Michael Land

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Michael Z. Land
Michael Land - 01.jpg
Born 1961
Birth Place Boston, Massachusetts
Nationality American   USA.svg

Michael Land is an American composer and sound programmer, best known for his work on LucasArts' adventure games, particularly on the Monkey Island series.

Prior to the hiring of Land in early 1990, LucasArts either had their developers double up as sound designers or hired freelancers, before outsourcing their sound production to Realtime Associates for a number of years. Land was therefore the first actual composer hired by the company, and he soon hired fellow composers Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian to not only help with scoring duties, but to update LucasArts' sound production facilities, which were heavily outdated even for the time. The trio would go on to compose for most of the company's titles during the 1990s.

Starting in the mid-1990s, Land became head of LucasArts' sound department and focused less on composing. He largely left the video game industry after the company stopped developing adventure games in 2000, but has returned a few times, mostly for new entries in the Monkey Island series.

Music Development

DOS

Land originally used a sound driver designed by Aric Wilmunder, but found the driver to be extremely basic and lacking in functionality. This provided the impetus for him and Peter McConnell to design the iMUSE driver, which Land used starting with Monkey Island 2, and continued to make use of for the rest of his time with the company.

Windows

On his LucasArts games, Land continued to make use of iMUSE, using an updated version programmed by Michael McMahon.

For Tales of Monkey Island, Land directly arranged the music files and sent them to Telltale Games, where they were programmed to work in-game by Jared Emerson-Johnson.

