Ari Pulkkinen
Encyclopedia
Ari Pulkkinen is an Finnish
video game composer, musician
and a sound designer. His Angry Birds Theme is his most famous composition.
demoscene
and started making music with tracker software. He won many music competitions and made his first big public album to accompany a freeware game named "Starfight VI: Gatekeepers" in 1999. Ari has never studied music composition academically.
In 2003 he was hired as in-house Audio Director to game development company Frozenbyte
Inc. In there, he made original soundtrack and sound design
for computer game Shadowgrounds
, Shadowgrounds Survivor
and Trine
. In his spare time Ari earned diplomas in Professional Audio Design and Producing and Further Education for Producers and Leads of the Finnish Game Industry with Adulta, and Music Technology with Sibelius Academy
. After quitting Frozenbyte in 2008, Ari started his own sound production company AriTunes. Since then he has made original soundtrack and sound design for over twenty projects, including console game
titles such as Angry Birds
, Dead Nation
, Trine
, Outland
and Super Stardust HD
. Ari releases his music through his own label AriTunes.
On 2nd of September 2011 in Video Game Heroes Concert, Angry Birds Theme was played by London Philharmonic Orchestra
. This is the first time Ari's composition has been played by a full live orchestra.
On 4th of October 2011 Ari won the Best Finnish Game Developer in 2011 -award due to his contrubution for Finnish game industry.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
video game composer, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and a sound designer. His Angry Birds Theme is his most famous composition.
Biography
At the age of 6 he started studying piano and composed his first song at the age of 12. He was interested in the computer musicComputer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
and started making music with tracker software. He won many music competitions and made his first big public album to accompany a freeware game named "Starfight VI: Gatekeepers" in 1999. Ari has never studied music composition academically.
In 2003 he was hired as in-house Audio Director to game development company Frozenbyte
Frozenbyte
Frozenbyte Inc. is a Finnish game-developer founded in 2001 and based in Helsinki, Finland. The company has now grown to a professional team of almost 20 people, with its first commercial game being Shadowgrounds for Microsoft Windows...
Inc. In there, he made original soundtrack and sound design
Sound design
Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
for computer game Shadowgrounds
Shadowgrounds
Shadowgrounds is a shoot 'em up for Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac OS X, developed by Frozenbyte. The game takes place on a space colony on Ganymede which is being attacked by aliens...
, Shadowgrounds Survivor
Shadowgrounds Survivor
Shadowgrounds Survivor is a shooter game developed by Frozenbyte and the sequel to Shadowgrounds. It has three playable characters, a RPG-like upgrade system for weapons and characters, a survival mode, graphics enhanced from its predecessor, an integrated physics engine, and a soundtrack by Ari...
and Trine
Trine
Trine may refer to:*Trine , an angle of 120° *Trine , a 2009 video game by Frozenbyte*Trine 2, the sequel to Trine*Trine University, an institution of higher education in Angola, Indiana...
. In his spare time Ari earned diplomas in Professional Audio Design and Producing and Further Education for Producers and Leads of the Finnish Game Industry with Adulta, and Music Technology with Sibelius Academy
Sibelius Academy
The Sibelius Academy is a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki. The Academy is the only music university in Finland. It is among the biggest European music universities...
. After quitting Frozenbyte in 2008, Ari started his own sound production company AriTunes. Since then he has made original soundtrack and sound design for over twenty projects, including console game
Console game
A console game is a form of interactive multimedia used for entertainment. The game consists of manipulable images generated by a video game console, and displayed on a television or similar audio-video system. The game itself is usually controlled and manipulated using a handheld device connected...
titles such as Angry Birds
Angry Birds
Angry Birds is a puzzle video game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mobile. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple's iOS in December 2009...
, Dead Nation
Dead Nation
Dead Nation is a shoot 'em up video game for PlayStation 3 developed by a Finnish video game company Housemarque. It was released on November 30, 2010 in North America, and December 1 in Europe, on PlayStation Network. Dead Nation takes place in a fictional world afflicted by a zombie apocalypse...
, Trine
Trine
Trine may refer to:*Trine , an angle of 120° *Trine , a 2009 video game by Frozenbyte*Trine 2, the sequel to Trine*Trine University, an institution of higher education in Angola, Indiana...
, Outland
Outland
Outland may refer to:* Outland , a 1981 film directed by Peter Hyams and starring Sean Connery* Outland , a 1987 album by Spear of Destiny* Outland , a 1991 album by Gary Numan...
and Super Stardust HD
Super Stardust HD
Super Stardust HD is a downloadable game for the PlayStation 3 video game console developed by the Finnish company Housemarque. It is also known as Star Strike HD in Japan....
. Ari releases his music through his own label AriTunes.
