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2007 / 09 / 27 – Heellooo? What's going on?
Having a bout of flu right now, and conversely, have had time to think about stuff. I came to realize I haven't updated my homepage in ages, and have released new songs very scarcely. In case you've missed my latest song as of writing this update, it's called Circle of Steel and it's available in my Mikseri.net page. My latest “professional” release is the music for a new Raptisoft game titled “Hap Hazard”.
As for why I haven't updated in ages, is because for two years(!) I've wanted, tried and failed to get myself a new website design made. The current pages are difficult to keep up to date, because they're basically a bunch of Notepad-built HTML pages (with the frames built in FrontPage). A friend of mine is working on a new design, but it's taking a while. I've held back new releases, hoping and waiting to release them “officially” with the new pages – ever since this whole thing started two years back. I'm sorry about my absence, but it's been rather discouraging to me too.
The new pages should also feature an on-site player (for easy song previewing) and a discussion forum for you to leave comments and write to me. They're going to be great - as soon as I get them to work.
I still get occasional mails from you guys. And I do still want to keep making and releasing new music. Thanks to everyone for your interest.
2005 / 10 / 31 – Samurai Ghost
An invitation demo for the TMDC (Text Mode Demo Competition) was recently released, featuring my music. It's an ambient song with a rather ethereal feel to it. I'm also releasing the music separately as higher qualiy Ogg and MP3 files. Download MP3 Download Ogg
2005 / 08 / 04 – Instant Rejection
I partook in the Assembly 2005 instrumental music competition with this song, and made it to the finals. The song placed 11th out of 15 entries. Made with FL Studio featuring Slayer 2.5. Download MP3
2005 / 02 / 17 – Legacy of Rust
People seemed to like They Crave a lot and asked for more, and I was itching to improve my Slayer setup, so I decided to whip out Legacy of Rust - another aggressive and energetic synthmetal song. Made with FL Studio and the Slayer guitar softsynth.
2004 / 12 / 16 – Hamster Ball Gold
A Gold version of Hamster Ball has been released. It contains three new music tracks for the three extra levels present in the game. Other than that, the music is same as before. The MO3 file has a bit higher packing quality. Download IT.zip MO3.zip
2004 / 11 / 18 – Beyond the Network – the Bejeweled 2 soundtrack
The long wait I've been hinting about is finally over. Bejeweled 2, the newest PopCap game has been released, with my music in it. Featuring almost 40 minutes of music, this song represents literally years of work, briging together new ideas, old ideas, inspiration and horrible cliches. Among other tracks, it features a remake of my old song Autonomus, and a remake of a previously unreleased song, Tunnel Society. The song is available in four formats: IT, MO3, MP3 and Ogg. Make your pick, but mind you: since there's almost 40 minutes of music, the MP3 and OGG downloads are 40 Mb each.
2004 / 08 / 10 - They Crave
Time for a new release! Titled They Crave (2:58 MP3), the song is Rob Zombie wannabe synth metal, themed along the Dawn of the Dead movie. If you've heard Cannon Angel, you may notice some similarities, and if you liked it, you might like this one as well (alongside the wrenching sensation of rapid déjá vus). The song is authored with FL Studio using (among other things) the Slayer and Slayer 2 guitar synthesizers.
This song and some others are also available on my page in Mikseri.net. Mikseri is a Finnish website for musicians, similar to MP3.com or SoundClick, where artists can distribute their songs. The pages are in Finnish, but the song links should be self-explanatory.
2004 / 06 / 22 - Past the Chase
I purchased a new composition program called FL Studio some weeks ago and have been making progress with it. This is my first officially released FL Studio song: Past the Chase (3:53). It's not particularly deep since it was basically made over the weekend, but I like the results. No, this is not the main reason for my long absence. Something big is coming up. :)
I also arranged the songs in my song page to chronological order, with the newest songs on top. It forms an interesting historical timeline of sorts, plus it's now easy to find the newest releases.
2004 / 02 / 23 - N.O.M.A.D. released
A freeware remake of the old Commodore game N.O.M.A.D. has been released. As for why I'm announcing it here, is because it is using some of my old songs. Check it out if you like. The game is developed by TCK Soft.
2004 / 01 / 24 - Hamster Ball!
Yeah, I have been doing stuff during my long absence. Here's a new release: a music suite to Hamster Ball, an upcoming RealArcade game from Raptisoft. Downloadable here: IT version (1.7M zipped) - MO3 version (136k zipped). The song contains multiple looping parts. To hear them all, you need to skip from part to part. In ModPlug Tracker you can do it thru the Sequence menu. In XMPlay, press Shift-Left/Right Arrow to skip between parts.
