Difference between revisions of "David Whittaker"
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− | {{ | + | {{Infobox Composer |
− | | Name = David Whittaker | + | | Name = David Whittaker |
− | | Picture = David Whittaker - 5.jpg | + | | Picture = David Whittaker - 5.jpg |
− | | Born = | + | | Born = 1957-04-24 |
− | | BirthPlace = Bury, England | + | | BirthPlace = Bury, Lancashire, England |
− | | Nationality = British | + | | Nationality = British |
− | | Flag = UK | + | | Flag = UK |
− | | | + | | Aliases = D. Whittaker<br>Dave Whittaker<br>David Whitaker<br>Dave Whitaker<br>D. Whitaker<br>DialogueGuru<br>David Whittaker Using Quartet |
− | + | | Website = youtube.com/user/dialogueguru | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | | Website = youtube.com/user/dialogueguru | ||
}} | }} | ||
− | '''''David Whittaker''''' is a British musician | + | '''''David Whittaker''''' is a British video game musician. He is one of the most popular video game musicians in the world. He is known for composing such gems as Lazy Jones, Shadow of the Beast and Glider Rider, which are the top soundtracks that made him popular. Whittaker has scored around 100 video games on many platforms each, probably more than any other video game musician. |
− | Whittaker was | + | Whittaker attended local Derby Grammar School. His favorite subjects were French and geography, but not music because there was much more history than theory and practice. After leaving school, he had 14 full-time jobs, including electronics assembly, office work, forklift driving, cloth dyeing, and making cardboard tubes. Musically, he started out performing on keyboard and vocals full-time in Clive Farrington's New Romantic band Beau Leisure, which got quite well-known around Altrincham, Greater Manchester, but never made money. Whittaker also plays a Strat, an Ovation, has been a DJ and met [[Kraftwerk]] in Liverpool, Merseyside, in 1981. |
− | In | + | In February 1982, aged 24, he read about the Sinclair ZX81, but could not afford £80. Instead, he bought a [[Commodore VIC-20]] and paid in installments, starting with £10-£20. He learned BASIC programming from the manual and started programming games for [[Mr. Micro]] using a machine code monitor. As his game music was better than that by other programmers, music became a full-time job. He bought a [[Commodore 64]] from Mr. Micro, went to [[Terminal Software]], then freelance, then Terminal's successor [[Binary Design]] full-time, and then founded [[Musicon Design]]. From that point on, he was sometimes offered so many game music jobs that he had to decline and have given to [[Rob Hubbard]] and other composers. |
− | Whittaker also | + | He was the main composer and sound designer for various developers such as [[Audiogenic]] and [[B.I.T.S.]]. Whittaker was usually good about lending his sound drivers to other companies, but some also used them without permission. In 1999, Zombie Nation, a techno group, stole David Whittaker's Lazy Jones tune for their single Kernkraft 400. When Whittaker called them up, they apologized and paid him £9000 to use his song, which he claims was more than he got paid for the game. |
+ | In January 1993, Hubbard worked for [[Electronic Arts]] in the USA and phoned Whittaker. EA desperately needed a [[Genesis]] and [[SNES]] sound designer. In March, Whittaker went to an interview, and on June 29, his wife and he moved to the USA and got a mansion. Around March 1997, he switched to dialog scripting, directing, recording and editing which he currently does with [[Traveller's Tales]]. All the time, though, his wife and he were homesick, and when EA laid off a third in February 2001, Whittaker decided they move back to his hometown, which they did in July. | ||
− | ==Music | + | While some fans call him the best SID composer, Whittaker believes that [[Rob Hubbard]] is truly the best. His favorite computers that he liked to compose on were the Commodore 64 and the Commodore Amiga, with the Commodore VIC-20 being his least favorite. Whittaker says he appreciates the fans' support over the years. When asked in 1986, he said he is the nephew of Roger Whittaker. |
− | Whittaker has been notorious for copying and pasting his music and transposing it to a different key. This is especially true in his NES soundtracks. | + | |
+ | ==Music Development== | ||
+ | Whittaker has been notorious for copying and pasting his music and transposing it to a different key. This is especially true in his NES soundtracks. This was probably because of the difficulty of having to write most of his music in machine code. | ||
===Amiga=== | ===Amiga=== | ||
− | He wrote his own audio driver which used a form of [[Music Macro Language]]. Whittaker said his instrument samples were taken from his Korg M1, a popular keyboard at the time, and also programmed some waveforms of his own. | + | He wrote his own audio driver which used a form of [[Music Macro Language]]. Whittaker said his instrument samples were taken from his [[M1|Korg M1]], a popular keyboard at the time, and also programmed some waveforms of his own. |
===Atari ST=== | ===Atari ST=== | ||