Gameography

Released Title Sample Notes
1990-??-?? Masterblazer (DOS) Sound
1990-??-?? Night Shift (DOS) Arranged David Lowe's music
1990-10-?? The Secret of Monkey Island (DOS) With Barney Jones, Patric Mundy and Andy Newell
1990-12-?? The Secret of Monkey Island (A2GS) With Barney Jones, Patric Mundy and Andy Newell
1990-12-?? The Secret of Monkey Island (AMI) With Barney Jones, Patric Mundy and Andy Newell
1990-12-?? The Secret of Monkey Island (AST) With Barney Jones, Patric Mundy and Andy Newell
1990-12-?? The Secret of Monkey Island (MAC) With Barney Jones, Patric Mundy and Andy Newell
1991-08-?? Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe (DOS)
1991-12-?? Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (AMI) With Peter McConnell, Clint Bajakian, Robin Goldstein and Joseph White
1991-12-?? Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (DOS) With Peter McConnell, Clint Bajakian, Robin Goldstein and Joseph White
1991-12-?? Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (FMT) With Peter McConnell, Clint Bajakian, Robin Goldstein and Joseph White
1992-06-26 Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (AMI) With Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
1992-06-26 Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (DOS) With Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
1992-??-?? The Secret of Monkey Island (FMT) With Barney Jones, Patric Mundy and Andy Newell
1992-??-?? The Secret of Monkey Island (SCD) With Barney Jones, Patric Mundy and Andy Newell
1993-03-04 Star Wars: X-Wing (DOS) Additional Music with Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
1993-06-25 Day of the Tentacle (DOS) With Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
1993-11-?? Sam and Max Hit the Road (DOS) With Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
1993-11-25 Star Wars: Rebel Assault (DOS) Sound Advice with Peter McConnell
1993-??-?? Star Wars: Rebel Assault (3DO) Sound Advice with Peter McConnell
1993-??-?? Star Wars: Rebel Assault (SCD) Sound Advice with Peter McConnell
1994-07-20 Star Wars: TIE Fighter (DOS) With Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
1995-03-08 Star Wars: Dark Forces (DOS) iMuse Interactive Music System Programming
1995-05-19 Full Throttle (DOS) Mr. Big Music Guy
1995-11-30 The Dig (DOS)
1996-06-27 Afterlife (DOS) iMuse Interactive Music System Programming
1996-11-26 Star Wars: Dark Forces (PS1) iMuse Interactive Music System Programming
1997-04-02 Ballblazer Champions (PS1) Music Consultant
1997-04-07 Outlaws (W32) Manager of Sound Development
1997-07-14 Herc's Adventures (SAT)
1997-07-31 Herc's Adventures (PS1)
1997-10-31 The Curse of Monkey Island (W32)
1998-03-25 Star Wars: Rebellion (W32) Music Editor?
1998-10-21 Star Wars: DroidWorks (W32) Sound Manager
1998-10-30 Grim Fandango (W32) iMuse Interactive Music System Programming
1999-03-23 Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance (W32) Music Editor with Clint Bajakian.
1999-05-18 Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace (W32) Sound Department Manager
1999-05-18 Star Wars Episode I - Racer (N64) Sound Department Manager
1999-05-18 Star Wars Episode I - Racer (W32) Sound Department Manager
1999-08-11 Star Wars: Yoda's Challenge - Activity Center (W32) Sound Department Manager
1999-09-24 Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace (PS1) Sound Department Manager
1999-??-?? Star Wars: Anakin's Speedway (W32) Sound Department Manager
1999-??-?? Star Wars: Episode I - The Gungan Frontier (W32) Additional Music
2000-03-22 Star Wars: Force Commander (W32) Sound Department Manager
2000-04-04 Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles (PS1) Sound Department Manager
2000-11-08 Escape from Monkey Island (W32) With Clint Bajakian, Anna Karney, Peter McConnell and Michael Lande
2001-06-19 Escape from Monkey Island (PS2) With Clint Bajakian, Anna Karney, Peter McConnell and Michael Lande
2003-01-14 SimCity 4 (W32) With various others
2004-10-26 The Bard's Tale (PS2)
With Tommy Tallarico, Clint Bajakian, Peter McConnell and Jared Emerson-Johnson
2004-10-26 The Bard's Tale (XBOX) With Tommy Tallarico, Clint Bajakian, Peter McConnell and Jared Emerson-Johnson
2004-??-?? Maniac Mansion Deluxe (W32) Arranged by Neil Cicierega.
2005-04-19 Psychonauts (W32) Bass performed by
2005-04-19 Psychonauts (XBOX) Bass performed by
2005-06-21 Psychonauts (PS2) Bass performed by
2005-06-27 The Bard's Tale (W32) With Tommy Tallarico, Clint Bajakian, Peter McConnell and Jared Emerson-Johnson
2006-11-21 Thrillville (PS2) Additional Music.
2006-11-21 Thrillville (PSP) Additional Music.
2006-11-21 Thrillville (XBOX) Additional Music.
2009-07-07 Tales of Monkey Island (W32)
2015-01-27 Grim Fandango Remastered (PS4) iMuse Interactive Music System Programming
2015-01-27 Grim Fandango Remastered (PSV) iMuse Interactive Music System Programming
2015-01-27 Grim Fandango Remastered (W64) iMuse Interactive Music System Programming
2015-05-05 Grim Fandango Remastered (IOS) iMuse Interactive Music System Programming
2016-03-22 Day of the Tentacle Remastered (PS4) Original Music with Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
2016-03-22 Day of the Tentacle Remastered (PSV) Original Music with Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
2016-03-22 Day of the Tentacle Remastered (W64) Original Music with Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
2016-07-11 Day of the Tentacle Remastered (IOS) Original Music with Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
2017-04-18 Full Throttle Remastered (PSV) Mr. Big Music Guy
2017-04-18 Full Throttle Remastered (PS4) Mr. Big Music Guy
2017-04-18 Full Throttle Remastered (W64) Mr. Big Music Guy
2017-07-29 Full Throttle Remastered (IOS) Mr. Big Music Guy
2021-08-25 Psychonauts 2 (PS4) Electric Bass
2021-08-25 Psychonauts 2 (W64) Electric Bass
2021-08-25 Psychonauts 2 (XSX) Electric Bass
2021-08-25 Psychonauts 2 (XONE) Electric Bass
2022-09-19 Return to Monkey Island (SW) With Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian
2022-09-19 Return to Monkey Island (W64) With Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian

Links