NOTE: The song uses DirectX effects. Unfortunately due to a different buffer bit depth between ModPlug Tracker and BASS.DLL, the volume of the Distortion effect differs radically between the two. The MO3 version's volume is set to play correctly in XMPlay and the game. The IT version's volume is set correctly for ModPlug Tracker. If you play the IT version in XMPlay, the distorted leads will sound too loud.
2003 / 08 / 15 - Remakes of Rama Gardens and Deep in Her Eyes
Yep, I've been quite for quite a while, haven't I. Due to an extremely busy period I'm having at work I was, unfortunately, unable to attend Assembly 2003, save for a quick visit. However, I did do something. :) Assembly Organizing asked me if they could play my music on Assembly TV, and I decided to make "face-lifted" versions of my old songs Deep in Her Eyes (IT.zip MO3) and Rama Gardens (IT.zip MO3).
They both use high quality "face-lifted" stereo samples (hence the huge file size, try the MO3 versions, they sound just as good), and also use a few DirectX Audio Effects to beef up the sound. You must have the newest version of ModPlug Tracker (1.16) or XMPlay (for the MO3 files) to play them.
2003 / 06 / 07 - Lizard
Another piece of ZBrush artwork created: Lizard. It's my tribute to Dave Kelly and his delightful webcomic.
2003 / 05 / 30 - Mailing list available
I have decided to start a little mailing list for those who wish to be informed in email whenever I release new song / art, or have any other announcements worth noting - just so you don't need to check my webpage regularly to see what's new. You can join the mailing by clicking here and filling the form. A link to join / leave the mailing list is always available in the footer of this webpage.
The mailing list will be used for new release announcements only and only the list owner (me) can post to it. I will assure it will not get very spammy (unless I get hit by an out-of-this-world inspiration :) ). Should the need arise for a more open "chat" style mailing list where all members can post, I will consider starting one.
2003 / 05 / 28 - Smash!
Not for quite a while have I felt as inspired by software as I've felt with ZBrush. Here's another piece of ZBrush artwork for you. You wouldn't like him when he's angry. :)
2003 / 05 / 24 - Meet Zizi
Here's my second 'official' ZBrush release: Zizi. This is also a re-creation of an older drawing of mine, which I modified a bit first. What can I say. ZBrush rules! (I was also made aware that her name, while common in Italy, actually means something nastier in French. Please ignore, Frenchies.) :)
2003 / 05 / 15 - Zugly Duckling
I've laid my hands on a really cool paint program called ZBrush, and have spent the last weeks learning the ropes. Here's my first 'official release' with it: the Zugly Duckling. It's a re-creation of the original Ugly Duckling, also available in the Artwork section.
2003 / 02 / 25 - Bookworm is out
A new hard-hitter from PopCap featuring my music is out! It's called Bookworm Deluxe, and it's a Windows version of the java original. I had no idea eating your own words would be so addictive. :) The music is also available for download.
2003 / 01 / 15 - Codename Silver music released
The music I made for the shareware game Codename Silver is now available for download. The music is in ultra-compact MO3 format and can be played with XMPlay. Click the "i" button on XMPlay to display the song comments. You can jump between different song parts by pressing Shift-Left/Right Arrow.
2003 / 01 / 15 - Song page organized
I made some reorganization of my song page. The songs that were previously only available on mp3.com are now also available here. The song table has been clarified a little. Hope you like the new (=slightly modified) look. The ZIP file of all the songs is no longer available, because it would be so huge.
2002 / 12 / 13 - Codename Silver out
A new shareware game featuring my music, Codename Silver, has just been released. I will release the music of the game on my homepage in mid-January 2003.
2002 / 10 / 05 - The Final Goblin
Boy, it sure took me a while, but here it is: the final release of my Assembly song The Goblin Returns! Long story short, I originally wanted some goblin-esque voice performances for the song, but back then my friend, who was meant to do them, was in so much hurry it couldn't be done. But now, finally, the song is in the form I originally wanted it to be. Special thanks to Nitro / Trauma (Kai-Eerik Komppa) for his excellent goblin voice performances and to Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen for setting up and letting us use their studio for the voice recording.
