Games

Beep Bot

In May 2019 I participated in Purple Monkey Jam X, organized by Scott Doxey and his company Cantina. I ended up on a team with Brian Soulliard, programmer, and Henry Lutts, artist.

The theme of the game was “Two buttons.” My first thought was the one we eventually went with: one button executes commands and the second button rotates between command options. The rest of the design was collaborative. Our real secret weapons, however, were Brian’s level design and Henry’s UI design, as you’ll see below. For the music and sound effects, I wanted something childlike, quirky, and joyful with 8-bit and mechanical elements. This was the most fun I’ve had in a game jam in a long time and I am very grateful to have worked with these two highly talented individuals.

Beep Bot, a simple platformer featured an adorable robot and rotating controls.

Sky

I’m sure you’ve heard of thatgamecompany. I helped composer and thatgamecompany audio director Vincent Diamante with additional orchestrations and score preparation for their upcoming game Sky. Looking at some of the screen shots from that game, I can’t wait to experience it when it comes out.

I have a pencil-and-paper background: 20 years playing trumpet, Finale power user, Master’s degree from New England Conservatory – so this project was really up my alley. Orchestration and score prep are incredibly fun because realizing another composer’s intentions is a fascinating musical puzzle.

Here’s what Vincent had to say:

“Jared’s a really cool composer that I’ve been running into for the last few years. He’s recently been helping me out this year with the stuff I’m doing for Sky, especially doing orchestration and score prep to replace my mockups with recordings. He’s actually been particularly great at showing me my options when we get to orchestration crossroads, but he can also just make things happen as needed.”

Thanks Vince. Read more about Sky: