This blog has been offline for a few weeks, but I have an excuse: I was over in New York attending a fabulous NY Fringe run of Super Sidekick: The Musical, for which I wrote music and lyrics. It did so well that the Fringe extended its run throughout September. If you’re in the NYC area, check it out!

Onto our usual subject matter. This week’s selection is from the iOS game Wizard Ops, wherein the protagonist does what wizards traditionally do, namely don a jetpack. Of course, wizardly flying music was called for. Enjoy!

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	Wizard Flight

This week’s selection is the music that accompanies the introductory cinematic for the iOS/Android game Wizard Ops. The developers crafted an elaborate backstory to the game, which manifests as a series of mini-movies. I used a “crazy” trill figure in the clarinet to characterize the Mad Maker, the wizards’ nemesis. I have a feeling we’ll be facing him in forthcoming installments of the game!

If you’d like to hear the music in context, dig up 99 gold pieces… er, cents… and head over to iOS app store.


(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	Wizards’ Plight

This week’s cue is a modern take on 1960s spy movie music, composed for the mobile title Wizard Ops Tactics. I tipped my hat to the familiar tropes – jazzy brass chords, driving guitar, the seemingly obligatory Latin percussion – while adding some whimsy to reflect the sensibility of the game.

A magic battle, that is. This week’s cue comes from the game Wizard Ops: Part One. The wizard is doing a kind of sideways walk while being buffeted by enemy fire, so for fun I picked an asymmetrical meter that paralleled the rhythm of walking sideways. (Yes, it’s possible to overthink these things, but in this case I thought the musical analogy worked.)

Terminology corner: this is an example of a “hybrid cue”, meaning one that combines traditional orchestral and contemporary rhythmic elements.

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	Battle on the Shore

“Boss” here is meant in the sense of final opponent of a video game level rather than overseer of employees, though I suppose the two aren’t mutually exclusive. This drum-and-choral-driven cue from the game Wizard Ops: Chapter One accompanies a climactic dual with an unusually large and vengeful limbless enemy.

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	The Worm Boss