I am video game composer/remixer/chiptune musician Jimmy Hinson aka Big Giant Circles (Mass Effect 2, Puzzle Juice, Extreme Road Trip 2, Black Ops 2) AMA!

What songs did you work on for ME2? It's one of my favourite game soundtracks.

Thanks! I wrote:

-The Cerberus level (the tutorial level) -The collector battle theme on Horizon -Samara, Grunt, and Tali's aquisition and loyalty level music -The Normandy Reborn -The Long Walk

You can see/hear a more comprehensive list on my site http://www.biggiantcircles.com/music/me2/ (broken into individual tracks, unlike the official OST in which many tracks were edited together into singular montages of various levels.

I will try and word this carefully so you can say, but have you spoken to Bioware about ME4 in any way, shape or form?

I'm allowed to say I told Casey Hudson (director of ME1-3) that I was interested in being considered for ME4, but he (and the BioWare team in Edmonton) are no longer in charge of the franchise. He responded kindly and said he'd pass my interest along to the new studio in Montreal, but I never heard from them, so I think it's safe to say that I am not involved in ME4 at this point. If I was, I probably just give some coy answer or avoid the question ;) But seeing as I have no NDA to break, I'm ok with saying "nope" for short.

When did you start being interested in music? I mean, were you a musical child?

I took piano lessons from age 5-13. I played trumpet from grade 6-12. I've played guitar since I was 15 (though I still kind of suck, I can strum only. No shredding for me) :) I picked up MIDI notation composition maybe when I was 17. In 2004 I picked up FL Studio. And that's pretty much how I got to where I am now.

How cool is that zircon guy?

He's basically what you'd get if you tossed an etherial Sea Nymph in the washing machine with a light saber. The result is something so astounding that the brain can only barely cling to life as the waves of euphoria crash over the nervous system and very nearly shut down all vital functions of the body as immeasurable pleasure replaces essential organ functionality.

A friend of mine is looking to get into the game industry as a sound designer or music production of some sort. He is finishing up a degree now in audio engineering and production, what tips would you give him?

From what I've heard, the demand is much higher for sound design than music for the time being, but I don't have much experience with that personally. For music composition, stay busy is the best sole advice I think. You'll constantly be improving even if you don't have any actual projects to work on. And improving your ability all the time is kind of important, b/c the world will pass you very quickly if you let your abilities stagnate.

You mention you started games music in 2008 - fairly recent! Were you composing for other media prior to that, or were you in another line of work entirely?

I was mainly still just remixing for OCR and doing music as a hobby. About that time is when I got my foot in the door in TV composition and shortly after came the ME2 gig.

How did you make that progression? I saw your answer as for your background, but I'm talking about that special step that made you from "a guy doing music on his computer in his room" to "having a contract".

I promise this is not a cop out answer, but the most simple/direct answer to that question is legitimately "luck" :)

I just happened to be in a position with OCR to make Jack Wall's acquaintance at a VGL concert and that basically led to me eventually being hired by him to assist with the ME2 soundtrack. I still to this day am baffled as to how exactly I pulled that off.

A reminder for all of us that "luck" has a lot to do about not being asocial ;)

basically this :)

What are your general sources of inspiration for your songs? Do you just wake up in the middle of the night with a melody in your head? Do you envision a "space" for the music to be in and let the melody fall out from there?

I'm sure it's never an either or, but I've always been interested in how you get to the end product.

Also, are there any genres of music you'd really like to try dabbling in to widen your experience?

Well, when I'm writing music for fun/recreation, it's usually an idea that popped into my head or a cool riff I just sort of stumbled upon playing around on the keyboard. For paid work, I usually kind of have to force ideas out until they start taking form. To me, the best thing is to just start SOMETHING even if it's not that great at the time. And eventually it will give me ideas to land on and start really molding it into something cool. I'd love to do more mainstream electronic music and more traditional orchestral music.

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More or less, music has always been a key interest of mine. I got big into hollywood movie scores thanks to classic Spielberg and John Williams. Then video game music started becoming more and more on the level with film music. This, coupled with my love for retro game music and chiptunes were huge factors. For my background, check michcioperz answer :) Thanks!

Hey man i kinda wanna help kickstart your album with 20$ so i have a question.

It says i will get a physical copy, but i live in EU. Will you ship it there for just the 20$ or is there any fee? :D

If you live outside the US there is a shipping fee. Shipping is expensive!