− | + | [[Loopz (AST)]] says Whittaker used [[Quartet]], a popular music program for the Atari ST. Whittaker probably used this method for all (if not some) of his games, though he also probably coded his own sound engine. | |
===Commodore 64=== | ===Commodore 64=== | ||
− | + | Whittaker composed on a [[Yamaha]] CX5M, a Casio CZ-230S, and a Roland Jupiter-6. He then wrote his own audio driver in [[assembly]] and programmed his music. | |
===Game Boy=== | ===Game Boy=== | ||
− | Whittaker converted his NES music to the Game Boy using his own audio driver. | + | Whittaker converted his NES music to the Game Boy using his own audio driver. The music was written in [[assembly]]. When Dark Technologies developed [[The Lion King (GB)]], they used Whittaker's sound engine without his permission. |
+ | |||
+ | ===Game Gear/Sega Master System=== | ||
+ | Whittaker created a sound engine and wrote the music in [[assembly]]. Because David Whittaker did not know FM synthesis programming, he never made a sound engine for the Genesis/Mega Drive. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Genesis=== | ||
+ | Because David Whittaker wasn't familiar with FM synthesis, he used [[Don Veca]]'s sound driver. He created MIDI files in an unknown sequencer which were converted into Veca's driver. | ||
===NES=== | ===NES=== | ||
− | Whittaker converted his Commodore 64 sound driver to work on the NES. Not too difficult since they both used the same [[assembly]] language, but he had to account for the difference between the Commodore's SID chip, and the NES chip. Whittaker arranged [[Neuromantic Productions]] music in many ports of Krusty's Fun House | + | Whittaker converted his Commodore 64 sound driver to work on the NES. Not too difficult since they both used the same [[assembly]] language, but he had to account for the difference between the Commodore's SID chip, and the NES chip. Whittaker arranged [[Neuromantic Productions]] music in many ports of Krusty's Fun House. Whittaker licensed his audio driver to [[Manfred Trenz]] for him to use in his [[Super Turrican (NES)]]. The sound driver was later modified and used by Trenz to compose music. Whittaker's driver was also used by Dark Technologies for their only NES title The Lion King. However, Whittaker says that he didn't give them permission to use their driver and that he didn't lend it to them. |
===SNES=== | ===SNES=== | ||
− | + | Whittaker wrote his own audio driver in [[assembly]]. His instruments were sampled from his Amiga samples from the [[M1|Korg M1]]. He would sell his sound driver to companies like [[Psygnosis]] for £5000. He lent his sound driver to the Japanese developer [[Imagineer]]. | |
− | |||
==Gameography== | ==Gameography== | ||
− | { | + | {| class="wikitable" |
− | | | + | ! Released |
− | + | ! Title | |
− | + | ! Sample | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
|- | |- | ||
− | | | + | | 1983-??-?? |
− | | [[ | + | | [[Humphrey (C64)]] |
− | | | + | | {{Song-Box|01 - Humphrey - C64 - Humphrey (Title).ogg}} |
− | |- | ||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1983-??-?? | | 1983-??-?? | ||
Line 85: | Line 74: | ||
| [[Tetris (BBC)]] | | [[Tetris (BBC)]] | ||
| | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-1?-?? | ||
+ | | Xeno (C64) | ||
+ | | Sound Effect Driver. | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[180 (A8)]] | ||
+ | | Composer? | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1986-??-?? | | 1986-??-?? | ||
| [[180 (C64)]] | | [[180 (C64)]] | ||
+ | | Composer? | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[180 (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | Composer? | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[180 (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | Composer? | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Defcom (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Defcom (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Ghosts'N Goblins (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Glider Rider (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Glider Rider (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Hyperbowl (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Jail Break (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Max Headroom (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1986-??-?? | | 1986-??-?? | ||
| [[Sanxion (C64)]] | | [[Sanxion (C64)]] | ||
+ | | Sound Effects. | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Split Personalities (C64)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1986-??-?? | | 1986-??-?? | ||
− | | [[Split Personalities ( | + | | [[Split Personalities (ZXS)]] |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1986-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Splittling Images (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 127: | Line 172: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1986-??-?? | | 1986-??-?? | ||
− | | [[Zub ( | + | | [[Zub (ZXS)]] |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-07-?? | ||
+ | | [[Cosmonut (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-0?-?? | ||
+ | | [[Shadow Skimmer (C64)]] | ||
