Summary
Atari's official podcast recently featured Patrick Cresselius and Zach Fendelman from the music and sound design duo Fat Bard, known for their contributions to video games such as Bubsy 4D, Crash Lands, and the recently notable Demon Turf. The episode delved into the history of Fat Bard, which began in 2011 when Patrick, an audio engineer, began collaborating with Zach, who was still in high school. Their partnership grew as they worked on various projects, participating in local game jams and building a reputation in St. Louis' burgeoning game development community.
The hosts discussed the evolving field of game music and sound design, and how Fat Bard has leveraged sound design opportunities to broaden their skill set and gain traction as a company. They shared insights on how they approach working with established franchises like Bubsy, focusing on jazz influences for the Bubsy 4D soundtrack—an idea that resonated well with the team and captivated budding listeners.
The conversation also highlighted their experience with games like Battle Chef Brigade and Mr. Run and Jump, emphasizing the necessity of understanding different music styles and sound design techniques. The episode wrapped up with a trivia game based on the Moby Games scores of their projects, showcasing their high-rated games like Luna the Shadow Dust and Jet Lancer.
Fans and aspiring composers were encouraged to understand their clients while developing a broad range of musical skills to remain competitive in the ever-evolving gaming industry. As the podcast concluded, Patrick and Zach invited listeners to follow Fat Bard on various platforms while celebrating their journey in game music and sound design.
Show Notes
One of the most competitive sides of the games industry is music composition. There are so many talented musicians and not enough games for them all, so it says a lot about the select few who can make a full-time career out of it. Fat Bard is one of those examples, and being hot off the heels of composing the Bubsy 4D OST, there was no better time to have them on to discuss their journey and the wide range of titles they've contributed to. The duo, Patrick Crecelius and Zach Fendelman, have been collaborating for about 15 years now, and we cover quite a lot, including some real-time revelations and work on a previous Atari project.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/QYIhAinNMOM
Bubsy 4D OST Available NOW! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4788190/Bubsy_4D_Soundtrack__Art_Book/
Bubsy 4D is OUT NOW! Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3237970/Bubsy_4D/ Epic: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/bubsy-4d-b4b94f GoG: https://www.gog.com/en/game/bubsy_4d PlayStation: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10016621/ Xbox: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/bubsy-4d/9P82VZJSZWGS Switch 2: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/bubsy-4d-switch-2/ Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/bubsy-4d-switch/ Physical: https://atari.com/products/bubsy-4d-deluxe-physical-edition?variant=47396647731365
Learn about Toy Story: Retro Roundup and Toy Story 3 Complete Edition https://atari.com/pages/toy-story
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