Not only MP3 and OGG versions, I'm also releasing the IT version of the song, so even that guy at Slashdot should be happy (or at least happier). Mind you, the song uses mostly CD quality samples so the tracker file is huge. Bigger than the MP3 and OGG files (but amazingly, still within the Assembly competition limits). Now you're all free rip and dissect the song. Rapture and joy. :p
I also decided to experiment a little with MO3 encoding. With this special technology you can keep the song in tracker format, but MP3/OGG encode the samples it uses. This can shrink the song file down to 8% of its original size. The MO3 version of the song is also available. You will need a program called XMPlay to play the file.
2002 / 08 / 04 - The goblin is back!
Something else did happen at the Assembly. Not only the goblin returned to harass the peace of that hapless individual, he also stole the first place in the Instrumental Music competition! It's funny how his same old tricks worked again.
The song is bit less wacky and more melodic than its predecessor. I guess it can now be called a 'worthy sequel'. You can already download it in .OGG format from the Scene.org Assembly 2002 archive. I'll add the final version of the song to my homepage later on. The song actually lacks some final touches that I didn't have time to put there, as the song was finished in a bit of a hurry. Yes, that's a true Assembly tradition. ;) Making the final version requires a special performance from a friend of mine, so it may be a few more days/weeks before this happens.
The song is in Ogg Vorbis format, a packed, streamed format just like MP3, but completely free and open source. The newest Standard and Full (but not Lite) versions of WinAmp are capable of playing the file.
2002 / 08 / 01 - Assembly 2002
I'll be attending everyone's favorite demoscene get-together Assembly 2002. I'm giving a seminar on my work on Max Payne there on Friday the 2nd, 19:00. And well, who knows what else might happen... ;)
2002 / 06 / 06 - Big Money released
A brand new PopCap game called Big Money, featuring my music, has been released. The game is addictive as hell. I know, I've played it myself and it's posed a serious threat to my other activities. You have been warned. :) The music is also available for download. As with my previous game tunes, the song parts are separated in the order list and must be accessed with a tracker.
2002 / 05 / 04 - Oldies now available
Due to a fan request I've decided to make my oldies finally available. Listen at your own risk. :) Only the finished songs have been released. He half-finished oldies shall remain where they belong: On my HDD for possible future use.
2002 / 05 / 01 - Artwork page updated
I've now created a real artwork page with a thumbnail index to replace the old placeholder. There aren't any newer drawings yet, but at least the page is there. There will be separate sections for 3D art and animations, if ever such things by yours truly show up.
2002 / 03 / 17 - Game Developers Conference 2002
I'm off to California to attend the Game Developers Conference 2002! The event begins in March 19th and ends in March 23rd. In addition to attending numerous lectures and presentations on game-making, I'm also actually giving one there! Wish me luck... or actually, don't. As Big Arnie said, luck is for the ill prepared. Note that I won't have time nor access to answer my email during this time.
2002 / 03 / 03 - Skaven's home page is go!
My homepage is finally active! Please note that it's still under heavy construction. Some parts are not yet active, and I haven't checked if all the links work yet (some of them are really old). I have entered some older news entries in this section, just to give you a general idea what's been going on during my absence.
2002 / 02 / 25 - Dynomite released
A new shareware game from PopCap Games called Dynomite has been released, and it features music by yours truly. Enjoy! The music is also available for download here. It is a remix of my old song Amazonas, with several new sequences added for different parts of the game. The game also features a face-lifted version of my song Omniphilia. Note: The song file used in Dynomite had to be modified at last stage because the music library didn't support filters. The version available here is the original song with filters used. Also note that the song contains several parts which you must access through the order list within the tracker program.
2001 / 12 / 22 - Game over, man
The "Premium Artist Service" on my mp3.com page has expired because the number of visits no longer can pay for the service (this is their and my fault, not yours). Sarcastically said, you can now freely visit and download music from there without the slightest fear of supporting me. Yay. (At least until I finally get one or two albums together for sale)
2001 / 10 - Seven Seas hits the market
A PopCap game called Seven Seas has been released, featuring my music. Unlike the couple of previous PopCap games, this time the song is brand new and custom made for the game. The song is available for download here. Keep in mind that the song contains several parts which you must access through the order list within the tracker program.
2001 / 08 - Alchemy out
PopCap Games continues with the business. Their new release, Alchemy for Windows, uses my old song He Has No Face and introduces itself with a cut-short version of the intro of War in the Middle Earth.
2001 / 06 - Bejeweled
I was contacted by the developers of PopCap Games with regards to using my tracker music in their upcoming game Bejeweled. My songs Network, Autonomus and Data Jack are being used in different parts of the game. As a fun detail, check out how Penny Arcade tipped the hat towards the game.