+ | | <div style="width:300px">Sound Effects and unused early version of [[Cosmonut (C64)]].</div> | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Amaurote (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Amaurote (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
| [[Armageddon (C64)]] | | [[Armageddon (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[ATV Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[BMX Simulator (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[BraveStarr (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Championship Jet Ski Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Combat School (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Elevator Action (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Elevator Action (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Feud (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Fruit Machine Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Ghost Hunters (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Grand Prix Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Grange Hill (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Grange Hill (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Hades Nebula (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Leviathan (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Leviathan (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Milk Race (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Milk Race (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Platoon (CPC)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 148: | Line 285: | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
| [[Solomon's Key (C64)]] | | [[Solomon's Key (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Solomon's Key (CPC)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 163: | Line 304: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
− | | [[Star Wars ( | + | | [[Star Wars (ZXS)]] |
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 172: | Line 313: | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
| [[Stormbringer (CPC)]] | | [[Stormbringer (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Stormbringer (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
| [[Super G-Man (C64)]] | | [[Super G-Man (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Super G-Man (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Super Robin Hood (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 187: | Line 340: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
− | | [[ | + | | [[The Island of Dr. Destructo (C64)]] |
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
− | | [[The | + | | [[The Living Daylights (C64)]] |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[The Living Daylights (CPC)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
− | | [[The Living Daylights ( | + | | [[The Living Daylights (ZXS)]] |
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 204: | Line 361: | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
| [[The Tube (C64)]] | | [[The Tube (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[The Tube (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
| [[The Wizard's Pet (C64)]] | | [[The Wizard's Pet (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Transmuter (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Transmuter (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 215: | Line 384: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
− | | [[Treasure Island Dizzy ( | + | | [[Trantor: The Last Storm Trooper (CPC)]] |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Trantor: The Last Storm Trooper (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1987-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Treasure Island Dizzy (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1987-??-?? | | 1987-??-?? | ||
| [[Vampire (C64)]] | | [[Vampire (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Advanced Pinball Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1988-??-?? | | 1988-??-?? | ||
| [[Alien Syndrome (AMI)]] | | [[Alien Syndrome (AMI)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[ATV Simulator (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Beyond the Ice Palace (AMI)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Beyond the Ice Palace (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Beyond the Ice Palace (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[BMX Simulator 2 (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Circus Games (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Circus Games (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Dynamic Duo (CPC)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 239: | Line 452: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1988-??-?? | | 1988-??-?? | ||
− | | [[ | + | | [[International Rugby Simulator (CPC)]] |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[International Rugby Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[International Speedway (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[International Speedway (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Jet Ski Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1988-??-?? | | 1988-??-?? | ||
