Difference between revisions of "David Warhol"

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{{Infobox Composer
 
{{Infobox Composer
−
| Name        = David Warhol
+
| Name        = David Warhol
−
| Picture    = Dwarhol1.jpg
+
| Picture    = Dwarhol1.jpg
−
| Born        = July 15, 19??
+
| Born        = 1959-07-15
−
| BirthPlace  = Manhattan Beach, CA
+
| BirthPlace  = Hibbing, MN
−
| Nationality = American
+
| Nationality = American
−
| Flag        = USA
+
| Flag        = USA
−
| Alias01     = Dave Warhol
+
| Aliases     = Dave Warhol<br />Dave Worhal<br />Realtime Associates<br />Real Time Associates
−
| Alias02    = Dave Worhal
+
| Website    = rtassoc.com
−
| Alias03    = Realtime Associates
 
−
| Alias04    = Real Time Associates
 
−
| Website    = rtassoc.com
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warhol, David}}
 +
'''Dave Warhol''' is a composer, sound designer, and programmer. He played low brass instruments when he was in school. He started working at Mattel Electronics as a audio engineer, game designer and programmer. After being a video game musician and audio engineer for some time, he decided he wanted to make his own company for video games and he founded [[Realtime Associates]] in 1986. Realtime still exists to this day and is still run by David Warhol. He has also won the 12th Annual G.A.N.G. Lifetime Achievement Award.
  
−
'''''Dave Warhol''''' is a composer, sound designer, and programmer. He played low brass instruments when he was in school. He started working at Mattel Electronics as a audio engineer, game designer and programmer. After being a video game musician and audio engineer for some time, he decided he wanted to make his own company for video games and he founded [[Realtime Associates]] in 1986. Realtime still exists to this day and is still run by David Warhol. He has also won the 12th Annual G.A.N.G. award.
+
==Music Development==
 +
===Commodore 64===
 +
Warhol programmed in [[assembly]], first directly on the C64 using ''Merlin'', and later on an PC using ''AD2600''.
  
 +
===Game Boy===
 +
Warhol created a program that converted MIDI files to something that the Game Boy could read. According to one of the composer's at Realtime Associates, it was really touchy in that if a note overlapped another note a little bit in the MIDI file, the song wouldn't play back properly and instead hang on the said note.
  
−
==Music Development==
+
Warhol also developed a live interface for controlling the Game Boy's audio with a keyboard. This was utilized to more efficiently test parts and sounds before sequencing or finalizing them. This was something he had also done with the NES, but not until he was part-way through the NES' lifespan. For Game Boy development, this is something he had ready for the first title he worked on.
−
===GB===
 
−
Warhol created a program that converted MIDI files to something that the GameBoy could read. According to one of the composer's at Realtime Associates, it was really touchy in that if a note overlapped another note a little bit in the MIDI file, the song wouldn't play back properly and instead hang on the said note.
 
  
−
===GEN===
+
===Genesis / Mega Drive===
−
David composed MIDI files in [[Cakewalk]] and converted them to the [[GEMS]] sound engine.
+
Warhol composed MIDI files in [[Cakewalk]] and converted them to the [[GEMS]] sound engine.
  
−
===GG/SMS===
+
===Game Gear/Sega Master System===
−
David created a MIDI conversion tool.
+
Warhol created a MIDI conversion tool.
  
 
===NES===
 
===NES===
 
Warhol created a program that converted MIDI files to the NES. He would compose his MIDI files in Cakewalk and then use his program to convert said MIDIs to the NES. If another composer at Realtime Associates was behind the music, he would use the same procedure, except he would arrange the composers' MIDI files first before converting them.
 
Warhol created a program that converted MIDI files to the NES. He would compose his MIDI files in Cakewalk and then use his program to convert said MIDIs to the NES. If another composer at Realtime Associates was behind the music, he would use the same procedure, except he would arrange the composers' MIDI files first before converting them.
 +
 +
Warhol has explained the process in which he was able to convert from MIDI as efficiently as possible:
 +
 +
{{Quote|
 +
MIDI files are way too large for an 8-bit cartridge for memory footprint, So my processes always read MIDI files, compressed them using very specific 5-bits per-note instructions, and then 3-bits per-duration. So I was able to get a note into 1 byte, instead of a MIDI command which might be 3 bytes for note on, 3 bytes for note off. That’s 6 bytes per note, that’s way too expensive. So I took it all the way down to be 1-byte per note on/ note off, except for some patches (that) might’ve required 2 bytes, but yeah, very, very conservative with memory.
 +
}}
 +
 +
Before developing his MIDI converter, he worked with sheet music and would program the music in hexadecimal notation. He described this as a "very labor intensive process", and his earliest NES games used this method.
 +
 +
None of his NES music utilizes the 5th audio channel for sample playback, as he was unable to figure out how to use it.
  
 
===SNES===
 
===SNES===
Line 33: Line 44:
  
 
==Gameography==
 
==Gameography==
−
{{Table Header
+
{| class="wikitable"
−
| Color    = FFF0FF
+
! Released
−
| Caption01 = Released
+
! Title
−
| Caption02 = Title
+
! Sample
−
| Caption03 = Sample
+
! Notes
−
}}
+
|-
 
| 1983-??-??
 
| 1983-??-??
 
| [[Thin Ice (INTV)]]
 
| [[Thin Ice (INTV)]]
−
|
+
|
 +
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1984-??-??
 
| 1984-??-??
 
| [[Realm Of Impossibility EA]]
 
| [[Realm Of Impossibility EA]]
−
|
+
|
 +
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1984-??-??
 
| 1984-??-??
 
| [[Zombies (C64)]]
 
| [[Zombies (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1985-??-??
 
| 1985-??-??
 
| [[Heart of Africa (C64)]]
 
| [[Heart of Africa (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1985-??-??
 
| 1985-??-??
 
| [[Racing Destruction Set (C64)]]
 
| [[Racing Destruction Set (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1985-??-??
 
| 1985-??-??
 
| [[Stuart Smith's Adventure Construction Set (AMI)]]
 
| [[Stuart Smith's Adventure Construction Set (AMI)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1985-??-??
 
| 1985-??-??
 
| [[Stuart Smith's Adventure Construction Set (C64)]]
 
| [[Stuart Smith's Adventure Construction Set (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1985-??-??
 
| 1985-??-??
 
| [[World Tour Golf (DOS)]]
 
| [[World Tour Golf (DOS)]]
 +
|
 
| Music / Sound Programming
 
| Music / Sound Programming
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1986-??-??
 
| 1986-??-??
−
| [[Robot Rascals (APL2)]]
+
| [[Hover Force (INTV)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1986-??-??
 +
| [[Robot Rascals (A2)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1986-??-??
 
| 1986-??-??
 
| [[Robot Rascals (C64)]]
 
| [[Robot Rascals (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1986-??-??
 
| 1986-??-??
 
| [[Tass Times in Tonetown (AMI)]]
 
| [[Tass Times in Tonetown (AMI)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1986-??-??
 
| 1986-??-??
 
| [[Tass Times in Tonetown (DOS)]]
 
| [[Tass Times in Tonetown (DOS)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1986-??-??
 
| 1986-??-??
 
| [[Thunder Castle (INTV)]]
 
| [[Thunder Castle (INTV)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| [[Commando (INTV)]]
 
| [[Commando (INTV)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
Line 98: Line 128:
 
| [[Pool of Radiance (C64)]]
 
| [[Pool of Radiance (C64)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Pool of Radiance - C64 - Theme from Pool of Radiance.ogg}}
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Pool of Radiance - C64 - Theme from Pool of Radiance.ogg}}
 +
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[World Tour Golf (AMI)]]
 
| [[World Tour Golf (AMI)]]
 +
|
 
| Sound Effects
 
| Sound Effects
 +
|-
 +
| 1988-??-??
 +
| [[F/A-18 Interceptor (AMI)]]
 +
|
 +
| Sound Effects & Music
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[Curse of the Azure Bonds (A2)]]
 
| [[Curse of the Azure Bonds (A2)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
Line 110: Line 148:
 
| [[Pool of Radiance (C64)|Curse of the Azure Bonds (C64)]]
 
| [[Pool of Radiance (C64)|Curse of the Azure Bonds (C64)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Pool of Radiance - C64 - Theme from Pool of Radiance.ogg}}
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Pool of Radiance - C64 - Theme from Pool of Radiance.ogg}}
 +
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[Curse of the Azure Bonds (DOS)]]
 
| [[Curse of the Azure Bonds (DOS)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (AMI)]]
 
| [[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (AMI)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (DOS)]]
 
| [[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (DOS)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-08-??
 
| 1990-08-??
 
| [[Dick Tracy (NES)]]
 
| [[Dick Tracy (NES)]]
−
| Sound Driver
+
| {{Song-Box|01 - Dick Tracy - NES - Title.ogg}}
 +
| Sound Driver, arranged [[George Sanger]] and [[David Hayes]]'s music.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-08-??
 
| 1990-08-??
 
| [[Swords and Serpents (NES)]]
 
| [[Swords and Serpents (NES)]]
−
| Sound Driver
+
|
 +
| Sound Driver, arranged [[George Sanger]]'s music.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-08-??
 
| 1990-08-??
 
| [[Total Recall (NES)]]
 
| [[Total Recall (NES)]]
−
| {{Song-Box|02_-_Total_Recall_-_NES_-_Earth_Theme.ogg}}
+
| {{Song-Box|02 - Total Recall - NES - Earth Theme.ogg}}
 +
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-10-??
 
| 1990-10-??
 
| [[Maniac Mansion (NES)]]
 
| [[Maniac Mansion (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-12-??
 
| 1990-12-??
 
| [[The Adventures of Rad Gravity (NES)]]
 
| [[The Adventures of Rad Gravity (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| 1990-??-??
−
| [[Champions of Krynn (APL2)]]
+
| [[Champions of Krynn (A2)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
Line 150: Line 198:
 
| [[LHX: Attack Chopper (DOS)]]
 
| [[LHX: Attack Chopper (DOS)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|101 - LHX Attack Chopper - DOS - Main Theme.ogg}}
 
| {{Song-Box|101 - LHX Attack Chopper - DOS - Main Theme.ogg}}
 +
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| [[Ski or Die (AMI)]]
 
| [[Ski or Die (AMI)]]
−
| Composer?
+
|  
 +
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| [[Ski or Die (C64)]]
 
| [[Ski or Die (C64)]]
−
| Composer?
+
|  
 +
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| [[Ski or Die (DOS)]]
 
| [[Ski or Die (DOS)]]
−
| Composer?
+
| {{Song-Box|101 - Ski or Die - DOS - Main Theme.ogg}}
−
|-
+
|  
−
| 1990-??-??
 
−
| [[Ski or Die (NES)]]
 
−
| Composer?
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| [[Stormovik: Soviet Attack Fighter SU-25 (DOS)]]
 
| [[Stormovik: Soviet Attack Fighter SU-25 (DOS)]]
 +
|
 
| Sound Effects
 
| Sound Effects
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1991-01-??
 
| 1991-01-??
 
| [[Fun House (NES)]]
 
| [[Fun House (NES)]]
−
| Sound Driver
+
|
 +
| Sound Driver, arranged [[George Sanger]]'s music.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1991-05-??
 
| 1991-05-??
 
| [[The Rocketeer (NES)]]
 
| [[The Rocketeer (NES)]]
−
| Sound Driver
+
|
 +
| Sound Driver, arranged [[George Sanger]] and [[David Hayes]]'s music.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1991-06-??
 
| 1991-06-??
 
| [[Skate Or Die: Tour de Thrash (GB)]]
 
| [[Skate Or Die: Tour de Thrash (GB)]]
−
| Sound Driver
+
|
 +
| Sound Driver, arranged [[George Sanger]]'s music.
 +
|-
 +
| 1991-??-??
 +
| [[Neverwinter Nights (DOS)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1991-??-??
 +
| [[Tony La Russa's Ultimate Baseball (C64)]]
 +
|
 +
| Music Driver
 +
|-
 +
| 1991-??-??
 +
| [[Tony La Russa's Ultimate Baseball (DOS)]]
 +
|
 +
| Music Driver
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1992-07-??
 
| 1992-07-??
 
| [[Defenders of Dynatron City (NES)]]
 
| [[Defenders of Dynatron City (NES)]]
 +
|
 
| Sound FX and Arrangements
 
| Sound FX and Arrangements
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1992-09-??
 
| 1992-09-??
 
| [[Monster Truck Rally (NES)]]
 
| [[Monster Truck Rally (NES)]]
−
| Sound Driver
+
| {{Song-Box|01 - Monster Truck Rally - NES - Title Screen.ogg}}
 +
| Sound Driver, arranged [[George Sanger]]'s music.
 +
|-
 +
| 1992-09-??
 +
| [[Word Zap (GB)]]
 +
| {{Song-Box|01 - Word Zap - GB - Title Theme.ogg}}
 +
| Sound Driver, arranged [[George Sanger]]'s music
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1992-09-??
 
| 1992-09-??
 
| [[Toxic Crusaders (GB)]]
 
| [[Toxic Crusaders (GB)]]
 +
|
 
| Arrangements
 
| Arrangements
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1992-09-29
 
| 1992-09-29
 
| [[Wings 2: Aces High (SNES)]] (スカイミッション)
 
| [[Wings 2: Aces High (SNES)]] (スカイミッション)
 +
|
 
| Sound Driver
 
| Sound Driver
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1992-10-??
 
| 1992-10-??
 
| [[Q*bert 3 (SNES)]] (〜キュー・バート３〜)
 
| [[Q*bert 3 (SNES)]] (〜キュー・バート３〜)
 +
|
 
| Sound Driver
 
| Sound Driver
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1992-11-??
 
| 1992-11-??
 
| [[Wordtris (GB)]]
 
| [[Wordtris (GB)]]
−
| Sound Driver
+
| {{Song-Box|01 - Wordtris - GB - Title Screen.ogg}}
 +
| Sound Driver, arranged [[Ed Bogas]]'s music.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1992-12-??
 
| 1992-12-??
 
| [[Caesars Palace (NES)]]
 
| [[Caesars Palace (NES)]]
−
| Sound Driver
+
| {{Song-Box|01 - Caesar's Palace - NES - Title.ogg}}
 +
| Sound Driver, arranged [[David Hayes]]'s music.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1992-12-??
 
| 1992-12-??
 
| [[Wordtris (SNES)]]
 
| [[Wordtris (SNES)]]
 +
| {{Song-Box|01 - Wordtris - SNES - Title Screen.ogg}}
 
| Sound Driver
 
| Sound Driver
 +
|-
 +
| 1993-??-??
 +
| [[Quest for the Shaven Yak starring Ren & Stimpy (SMS)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1993-09-??
 
| 1993-09-??
 
| [[Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES)]]
 
| [[Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES)]]
 +
|
 
| Sound Driver
 
| Sound Driver
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1994-??-??
 
| 1994-??-??
 
| [[Ghoul Patrol (SNES)]] (グール・パトロール)
 
| [[Ghoul Patrol (SNES)]] (グール・パトロール)
 +
|
 +
| Sound Driver
 +
|-
 +
| 1994-??-??
 +
| [[Quest for the Shaven Yak starring Ren & Stimpy (GG)]]
 +
|
 
| Sound Driver
 
| Sound Driver
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1994-06-??
 
| 1994-06-??
 
| [[BreakThru! (SNES)]]
 
| [[BreakThru! (SNES)]]
 +
| {{Song-Box|01 - BreakThru! - SNES - Title Screen.ogg}}
 
| Music Orchestration
 
| Music Orchestration
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1994-09-??
 
| 1994-09-??
 
| [[Wild Snake (GB)]] (スーパースネーキー)
 
| [[Wild Snake (GB)]] (スーパースネーキー)
 +
|
 
| Sound Driver
 
| Sound Driver
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1995-01-??
 
| 1995-01-??
 
| [[BreakThru! (GB)]]
 
| [[BreakThru! (GB)]]
 +
|
 
| Sound Driver
 
| Sound Driver
 +
|-
 +
| 1995-04-??
 +
| [[Metal Warriors (SNES)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1995-08-15
 +
| [[AAAHH!!! Real Monsters (SNES)]]
 +
|
 +
| Sound Programming
 +
|-
 +
| 1995-10-??
 +
| [[Big Sky Trooper (SNES)]]
 +
|
 +
| Sound Programming
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1995-11-05
 
| 1995-11-05
 
| [[Zoop (GB)]] (ズープ)
 
| [[Zoop (GB)]] (ズープ)
 +
| {{Song-Box|01 - Zoop - GB - Zoop Jazz.ogg}}
 +
| Sound Driver Provider
 +
|-
 +
| 1995-??-??
 +
| [[Zoop (GG)]]
 +
| {{Song-Box|01 - Zoop - GG - Zoop Jazz.ogg}}
 
| Sound Driver Provider
 
| Sound Driver Provider
 
|-
 
|-
Line 242: Line 358:
 
| [[Robocop Vs. The Terminator (NES)]]
 
| [[Robocop Vs. The Terminator (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| With [[Eric Swanson]].
 
|-
 
|-
 
| Unreleased
 
| Unreleased
 
| [[WildSnake (GG)]]
 
| [[WildSnake (GG)]]
 +
|
 
| Sound Driver
 
| Sound Driver
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 +
==Aliases==
 +
Sometimes, David was credited by his company's name, '''Realtime Associates'''.
 +
 +
In the manual for [[The Adventures of Rad Gravity (NES)]], his name is misspelled as "Dave Worhal". In addition, Warhol never actually composed music for this title, but rather arranged [[George Sanger]]'s music.
  
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
 
* [http://www.rtassoc.com rtassoc.com] - Official.
 
* [http://www.rtassoc.com rtassoc.com] - Official.
 +
* [https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,341/ mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,341/] - MobyGames.
 
* [https://www.facebook.com/dave.warhol facebook.com/dave.warhol] - Facebook.
 
* [https://www.facebook.com/dave.warhol facebook.com/dave.warhol] - Facebook.
 
* [https://twitter.com/davidwarhol twitter.com/davidwarhol] - Twitter.
 
* [https://twitter.com/davidwarhol twitter.com/davidwarhol] - Twitter.
−
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeMseLpbREQ youtube.com/watch?v=WeMseLpbREQ] - Video Interview.
+
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeMseLpbREQ youtube.com/watch?v=WeMseLpbREQ] - Video Interview.
 +
* [https://www.remix64.com/interviews/interview-david-warhol.html remix64.com/interviews/interview-david-warhol.html] - Interview from April 23, 2002.
 +
* [http://www.vgarc.org/vgarc-originals/interview-with-david-warhol/ vgarc.org/vgarc-originals/interview-with-david-warhol/] - Audio Interview with Text Transcription from December 9, 2016 and June 14, 2017.
 +
* [http://www.c64.com/?type=4&id=52 c64.com/?type=4&id=52] - Interview from January 9, 2020.
  
  
Line 258: Line 385:
 
[[Category: Foley Artists]]
 
[[Category: Foley Artists]]
 
[[Category: Sound Programmers]]
 
[[Category: Sound Programmers]]
 +
[[Category:Male People]]
 +
[[Category:Mattel Electronics Staff]]
 +
[[Category:Realtime Associates Staff]]
 +
[[Category:1959 Births]]

Revision as of 14:57, 30 June 2022

David Warhol
Dwarhol1.jpg
Born 1959-07-15
Birth Place Hibbing, MN
Nationality American   USA.svg
Aliases Dave Warhol
Dave Worhal
Realtime Associates
Real Time Associates
Website rtassoc.com

Dave Warhol is a composer, sound designer, and programmer. He played low brass instruments when he was in school. He started working at Mattel Electronics as a audio engineer, game designer and programmer. After being a video game musician and audio engineer for some time, he decided he wanted to make his own company for video games and he founded Realtime Associates in 1986. Realtime still exists to this day and is still run by David Warhol. He has also won the 12th Annual G.A.N.G. Lifetime Achievement Award.

Music Development

Commodore 64

Warhol programmed in assembly, first directly on the C64 using Merlin, and later on an PC using AD2600.

Game Boy

Warhol created a program that converted MIDI files to something that the Game Boy could read. According to one of the composer's at Realtime Associates, it was really touchy in that if a note overlapped another note a little bit in the MIDI file, the song wouldn't play back properly and instead hang on the said note.

Warhol also developed a live interface for controlling the Game Boy's audio with a keyboard. This was utilized to more efficiently test parts and sounds before sequencing or finalizing them. This was something he had also done with the NES, but not until he was part-way through the NES' lifespan. For Game Boy development, this is something he had ready for the first title he worked on.

Genesis / Mega Drive

Warhol composed MIDI files in Cakewalk and converted them to the GEMS sound engine.

Game Gear/Sega Master System

Warhol created a MIDI conversion tool.

NES

Warhol created a program that converted MIDI files to the NES. He would compose his MIDI files in Cakewalk and then use his program to convert said MIDIs to the NES. If another composer at Realtime Associates was behind the music, he would use the same procedure, except he would arrange the composers' MIDI files first before converting them.

Warhol has explained the process in which he was able to convert from MIDI as efficiently as possible:

“

MIDI files are way too large for an 8-bit cartridge for memory footprint, So my processes always read MIDI files, compressed them using very specific 5-bits per-note instructions, and then 3-bits per-duration. So I was able to get a note into 1 byte, instead of a MIDI command which might be 3 bytes for note on, 3 bytes for note off. That’s 6 bytes per note, that’s way too expensive. So I took it all the way down to be 1-byte per note on/ note off, except for some patches (that) might’ve required 2 bytes, but yeah, very, very conservative with memory.

„

Before developing his MIDI converter, he worked with sheet music and would program the music in hexadecimal notation. He described this as a "very labor intensive process", and his earliest NES games used this method.

