Back When I Was Cool

February 7, 2010 · by · in Games, Music

Some of you may not know this, but I used to write music for the most popular game of all time, Doom. Doom was the crucible in the evolution of PC games. I occasionally, because I’m totally vain, Google myself and see what others have to say about me.

lupinx-Kassman said:

-Almost every song Mark Klem and Tolwyn has made for a project.

Agreed, so I am surprised no one has mentioned STRAIN yet. Especially that crazy medley from level 2 and really memorable tunes from levels 11 and 14.

When it comes to entire WADs, Icarus is #1 for me. It has a recurring theme (and a cool one!) that appears on levels 2,7,12,26… maybe more. Also the music from the 1st level is worth mentioning. And 22 (But it’s actually a J.S.Bach’s fugue; I couldn’t be more surprised when I heard it in a Doom level)

MM: levels 9,11,14. MM2: levels 5,9 (fantastic riff),14 and 26 (when all of a sudden, a theme from MM appears).

Requiem seems much weaker, but levels 7 (a tribute to Rush) and 11 have cool tunes again.

OK, if I had to skip Klem & Tolwyn, I would choose HR2. Heavy metal tracks suit the levels well and this music is not as naive as “heavy” music from original Doom.

Ahhh. Good times. For the record, I still write music, and actually still write music for games, but I don’t normally use the nickname Tolwyn anymore.