| [[Quadralien (AMI)]] | | [[Quadralien (AMI)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Pandora (AMI)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Platoon (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Professional BMX Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Shadow Skimmer (CPC)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1988-??-?? | | 1988-??-?? | ||
| [[Spitting Image (C64)]] | | [[Spitting Image (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Spitting Image (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Spitting Image (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Spore (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 256: | Line 513: | ||
| 1988-??-?? | | 1988-??-?? | ||
| [[Star Trek: The Rebel Universe (DOS)]] | | [[Star Trek: The Rebel Universe (DOS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Star Wars Droids (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1988-??-?? | | 1988-??-?? | ||
| [[Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (C64)]] | | [[Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 267: | Line 536: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1988-??-?? | | 1988-??-?? | ||
− | | [[Tetris ( | + | | [[Super Stuntman (CPC)]] |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Super Stuntman (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Tetris (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[The Race Against Time (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[The Race Against Time (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Treasure Island Dizzy (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 279: | Line 568: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1988-??-?? | | 1988-??-?? | ||
− | | [[Xenon ( | + | | [[Xenon (ZXS)]] |
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1988-??-?? | | 1988-??-?? | ||
| [[War Cars Construction Kit (C64)]] | | [[War Cars Construction Kit (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1988-01-01 | ||
+ | | [[Fright Night (AMI)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1989-??-?? | | 1989-??-?? | ||
| [[4 Soccer Simulators (C64)]] | | [[4 Soccer Simulators (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[4 Soccer Simulators (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[4 Soccer Simulators (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1989-??-?? | | 1989-??-?? | ||
| [[A.P.B. - All Points Bulletin (AMI)]] | | [[A.P.B. - All Points Bulletin (AMI)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[A.P.B. - All Points Bulletin (CPC)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1989-??-?? | | 1989-??-?? | ||
| [[A.P.B. - All Points Bulletin (DOS)]] | | [[A.P.B. - All Points Bulletin (DOS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[A.P.B. - All Points Bulletin (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Arcade Flight Simulator (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Arcade Flight Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Beverly Hills Cop (C64)]] | ||
+ | | {{Song-Box|01 - Beverly Hills Cop - C64 - Axel F.ogg}} | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[BMX Freestyle Simulator (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[BMX Freestyle Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[BMX Simulator 2 (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[BMX Simulator 2 (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Bronx Street Cop (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Bronx Street Cop (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Captain Fizz (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Death Stalker (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Death Stalker (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Fantasy World Dizzy (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Fantasy World Dizzy (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Fast Food (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[First Person Pinball (AMI)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[First Person Pinball (AST)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Ghostbusters II (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Ghostbusters II (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Gilbert: Escape from Drill (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Gilbert: Escape from Drill (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Grand Prix Simulator 2 (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Grand Prix Simulator 2 (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[High Steel (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Jaws (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Jungle Warfare (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[KGB Superspy (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 319: | Line 740: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1989-??-?? | | 1989-??-?? | ||
− | | [[ | + | | [[007: License to Kill (ZXS)]] |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Monte Carlo Casino (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Monte Carlo Casino (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Moto Cross Simulator (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Moto Cross Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Mr. Heli (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Ninja Massacre (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Operation Gunship (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Operation Gunship (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Pro Skateboard Simulator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Pub Trivia (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[SAS Combat Simulator (CPC)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1989-??-?? | | 1989-??-?? | ||
− | | [[ | + | | [[SAS Combat Simulator (ZXS)]] |
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 336: | Line 801: | ||
| 1989-??-?? | | 1989-??-?? | ||
| [[Snoopy and Peanuts (DOS)]] | | [[Snoopy and Peanuts (DOS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Sporting Triangles (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Street Gang Football (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Super Car Trans Am (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Superman - Man of Steel (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Wonder Boy in Monster Land (AMI)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Wonder Boy in Monster Land (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[The Real Ghostbusters (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Treasure Island Dizzy (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Turbo Chopper Simulator (CPC)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 345: | Line 846: | ||
| [[Weird Dreams (AST)]] | | [[Weird Dreams (AST)]] | ||
| | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1989-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Weird Dreams (DOS)]] | ||
+ | | PC Speaker Music | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1989-??-?? | | 1989-??-?? | ||
Line 352: | Line 857: | ||
| 1989-04-20 | | 1989-04-20 | ||
| [[007: License to Kill (DOS)]] | | [[007: License to Kill (DOS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Australian Games (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Australian Games (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 360: | Line 873: | ||
| 1990-??-?? | | 1990-??-?? | ||
| [[Back to the Future Part II (C64)]] | | [[Back to the Future Part II (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Back to the Future Part II (CPC)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 372: | Line 889: | ||
| 1990-??-?? | | 1990-??-?? | ||
| [[Back to the Future Part II (ZXS)]] | | [[Back to the Future Part II (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Beverly Hills Cop (AST)]] | ||
+ | | {{Song-Box|01 - Beverly Hills Cop - AST - Axel F.ogg}} | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Beverly Hills Cop (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Beverly Hills Cop (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Chip's Challenge (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Chip's Challenge (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Dan Dare III: The Escape (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Emlyn Hughes Arcade Quiz (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Emlyn Hughes Arcade Quiz (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Fruit Machine Simulator 2 (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Fruit Machine Simulator 2 (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Gazza II (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Gazza II (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Golden Axe (AMI)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 387: | Line 956: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1990-??-?? | | 1990-??-?? | ||
− | | [[ | + | | [[Rad Ramp Racer (ZXS)]] |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Pub Trivia (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Snowstrike (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Snowstrike (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1990-??-?? | | 1990-??-?? | ||
| [[Speedball (SMS)]] | | [[Speedball (SMS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1990-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Total Recall (AST)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 411: | Line 996: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1991-??-?? | | 1991-??-?? | ||
− | | [[ | + | | [[Exterminator (CPC)]] |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Exterminator (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Extreme (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Helter Skelter (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Lone Wolf - The Mirror of Death (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 423: | Line 1,024: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1991-??-?? | | 1991-??-?? | ||
− | | [[ | + | | [[Loopz (ZXS)]] |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Sky High Stuntman (ZXS)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Soccer Pinball (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Supaplex (AMI)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Supaplex (DOS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1991-??-?? | | 1991-??-?? | ||