Yeah i figured out, im dumb.. I have sent you some questions on Kickstarter.com i know i sound like an asshole, but can you check them sometime soon so i can get a response and be sure to support the kickstarter? :D

Sure! I try to answer all my messages sent via kickstarter. Let me know if I somehow overlook it! (though it might take me a day or so to get to it) :)

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<3

How do you find the right feel for the soundtracks? Does someone tell you what each clip should sound like or do you see the actual gameplay and go from there?

Also, I love cheese too. We should be friends.

Cheese friends 4 lyfe. fistbump

It depends. Sometimes, audio directors are very clear and specific about what they want and I just follow their direction. Other times, I'm given more free reign, and then it's usually about finding the right tone that the player is intended to experience at that moment. Sometimes it comes naturally. Other times, you scrap a lot of ideas. :)

Hi Mr Hinson,

Obviously you have achieved a lot in life, but I am curious, what is your dream in life? What are you currently striving for?

To continue doing music as a full time career. Also, to be able to one day afford to buy my wife regular Annual passes to Disney World.

And maybe write for a film, although the more I realize just how tight/stressful that industry is, I'm pretty happy to stay in games. :)

Maybe if you can find work on a Disney film they'll be willing to pay you in free passes to Disney World?

Is there any genre of film that you would be particularly interested in?

Anything sci-fi or fantasy :)

How many things do you know?

edit: Also what inspired you to create "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo"

I ate a bad burrito, and the result was whatever song that network chose from whatever library (I still don't know to this day) that was used in her class act of a show.

I know all the things. For instance, did you know that gamewebcomic.com is the best game-related comic series on the internet today?

*edit* to be fair, to Mr Gliel's credit (and my chagrin) I actually did have music used in Honey Boo Boo's show, but I had no control over it b/c it was done through a production music library. I just saw it on my royalty statement and I've been shamed ever since. ;_;

What production library?

I didn't even look, but I assume it was Pump Audio.

Ah, Mr. Hinson! Would you be willing to hear my song, Chiptune In My Pants? I usually don't shamelessly self promote (just shamefully) but I absolutely love your stuff and I'm seizing the opportunity, hope you don't mind. PM me if you'd ever like to collaborate (I too use FL as my DAW and various 3rd party VSTis)!

As for an actual question, what made you decide to use FL studio, over, say, Reason?

Well that wasn't very chiptune exactly, but it was very cool regardless!

I use FL just because it's what I learned on. I probably will never switch to Reason, b/c Reason doesn't use VSTs, and I've become pretty heavily dependent on using them.

Thoughts on Might No. 9?

I am for it.

If i'm interested in writing music for video games where do i begin?

At OC Remix :) That's where I got my start!

Big fan of your music! Have you ever wanted to settle down with just one big game company, or do you prefer the freedom of freelancing? If you could work with any company or franchise, what would you pick ?

It would depend on the company, the location, and the day-to-day stuff. Freelance flexibility is great, but so is job security and benefits ;) I don't think I would do it for just any company, I'd want to make sure it was with a company that I liked as a consumer and not just means to a steady paycheck.

Also, what's your opinion of "Latitude 35"? They're a pretty rad upcoming band I've heard of. :)

Will you be my friend?

yes!

Hi, I would like to get into remixing some VGM, what software would you recommend for me, I don't have a whole lot of money to spend on nice software. P.S. you are now in the top 100 most funded music for your kickstarter :D

Hmm. You can always try out programs like FL Studio (what I use) and Reaper for free and then go from there. It's hard to recommend a single program, because not every program works for everyone. Just try out some demos and see which ones you like best to start out :)

any favorite VST (especially for chiptune music)? Plogue chipsounds? do you also record through any real hardware (i.e. programming/recording through an actual gameboy perhaps)?

I love Plogue Chipsounds! I also use a lot of Omnisphere. There's also some great free plugins (like Magic8BitPlugin and Pooboy2) that I use frequently.

How delicious is that banana?

It was marvelous. :)

Have you ever experienced your own music while on drugs? be it psychoactive or not.. Note that I ask "experienced" not just "listened" for obvious reasons

In case you have: has that changed the way you see your work in any way?

Thanks for doing the AmA, your music is amazing!

ps: my question is valid for any music, but wanted to ask specifically about your own work

ps2: cheeeeeeeeeeeseee

I have actually never used drugs :x I've had a lot of friends recommend it, but I'm a pretty mild guy in the substance use regard :)

I've had several recreational substance user friends of mine say that it's... an experience to write music while high, and for now I just take their word for it :)

Worth noting though, I have on MANY occasions been accused of being on drugs even though I never have been. I take it as a compliment. It means I have a fun personality, right? :P

Has your involvement with these games you work on inspired you to learning game programming, or do you prefer to just stay in the music realm?

