dynamix-cartoony/slapstick sounding. but it wasn't to be. Ah, shame.

I'm going to be compiling the best recordings and covers of my game music for my youtube channel, youtube.com/mrkenallen. And I would like your help finding the best of the best. You can PM me or post links publically in this thread. And thanks in advance for your help.

Hi, Ken.

 

A couple of years back, I did a medley of three Space Quest tunes, the last of which is the ever-famous (in my mind, at least) Format Countdown from Space Quest IV. (The two others are the Space Quest III main theme, and Fester's World'o'Wonders, also from SQ3.)

 

Now, I don't know if you did the actual Format Countdown music in SQ4, but that's what I've been telling everyone, so that's why I'm posting it here.

 

The Format Countdown is, by far, my favorite theme in SQ4, and over the course of a long and amateurish music career, it's the one obscure theme from the series I keep coming back to. I just love the urgent, but melancholic melody.

 

Anyway, here it is.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b48FnH30nU

This rocks hard. LOVE IT!

:D

 

Thank you! That means a lot to me, coming from the guy who actually WROTE it! Many's the time I have banged my head against my keyboard, wishing I had come up with that tune.

I'm going to be compiling the best recordings and covers of my game music for my youtube channel, youtube.com/mrkenallen. And I would like your help finding the best of the best. You can PM me or post links publically in this thread. And thanks in advance for your help.

 

I'm gonna start a new thread with this new topic.

Hey Ken! Thanks for making some of my favorite game music without me even knowing it ;) I collect game soundtracks and your name snuck by me - particularly your work on the original Descent. I was stunned when I found that one out

- particularly your work on the original Descent. I was stunned when I found that one out

... wait, what?

Yeah, I'd just been hired by Interplay, and Rusty, the producer for Descent came to me and asked me to add a couple more songs to the game. I listened to what had been written and composed two more tracks for the soundtrack in the same style. I had a very minor role in that game's score.

Wow! Would you happen to know which tracks you did specifically? I have the soundtracks to both Descent games up on a website I created for SC-55 music packs. http://sc55.duke4.net/descent.php

Wow! Would you happen to know which tracks you did specifically? I have the soundtracks to both Descent games up on a website I created for SC-55 music packs. http://sc55.duke4.net/descent.php

 

I'm trying to track that down. When I do, I'll add it to my YouTube channel and post links here.

OK, I've reached out to the other contributors to the music for the Descent soundtrack and I think I've identified the ones I composed. If someone with a clearer recollection than mine of "who did what" disputes my taking credit for these songs, please let me know. I do NOT want to take credit for your work.

 

Kudos to Allistar Brimble for his awesome arrangements of the Descent soundtrack for the Mac version. Links below.

Moon Sci-Lab is the most popular song from that game. Now I know why!

 

Here are those same tracks recorded from the SC-55. Slightly different. Any of these sound more familiar?

 

Moon Sci-Lab

Mission Briefing

Venus Lab

Actually, I think my memory is a little off. I'm chatting with one of the other composers and we're sorting out who did what. I don't want to wrongly take credit.

Stand by.