| [[World Class Rugby (AMI)]] | | [[World Class Rugby (AMI)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[World Class Rugby (CPC)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[World Class Rugby (ZXS)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 457: | Line 1,082: | ||
| [[Castelian (NES)]] | | [[Castelian (NES)]] | ||
| {{Song-Box|01 - Castelian - NES - Title.ogg}} | | {{Song-Box|01 - Castelian - NES - Title.ogg}} | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1991-12-?? | ||
+ | | [[Faceball 2000 (GB)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1992-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Krusty's Fun House (GG)]] | ||
+ | | Music Programming | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1992-??-?? | | 1992-??-?? | ||
Line 463: | Line 1,096: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1992-??-?? | | 1992-??-?? | ||
− | | [[ | + | | [[R-Type II (GB)]] |
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1992-??-?? | | 1992-??-?? | ||
− | | [[ | + | | [[Shadow of the Beast (SMS)]] |
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1992-??-?? | | 1992-??-?? | ||
− | | [[ | + | | [[Soccer Pinball (ZXS)]] |
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 543: | Line 1,176: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1993-??-?? | | 1993-??-?? | ||
− | | [[Camp California ( | + | | [[Camp California (TGCD)]] |
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 564: | Line 1,197: | ||
| 1993-??-?? | | 1993-??-?? | ||
| [[Populous Gaiden (GB)]] | | [[Populous Gaiden (GB)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1993-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Riddick Bowe's Boxing (GG)]] (リディック・ボウ ボクシング) | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 571: | Line 1,208: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1993-??-?? | | 1993-??-?? | ||
− | | [[Splitz (GB)]] | + | | [[Splitz (GB)]] (スプリッツ 似顔絵15ゲーム) |
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1993-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Tip-Off (GB)]] (GBバスケットボール) | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 608: | Line 1,249: | ||
| 1993-12-?? | | 1993-12-?? | ||
| [[Battle Cars (SNES)]] | | [[Battle Cars (SNES)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1993-12-17 | ||
+ | | [[Faceball 2000 (GG)]] | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 613: | Line 1,258: | ||
| [[The Flintstones (GB)]] | | [[The Flintstones (GB)]] | ||
| | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1994-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[Riddick Bowe's Boxing (GB)]] | ||
+ | | Composer | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1994-01-?? | | 1994-01-?? | ||
− | | [[Riddick Bowe's Boxing (SNES)]] | + | | [[Riddick Bowe's Boxing (SNES)]] |
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 649: | Line 1,298: | ||
| [[The Lion King (GB)]] | | [[The Lion King (GB)]] | ||
| Sound Driver | | Sound Driver | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 1995-??-?? | ||
+ | | [[NHL 96 (GEN)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1996-01-04 | | 1996-01-04 | ||
Line 667: | Line 1,320: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 2000-11-01 | | 2000-11-01 | ||
− | | [[007: The World | + | | [[007: The World Is Not Enough (N64)]] |
− | | | + | | Audio Director |
|- | |- | ||
| 2005-11-14 | | 2005-11-14 | ||
| [[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (PS2)]] | | [[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (PS2)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | 2009-05-07 | ||
+ | | [[Infection (C64)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Unreleased | ||
+ | | 007: License to Kill (NES) | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Unreleased | ||
+ | | [[Batman: Revenge of the Joker (SNES)]] | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Unreleased | ||
+ | | Ferrari Grand Prix (NES) | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Unreleased | ||
+ | | Infection (CPC) | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Unreleased | ||
+ | | Infection (ZXS) | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Unreleased | ||
+ | | Populous (NES) | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Unreleased | ||
+ | | Tip-Off (NES) | ||
| | | | ||
|} | |} | ||
Line 677: | Line 1,362: | ||
==Picture Gallery== | ==Picture Gallery== | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
− | + | Dwhittaker.jpg|Unknown Source. | |
− | + | David Whittaker - 2.jpg|Unknown Source. | |
− | + | David Whittaker - 3.jpg|Unknown Source. | |
− | + | David Whittaker - 04.png|Taken by ExoticA at Back In Time Live 2002. | |
− | + | David_Whittaker - 5.jpg|David with his [[M1|Korg M1]]; [http://amp.dascene.net/detail.php?view=1655&detail=photos]. | |
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
− | |||
==Links== | ==Links== | ||
− | * [ | + | * [https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,800/ mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,800/] - MobyGames. |
− | * [https://twitter.com/dialogueguru twitter.com/dialogueguru] - Twitter | + | * [https://www.facebook.com/david.whittaker.9210 facebook.com/david.whittaker.9210] - Facebook. |
− | * [ | + | * [https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=43051881&locale=en_US&trk=tyah2 linkedin.com/profile/view?id=43051881&locale=en_US&trk=tyah2] - LinkedIn. |
− | * [ | + | * [https://twitter.com/dialogueguru twitter.com/dialogueguru] - Twitter. |
− | * [http://www.karsmakers.nl/metal-e-zine/david.htm karsmakers.nl/metal-e-zine/david.htm] - Interview. | + | * [https://www.youtube.com/user/DialogueGuru youtube.com/user/DialogueGuru] - YouTube. |
− | * [http:// | + | * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFH5vS1EqNs&t=1m34s youtube.com/watch?v=iFH5vS1EqNs&t=1m34s] - Video Interview. |
+ | * [http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=016&page=040&magazine=zzap <!-- NOTE: as of this writing, removing the www. will only lead to a 404 -->www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=016&page=040&magazine=zzap] - Group Interview with Hubbard, [[Ben Daglish]], [[Antony Crowther]] and Whittaker from August 1986. | ||
+ | * [http://craigsretrocomputingpage.eu5.org/davidwhittaker/davidwhittaker.html craigsretrocomputingpage.eu5.org/davidwhittaker/davidwhittaker.html] - Interview from 1987. | ||
+ | * [http://st-news.com/issues/st-news-volume-2-issue-7/features/interview-with-david-whittaker/ st-news.com/issues/st-news-volume-2-issue-7/features/interview-with-david-whittaker/] - Interview from October 31, 1987. | ||
+ | * [https://www.karsmakers.nl/metal-e-zine/david.htm karsmakers.nl/metal-e-zine/david.htm] - Interview from September 1998. | ||
+ | * [http://web.archive.org/web/20101228171348/http://www.c64.com/audio/David%20Whittaker%20%5BBack%20in%20Time%20Live%202001%20interview%5D.mp3 web.archive.org/web/20101228171348/http://www.c64.com/audio/David%20Whittaker%20%5BBack%20in%20Time%20Live%202001%20interview%5D.mp3] - Audio Interview from 2001. | ||
+ | * [http://www.c64.com/interviews/whittaker.html c64.com/interviews/whittaker.html] - Interview from July 2001 or later. | ||
+ | * [https://www.remix64.com/interviews/interview-david-whittaker.html remix64.com/interviews/interview-david-whittaker.html] - Interview from October 2, 2001. | ||
+ | * [https://archive.org/details/Sinclair_ZX_Spectrum_and_Commodore_64_Book-2012/page/n133 archive.org/details/Sinclair_ZX_Spectrum_and_Commodore_64_Book-2012/page/n133] - Interview from 2009<!--not 2012-->. | ||
Revision as of 15:54, 28 January 2020
David Whittaker | ||||||||||
|
David Whittaker is a British video game musician. He is one of the most popular video game musicians in the world. He is known for composing such gems as Lazy Jones, Shadow of the Beast and Glider Rider, which are the top soundtracks that made him popular. Whittaker has scored around 100 video games on many platforms each, probably more than any other video game musician.
Whittaker attended local Derby Grammar School. His favorite subjects were French and geography, but not music because there was much more history than theory and practice. After leaving school, he had 14 full-time jobs, including electronics assembly, office work, forklift driving, cloth dyeing, and making cardboard tubes. Musically, he started out performing on keyboard and vocals full-time in Clive Farrington's New Romantic band Beau Leisure, which got quite well-known around Altrincham, Greater Manchester, but never made money. Whittaker also plays a Strat, an Ovation, has been a DJ and met Kraftwerk in Liverpool, Merseyside, in 1981.
In February 1982, aged 24, he read about the Sinclair ZX81, but could not afford £80. Instead, he bought a Commodore VIC-20 and paid in installments, starting with £10-£20. He learned BASIC programming from the manual and started programming games for Mr. Micro using a machine code monitor. As his game music was better than that by other programmers, music became a full-time job. He bought a Commodore 64 from Mr. Micro, went to Terminal Software, then freelance, then Terminal's successor Binary Design full-time, and then founded Musicon Design. From that point on, he was sometimes offered so many game music jobs that he had to decline and have given to Rob Hubbard and other composers.
He was the main composer and sound designer for various developers such as Audiogenic and B.I.T.S.. Whittaker was usually good about lending his sound drivers to other companies, but some also used them without permission. In 1999, Zombie Nation, a techno group, stole David Whittaker's Lazy Jones tune for their single Kernkraft 400. When Whittaker called them up, they apologized and paid him £9000 to use his song, which he claims was more than he got paid for the game.
In January 1993, Hubbard worked for Electronic Arts in the USA and phoned Whittaker. EA desperately needed a Genesis and SNES sound designer. In March, Whittaker went to an interview, and on June 29, his wife and he moved to the USA and got a mansion. Around March 1997, he switched to dialog scripting, directing, recording and editing which he currently does with Traveller's Tales. All the time, though, his wife and he were homesick, and when EA laid off a third in February 2001, Whittaker decided they move back to his hometown, which they did in July.
While some fans call him the best SID composer, Whittaker believes that Rob Hubbard is truly the best. His favorite computers that he liked to compose on were the Commodore 64 and the Commodore Amiga, with the Commodore VIC-20 being his least favorite. Whittaker says he appreciates the fans' support over the years. When asked in 1986, he said he is the nephew of Roger Whittaker.
Contents
Music Development
Whittaker has been notorious for copying and pasting his music and transposing it to a different key. This is especially true in his NES soundtracks. This was probably because of the difficulty of having to write most of his music in machine code.
Amiga
He wrote his own audio driver which used a form of Music Macro Language. Whittaker said his instrument samples were taken from his Korg M1, a popular keyboard at the time, and also programmed some waveforms of his own.
Atari ST
Loopz (AST) says Whittaker used Quartet, a popular music program for the Atari ST. Whittaker probably used this method for all (if not some) of his games, though he also probably coded his own sound engine.
Commodore 64
Whittaker composed on a Yamaha CX5M, a Casio CZ-230S, and a Roland Jupiter-6. He then wrote his own audio driver in assembly and programmed his music.
Game Boy
Whittaker converted his NES music to the Game Boy using his own audio driver. The music was written in assembly. When Dark Technologies developed The Lion King (GB), they used Whittaker's sound engine without his permission.
Game Gear/Sega Master System
Whittaker created a sound engine and wrote the music in assembly. Because David Whittaker did not know FM synthesis programming, he never made a sound engine for the Genesis/Mega Drive.
Genesis
Because David Whittaker wasn't familiar with FM synthesis, he used Don Veca's sound driver. He created MIDI files in an unknown sequencer which were converted into Veca's driver.
NES
Whittaker converted his Commodore 64 sound driver to work on the NES. Not too difficult since they both used the same assembly language, but he had to account for the difference between the Commodore's SID chip, and the NES chip. Whittaker arranged Neuromantic Productions music in many ports of Krusty's Fun House. Whittaker licensed his audio driver to Manfred Trenz for him to use in his Super Turrican (NES). The sound driver was later modified and used by Trenz to compose music. Whittaker's driver was also used by Dark Technologies for their only NES title The Lion King. However, Whittaker says that he didn't give them permission to use their driver and that he didn't lend it to them.
SNES
Whittaker wrote his own audio driver in assembly. His instruments were sampled from his Amiga samples from the Korg M1. He would sell his sound driver to companies like Psygnosis for £5000. He lent his sound driver to the Japanese developer Imagineer.
Gameography
Picture Gallery
- David Whittaker - 2.jpg
Unknown Source.
- David Whittaker - 3.jpg
Unknown Source.
- David Whittaker - 04.png
Taken by ExoticA at Back In Time Live 2002.
Links
- mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,800/ - MobyGames.
- facebook.com/david.whittaker.9210 - Facebook.
- linkedin.com/profile/view?id=43051881&locale=en_US&trk=tyah2 - LinkedIn.
- twitter.com/dialogueguru - Twitter.
- youtube.com/user/DialogueGuru - YouTube.
- youtube.com/watch?v=iFH5vS1EqNs&t=1m34s - Video Interview.
- www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=016&page=040&magazine=zzap - Group Interview with Hubbard, Ben Daglish, Antony Crowther and Whittaker from August 1986.
- craigsretrocomputingpage.eu5.org/davidwhittaker/davidwhittaker.html - Interview from 1987.
- st-news.com/issues/st-news-volume-2-issue-7/features/interview-with-david-whittaker/ - Interview from October 31, 1987.
- karsmakers.nl/metal-e-zine/david.htm - Interview from September 1998.
- web.archive.org/web/20101228171348/http://www.c64.com/audio/David%20Whittaker%20%5BBack%20in%20Time%20Live%202001%20interview%5D.mp3 - Audio Interview from 2001.
- c64.com/interviews/whittaker.html - Interview from July 2001 or later.
- remix64.com/interviews/interview-david-whittaker.html - Interview from October 2, 2001.
- archive.org/details/Sinclair_ZX_Spectrum_and_Commodore_64_Book-2012/page/n133 - Interview from 2009.