Also, has anyone donated enough to your Kickstarter (ending tomorrow btw) to earn that Master CD of Impostor Nostalgia?

Kickstarter Link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1207722957/big-giant-circles-the-glory-days-impostor-nostalgi?ref=live -thx formerdigguser!

heh, nope, nobody's snagged the master copy of Impostor Nostalgia yet :)

I actually would love to learn more about programming games. Unfortunately, at this point doing so just requires more time than I have :( Maybe when I get caught up on some projects (probably by mid 2014) I'll have some time to set aside to look into it.

What is the general process you use when coming up with original peices?

Also what kind of guy is sev?

Sev is basically the offspring of a unicorn and a mythical eagle creature of some kind. He posses the magic of 100 wizards and can crush a man with the strength of two fingers. He can level a mountain with a single breath and dissolve the oceans with the heat of his gaze.

Also, coming up with original pieces is usually a very random process. Mostly it's just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks.

What is your favorite game to play right now?

Hmm. Good question. I am not good at "favorite" questions, because there are so many I love.

The game I played most recently that I liked the best was The Last of Us though, so I'll go with that.

Which composition is your favorite, and why?

Yikes, this is a tough one.

I'm really proud of how The Normandy Reborn turned out, so for VGM, I'll just pick that one as my cop out answer ;)

Fuck yeah! I love your music! :) I hope I'm not being a jerk, but my favourite song is the remix from Mick Gordon of Katana Blaster! Are you two working together again on your new album! Either way: Instabuy!

I wish. Never say never! Mick is a good friend, and an amazing composer, but he's also really busy scoring Killer Instinct 4, so I suppose it depends on his schedule :x

I listen to your Impostor Nostalgia album every time I want to unwind, It's an incredible album and I've used it to reveal you to new coworkers and friends.

What video games did you grow up with?

And would you consider doing a remix of Sonic 3 level songs?

Thanks!

I grew up playing lots of Gameboy Games. Some of my favorites were Final Fantasy Adventure and Final Fantasy Legend II. Some of my other favorite games were SNES games like Mario Kart, Zelda LttP, Golden Eye, Half Life, stuff like that.

I remixed Ice Cap Zone on OCR a few years ago, just do a search for OCR Eastern Ice Fields. :)

What has been your favourite game to write music for so far?

Probably Mass Effect 2, just because I loved so much working so closely with Jack and the rest of the Wall of Sound team. And the game was amazing. I was very into it. :)

I had a lot of immediate favorites the first time I heard Impostor Nostalgia, and HappiNESs wasn't one of them. Yet, it's now my absolute favorite, I feel it embodies that great feeling about chiptunes and nostalgia and being a kid and just having fun playing video games.

When you collaborate with another artist for a track, like HappiNESs with Disasterpeace, please tell us a bit about how the track comes together. Do you get a chance to meet in person to make music? Does one person take the lead?

I think I've met all my collaborators for Impostor Nostalgia in person, but almost all that type collaboration is done remotely, where we just correspond via email or IRC or skype.

Collaboration happens in different ways. For HappiNESs I basically just sent Disasterpeace some stems and he added his own bit and sent it back and I put the final piece together. :)

What are some of your favorite songs for movies that you scored?

I've only scored one movie, and it was a documentary and a very weird process (that movie in particular I mean, not writing for movies in general) so I don't really have an answer for that one :x

Does DannyB smell as good in real life as I think he does?

You cannot possibly fathom how good he smells in real life until you experience it. His pheromones have pheromones.

Great work, I was listening to your music before I played the games. Questions is do you work on a flat rate per song or some other basis for compensation? For example if I wanted two songs for a short film or simple game?

Pricing, like in most freelance fields, varies per project depending on the size and scope. Most composers usually charge either per track or per completed/delivered/approved minute of music. Occasionally I'll do flat rates if the situation warrants it. Flat rates can be expensive though, so a lot of times I'll work for revenue share instead. That way smaller/self-funded studios can afford a better soundtrack without having to pay a lot of money up front out of pocket.

How many yards was your longest drive in disc golf?

I'm not sure exactly, probably not that far :x Driving is not a strength of mine. I'd say maybe my best ever would be somewhere around 400 feet?

I'm totally late to the party but still:

Man I love Impostor Nostalgia! Can't wait for this next album.