On 2nd of September 2011 in Video Game Heroes Concert, Angry Birds Theme was played by London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
. This is the first time Ari's composition has been played by a full live orchestra.
On 4th of October 2011 Ari won the Best Finnish Game Developer in 2011 -award due to his contrubution for Finnish game industry.
Noteworthy game contributions
- Trine 2Trine 2Trine 2 is an upcoming side-scrolling action platform and puzzle video game under development by Frozenbyte. It is the sequel to Trine and will be released on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and Windows on December 6, 2011.Trine 2 will allow three players to play the...
(2011) - Original soundtrack, sound design http://www.aripulkkinen.com/projects/trine-2/ - Outland (video game)Outland (video game)Outland is a platform video game developed by Housemarque and published by Ubisoft. The game was first demonstrated at Penny Arcade Expo 2010. It combines two-dimensional platforming with a polarity system similar to Ikaruga. Outland was released in April 27, 2011 for Xbox Live Arcade...
(2011) - Original soundtrack, sound design - Dead NationDead NationDead Nation is a shoot 'em up video game for PlayStation 3 developed by a Finnish video game company Housemarque. It was released on November 30, 2010 in North America, and December 1 in Europe, on PlayStation Network. Dead Nation takes place in a fictional world afflicted by a zombie apocalypse...
(2010) - Original soundtrack, sound design http://www.aripulkkinen.com/projects/dead-nation/ - Angry BirdsAngry BirdsAngry Birds is a puzzle video game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mobile. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple's iOS in December 2009...
(2009) - Original soundtrack, sound design http://www.aripulkkinen.com/projects/angry-birds-2009/ - TrineTrine (video game)Trine is a side-scrolling action platform and puzzle video game, available for the Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and PlayStation Network. It was developed by the Finnish company Frozenbyte, who previously developed the Shadowgrounds series...
(2009) - Original soundtrack, sound design http://www.aripulkkinen.com/projects/project-trine/ - Shadowgrounds SurvivorShadowgrounds SurvivorShadowgrounds Survivor is a shooter game developed by Frozenbyte and the sequel to Shadowgrounds. It has three playable characters, a RPG-like upgrade system for weapons and characters, a survival mode, graphics enhanced from its predecessor, an integrated physics engine, and a soundtrack by Ari...
(2007) - Original soundtrack, sound design - Super Stardust HDSuper Stardust HDSuper Stardust HD is a downloadable game for the PlayStation 3 video game console developed by the Finnish company Housemarque. It is also known as Star Strike HD in Japan....
(2007) - Original soundtrack, sound design http://www.aripulkkinen.com/projects/project-super-stardust-hd/ - ShadowgroundsShadowgroundsShadowgrounds is a shoot 'em up for Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac OS X, developed by Frozenbyte. The game takes place on a space colony on Ganymede which is being attacked by aliens...
(2005) - Original soundtrack, sound design http://www.shadowgroundsgame.com/en/soundmusic.html - Starfight VI: Gatekeepers (2000) - Original soundtrack, sound design http://sf6.jpproduction.fi
Noteworthy competition entries
- AssemblyAssembly (demo party)The Assembly demo party is a demoscene and gaming event in Finland. The main organizers of the event are Pekka Aakko and Jussi Laakkonen . The event takes place every year between late July and early August, and lasts three to four days...
2009 Music Compo - Rtzon King - Sovietski Electro (2nd place) - AssemblyAssembly (demo party)The Assembly demo party is a demoscene and gaming event in Finland. The main organizers of the event are Pekka Aakko and Jussi Laakkonen . The event takes place every year between late July and early August, and lasts three to four days...
2004 Fast Music Compo - Summer Rain (1st place) - AssemblyAssembly (demo party)The Assembly demo party is a demoscene and gaming event in Finland. The main organizers of the event are Pekka Aakko and Jussi Laakkonen . The event takes place every year between late July and early August, and lasts three to four days...
2003 Fast Music Compo - Back To the Roots (1st place) - AssemblyAssembly (demo party)The Assembly demo party is a demoscene and gaming event in Finland. The main organizers of the event are Pekka Aakko and Jussi Laakkonen . The event takes place every year between late July and early August, and lasts three to four days...
2002 Fast Music Compo - Karjalan Haamu (2nd place) - AssemblyAssembly (demo party)The Assembly demo party is a demoscene and gaming event in Finland. The main organizers of the event are Pekka Aakko and Jussi Laakkonen . The event takes place every year between late July and early August, and lasts three to four days...
2001 Fast Music Compo - Comrades (1st place)
External links
- Ari Pulkkinen at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Soundworks Interview about the audio & music of Angry Birds
- GSoundtracks interview
- Game OST interview
- Game Music interview
- VGMRush Interview
- Making of Dead Nation interview
- Making of Trine 1 interview