One of the more fascinating segments of videogame culture is the music scene. I'm not just talking about the composers of our favorite games, but also about the various fans who, either as a hobby or their full-time career, have devoted their time to reinterpreting those famous tunes and sharing their arrangements. Videogame cover bands, remixers, chiptune artists, nerdcore rappers, and more have led to the proliferation of events such as MAGFest and Video Games Live, where fans and musicians alike can share in their gaming passion through the medium of sound.
The Players' Score by Kory Caldwell and Keaton Slansky is an upcoming documentary about the people who keep the videogame music scene thriving. Famed WayForward composer Jake Kaufman will provide the documentary's soundtrack and animator / comedian Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson will narrate. The team has already touched base with several big names, such as Mega Man cover band The Megas and Journey composer Austin Wintory, but they want to expand the guest list even further. To that end, they've started a Kickstarter campaign with a $24K goal. If they hit the $28K stretch, they'll be able to fly to Japan to directly interview the composers of many classic Japanese games.
If the initial goal isn't met, it sounds like a shortened version of the documentary will indeed be released. But with a little extra push, they'll be able to interview people such as Banjo-Kazooie composer Grant Kirkhope, Mega Man / Shovel Knight composer Manami Matsumae, jazz-infused collective The OneUps, rock band / speedrun performance group Bit Brigade, chip hop rapper Mega Ran, and more.
Check out the full guest list below, then donate before the Kickstarter's October 11 deadline.
- Austin Wintory – Composer, Journey, Banner Saga, Flow
- Jake Kaufman – Composer, Shovel Knight
- The Megas – Mega Man Cover Band
- Starbomb – Band
- Urizen – Band
- Erik Peabody (Viking Guitar) – Cover Artist/Band
- Nate Horsfall – Director of 'Spectrum of Mana' Project
- The Reno Video Game Symphony
- Tim Trzepacz – Rhythm Core Alpha Creator
- Jesse Buddington – Loudr.fm Cofounder
- Jesse Avila (1000 Needles) – 8 Bit LA Cofounder, Chip Artist
- Luke Esquivel (A_Rival) – Chip Artist
- Pedro Silva (Slime Girls) – Chip Artist
- Morgan Tucker (Crashfaster) – Chip Artist
- Eric Fanali – 'Rockage SJ' Creator
- Hiroki Kikuta – Composer, Secret of Mana Series
- Manami Matsumae – Composer, Mega Man, Shovel Knight
- Grant Kirkhope – Composer, Banjo Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64
- Norihiko Hibino – Composer, Metal Gear Solid Series, Bayonetta
- Tommy Tallarico – Composer, Video Games Live Co-Creator
- Danny Baranowsky – Composer, Super Meat Boy, Binding of Isaac
- Braxton Burks – Pokemon Reorchestrated
- The Minibosses – Cover Band
- Bit Brigade – Cover Band
- The Oneups – Cover Band
- The Super Guitar Bros – Cover Band
- Random Encounter – Cover Band
- Triforce Quartet – Cover Band
- Lonely Rolling Stars – Cover Band
- Power Glove – Cover Band
- DJ Cutman – Video Game DJ
- Chibitech – Chip Artist
- Inverse Phase – Chip Artist
- Random AKA Megaran – Chip Hop Rapper
- Grant Henry – Stemage, Metroid Metal
- Dan Behrens – Danimal Cannon