My question (or rather demand): When will you be remixing the music from Battletoads? I always loved it's music (dat pause beat!) . I think you could totally pull off revamping it. I'd pay good money for this, just to remember the feeling of homicidal rage one got from the game.

Thanks for such great work!!

There's actually a reward tier for a BGC remix on my kickstarter ;) cough

I am not a Call of Duty guy at all but the music of BOII is amazing! I've always wondered how much of the story/characters do you know when you're composing?

I didn't know any of Blops 2 when I wrote for it. I was basically told to write "action music" for the multiplayer game, and then apparently Treyarch liked it so much they wanted to make it (Adrenaline I mean) the menu theme. For Mass Effect 2, we were basically given a full range of assets (artwork, story, plot, gameplay footage) to draw inspiration from.

Hey I got your album on a giveaway @sevadus channel. I really love your music and just wanted to wish you good luck in the future!

A question would be - Is there any specific game franchise you would love to work on in future sequels? Thanks for doing this AmA :)

If there does end up being a Borderlands 3, I'd love to get in on that magic. I love BL1 & 2 a LOT. The games (and the music) are fantastic. :)

Hey Jimmy! Love your music! I recently became a composer and music coordinator for a music library called Signature Tracks. We normally make music for reality Tv and its great, but I am really passionate about getting us into scoring video games. Last year I actually made it down to the final 2 composers when doing on spec work for a Square Enix game, but they chose the other composer. I love working in television, but I really am passionate about getting into video games, Can you recommend where I can get started, from here? I would really appreciate any advice you have. Thanks for taking the time to to this AMA today!

There's really no easy answer to getting into games because it's such an oversaturated market. Ability is only half the job now. There's a lot of people who are similarly "ranked" for lack of a better word as far as ability goes. So you need to set yourself apart some other way. Networking and luck are pretty much the other half of that battle. Attend conventions, get to know people, engage often. It sounds like generic advice, and in the end, it's like pushing a very small snowball down the mountain, but eventually I think you'll pick up momentum. :)

I absolutely loved Imposter Nostalgia (especially Yo Ho Ye Big Giant Chips) as part of the original Indie Game Music Bundle.

What is your setup for composing your tunes?

EDIT: Aaaand I just backed your kickstarter. :D

FL Studio and a whole lotta plugins :)

My favorites are Omnisphere, Plogue Chipsounds, Stylus RMX, ImpactSoundworks Juggernaut, and various other Kontakt libraries

How excited are you about the ludicrous amount of money your KickStarter has raised? Do you think we'll surpass the amount needed to get a vinyl pressing? If so, which reward tier will it be available at?

Thanks! I don't think the vinyls will be available at a particular reward tier, I've already kind of maxed those out. And vinyls are unfortunately rather expensive to print (and ship) so really, all the stretch goal has done is enable me to produce some that I can offer in my merch shop. I considered doing a "pay $X more if you want a vinyl addon" but it's going to take me a little bit of time to get those made anyway, so I'll just do it after the fact to simplify for everyone (especially myself) :)

What's your favorite game?

I have several. On Gameboy, I'd say Final Fantas Adventure. On SNES probably Terranigma. On N64, Goldeneye. On PS1, Castlevania SotN. On Gamecube, hmm, probably Resident Evil 4. On Xbox, Halo. On XBox 360, that's a tough one, I'll get back to you. On PS3, anything by Naughty Dog. On PC: anything pertaining to the Orange Box, Left 4 Dead, or Borderlands. And billions of indie games that are too numerous to list.

Congrats on 50k on Kickstarter! I have no questions but I just wanted to say that I really enjoy your music. I first heard of you on Sev's channel from him blasting some "Extreme Road Trip 2" and I've been a fan ever since. Unfortunately I have no disposable income to contribute towards the Kickstarter but I will absolutely be grabbing your new album when I'm able to.

No worries, and thanks for the kind words, I'm honored!

OMG dude you are rad and my husband loves you and it's his B day this week can you say Happy Birthday Chris Smith?

Happy Birthday Chris Smith!!!!! You rock!!! Have an amazing day and eat cake until you are happy and fat and sleepy! :)

I just want to say that I enjoy your your work you did for the Voices of the Lifestream album.

wow, breaking out some old work eh? Thanks! I loved being on that project :)

Your music is fantastic, and you show awesome talent in so many different genres. From a guy who is totally talentless at music, you're quite an impressive guy.

About what percentage of tracks would you say you scrap before finally getting one you actually like? And on that, do you get the common artist's syndrome of immediately hating everything you create?

