Gary Gilbertson
Encyclopedia
Gary Gilbertson was a music composer
for the Atari 8-bit family
of home computers. His music made use of the AMP engine for the Atari POKEY
chip which was programmed by Philip Price
. Together, the two of them started a development company called Paradise Programming.
Gary saw games as an audio-visual experience and thus thought that music was an important part of a game, so he tried to make the sound as memorable as possible. Gary was lucky to have been given a much better music handler (the AMP engine) than other contemporary musicians at the time, and he made good use of it. When Paradise Programming was demoing The Tail of Beta Lyrae
, Atari
was so impressed that they asked him to look them up when it was completed, and also asked if they could show his music disk around. Datamost
also asked Gary if they could use his music to set off their display.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
for the Atari 8-bit family
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
of home computers. His music made use of the AMP engine for the Atari POKEY
Atari POKEY
The Pot Keyboard Integrated Circuit is a digital I/O chip found in the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and many arcade games in the 1980s. It was commonly used to sample potentiometers and scan matrices of switches...
chip which was programmed by Philip Price
Philip Price
Philip Price is best known for computer game designs and creative programming done using the Atari 8-bit family of home computers, and was one of the founders of Paradise Programming...
. Together, the two of them started a development company called Paradise Programming.
Gary saw games as an audio-visual experience and thus thought that music was an important part of a game, so he tried to make the sound as memorable as possible. Gary was lucky to have been given a much better music handler (the AMP engine) than other contemporary musicians at the time, and he made good use of it. When Paradise Programming was demoing The Tail of Beta Lyrae
The Tail of Beta Lyrae
The Tail of Beta Lyrae is a 1983 computer game for the Atari family of computers, created by Philip Price with music by Gary Gilbertson, and published by Datamost.-Premise:...
, Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
was so impressed that they asked him to look them up when it was completed, and also asked if they could show his music disk around. Datamost
Datamost
Datamost was a software design company founded by David Gordon and based in Chatsworth, California. Datamost operated in the early 1980s producing games and other software mainly for the Apple II, Commodore 64 and Atari platforms, with some for the IBM PC...
also asked Gary if they could use his music to set off their display.
List of games
- The Tail of Beta LyraeThe Tail of Beta LyraeThe Tail of Beta Lyrae is a 1983 computer game for the Atari family of computers, created by Philip Price with music by Gary Gilbertson, and published by Datamost.-Premise:...
(DatamostDatamostDatamost was a software design company founded by David Gordon and based in Chatsworth, California. Datamost operated in the early 1980s producing games and other software mainly for the Apple II, Commodore 64 and Atari platforms, with some for the IBM PC...
/Databyte, 1983) - Alternate RealityAlternate Reality (computer game)Alternate Reality is an unfinished computer role-playing game series that has achieved cult status among many fans of RPGs. It was created by Philip Price, who formed a development company called Paradise Programming. Published by Datasoft AR: The City was released in 1985 and AR: The Dungeon was...
(both AR:The City and AR:The Dungeon) (DatasoftDatasoftDatasoft, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher founded in 1980 by Pat Ketchum. Based out of Chatsworth, California, Datasoft ported games from arcade systems to personal computers and acquired licenses for games from famous movies and TV shows....
, 1985) - The Neverending Story (DatasoftDatasoftDatasoft, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher founded in 1980 by Pat Ketchum. Based out of Chatsworth, California, Datasoft ported games from arcade systems to personal computers and acquired licenses for games from famous movies and TV shows....
, 1986)
External links
- http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/GILBERT.HTM — An interview with Gary Gilbertson.
- http://www.atarimania.com/lst_soft-MENU-8-TYPE_CODE-G-PRG_ID-1667.html - List of games with music by Gary Gilbertson from Atarimania