On a side note, your real name is Jimmy Hinson. You were obviously born for music just by the sound of it alone.

haha thanks! I try not to fully scrap anything, but I do constantly set aside ideas that "don't fit" at that moment and who knows, sometimes coming back to revisit them pays off. But I'd say maybe 1 out of 4?

My girlfriend actually spoke with you at pax this year I believe, she is a mass effect fanatic, and a music student. I myself wasn't crazy about the games but did find the soundtrack very well done, anyways I'm never very good at speaking with people in person, but I wanted to ask, if you had your choice of any genre to compose for, for the rest of your career, what would it be?

For the rest of my career? That's hard to say, because people and tastes change over time, but for now, I've always been a fan of the music in Borderlands, so it's safe to say that'd be one of my dream jobs. :)

Why weren't you a composer for Mass Effect 3?

I was never employed by BioWare, I was subcontracted by Jack Wall, so when he didn't return to score ME3, that basically meant I didn't either. I would have loved to have worked on it, but oh well. I was honored for my involvement in what I think is still the best of three amazing games. :)

How much do you and other up-and-coming electronic musicians know each other? I'm talking about guys like Perturbator and Disasterpeace. Do you share trade secrets with each other or what? ;P

I generally know a lot of the people I've worked with in real life. Disasterpeace collaborated with me on my first album, and he's a great guy. I'm afraid I don't know Pertubator though. I do love meeting/networking with other great musicians though, I love collaboration!

Would you kiss sevadus?

Would you die if you stopped breathing?

No?

I don't believe you.

This may have been answered already, but I really want to find out how you started. I want to go into composing myself, and I'm curious to see how you began.

I would say that I effectively got my start in game audio at ocremix.org. Remixing game music and being evaluated objectively (and sometimes having your work rejected) is a great way to sharpen your skills, and make some friends/connections while doing it.

How much can college majors that are not game-related, (such as Broadcasting/Digital Film Making) correlate to working in the game industry/television scene in regards to audio and music production? Audio and music production are active in many fields, and I'm sure can branch off - but would appreciate a more direct answer from a professional!

The great thing about game audio (in my experience) is that people don't seem to care as much where you were educated or what your background is in, they only care about the results, the quality of your work. So really as long as you can bring skill and experience from whatever area, I don't think anyone in this industry would have a problem with "industry crossover". :)

Are you familiar with Burial? I think a game that uses that sort of feel for a video game soundtrack would be amazing.

I'm not familiar with them actually. I'll check them out though!

I really love VG music and it's a big part of why I work on my own electronic music productions now (have been about 5yrs +).

You mention chip tune - any advice for writing chiptunes or any fav VSTs to get particular sounds?

Cheers!

For chiptunes, I use Spectrasonics Omnisphere, Plogue Chipsounds, Magic8BitPlugin, Pooboy2, and a variety of samples fx. Magic8bit and Pooboy are free and those are fantasic, you can already do so much with those alone, so I'd start there. :)

As someone who has done a few small soundtrack composition jobs, I am finding it very difficult to find larger projects. How do you get gigs on huge projects like Mass Effect?

I wish there were an easy answer. A lot of it really is luck. Of course, luck is sometimes just being prepared when you happen to find yourself in the right place at the right time ;)

Speaking more tangibly, it never hurts to network and constantly be working and improving your skills :)

Did you ask bioware if you could write a song for ME2 or did they come to you

I met Jack Wall at a Video Games Live concert, and later he eventually hired me to help him with the score.

biggiantcircles, I'm a chip music fan. First taste of it from five years ago, 1337 G33k Beat - Emulation Station. You heard of them? Still one of the coolest chip tunes out there.

Nope, but I'll definitely check them out!

On a scale of Sevadus to MANvsGAME, how much do you enjoy your work?

10 out of 2 bananas worth. And maybe a lawnmower made out of light sabers.

How much has Sevadus helped you?

Immeasurably.

Wouldn't "fakebit" be a more accurate description of Impostor Nostalgia? Generally chiptune artists pay a lot of attention to accuracy, going as far as composing and performing on the original hardware.

Yes, but identifying myself to new fans/strangers as a "fakebit" musician requires more explanation. :) That's actually why my first album was called "Impostor Nostalgia" though, because it's not authentically constructed, but bears some of the nostalgia of classic chiptune soundtracks. I was originally afraid that I'd offend a lot of authentic chiptune artists, but I've been pleasantly amazed by how accepted I've been by many of them. I'm sure there's plenty of them out there who are offended by my use of modern software, but eh, you can't please everyone I guess.