None of his NES music utilizes the 5th audio channel for sample playback, as he was unable to figure out how to use it.

SNES

Warhol programmed a sound driver which converted MIDI files to the SNES. The instrument samples were taken from other SNES games. Warhol lent his sound driver to many video game developers, but only his company name was mentioned in those games.

Gameography

Released Title Sample Notes
1983-??-?? Thin Ice (INTV)
1984-??-?? Realm Of Impossibility EA
1984-??-?? Zombies (C64)
1985-??-?? Heart of Africa (C64)
1985-??-?? Racing Destruction Set (C64)
1985-??-?? Stuart Smith's Adventure Construction Set (AMI)
1985-??-?? Stuart Smith's Adventure Construction Set (C64)
1985-??-?? World Tour Golf (DOS) Music / Sound Programming
1986-??-?? Hover Force (INTV)
1986-??-?? Robot Rascals (A2)
1986-??-?? Robot Rascals (C64)
1986-??-?? Tass Times in Tonetown (AMI)
1986-??-?? Tass Times in Tonetown (DOS)
1986-??-?? Thunder Castle (INTV)
1987-??-?? Commando (INTV)
1988-??-?? Pool of Radiance (C64)
1988-??-?? World Tour Golf (AMI) Sound Effects
1988-??-?? F/A-18 Interceptor (AMI) Sound Effects & Music
1989-??-?? Curse of the Azure Bonds (A2)
1989-??-?? Curse of the Azure Bonds (C64)
1989-??-?? Curse of the Azure Bonds (DOS)
1989-??-?? Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (AMI)
1989-??-?? Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (DOS)
1990-08-?? Dick Tracy (NES)
Sound Driver, arranged George Sanger and David Hayes's music.
1990-08-?? Swords and Serpents (NES) Sound Driver, arranged George Sanger's music.
1990-08-?? Total Recall (NES)
1990-10-?? Maniac Mansion (NES)
1990-12-?? The Adventures of Rad Gravity (NES)
1990-??-?? Champions of Krynn (A2)
1990-??-?? LHX: Attack Chopper (DOS)
1990-??-?? Ski or Die (AMI)
1990-??-?? Ski or Die (C64)
1990-??-?? Ski or Die (DOS)
1990-??-?? Stormovik: Soviet Attack Fighter SU-25 (DOS) Sound Effects
1991-01-?? Fun House (NES) Sound Driver, arranged George Sanger's music.
1991-05-?? The Rocketeer (NES) Sound Driver, arranged George Sanger and David Hayes's music.
1991-06-?? Skate Or Die: Tour de Thrash (GB) Sound Driver, arranged George Sanger's music.
1991-??-?? Neverwinter Nights (DOS)
1991-??-?? Tony La Russa's Ultimate Baseball (C64) Music Driver
1991-??-?? Tony La Russa's Ultimate Baseball (DOS) Music Driver
1992-07-?? Defenders of Dynatron City (NES) Sound FX and Arrangements
1992-09-?? Monster Truck Rally (NES)
Sound Driver, arranged George Sanger's music.
1992-09-?? Word Zap (GB)
Sound Driver, arranged George Sanger's music
1992-09-?? Toxic Crusaders (GB) Arrangements
1992-09-29 Wings 2: Aces High (SNES) (スカイミッション) Sound Driver
1992-10-?? Q*bert 3 (SNES) (〜キュー・バート３〜) Sound Driver
1992-11-?? Wordtris (GB)
Sound Driver, arranged Ed Bogas's music.
1992-12-?? Caesars Palace (NES)
-
 Sound Driver, arranged David Hayes's music.
1992-12-?? Wordtris (SNES)
Sound Driver
1993-??-?? Quest for the Shaven Yak starring Ren & Stimpy (SMS)
1993-09-?? Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES) Sound Driver
1994-??-?? Ghoul Patrol (SNES) (グール・パトロール) Sound Driver
1994-??-?? Quest for the Shaven Yak starring Ren & Stimpy (GG) Sound Driver
1994-06-?? BreakThru! (SNES)
Music Orchestration
1994-09-?? Wild Snake (GB) (スーパースネーキー) Sound Driver
1995-01-?? BreakThru! (GB) Sound Driver
1995-04-?? Metal Warriors (SNES)
1995-08-15 AAAHH!!! Real Monsters (SNES) Sound Programming
1995-10-?? Big Sky Trooper (SNES) Sound Programming
1995-11-05 Zoop (GB) (ズープ)
Sound Driver Provider
1995-??-?? Zoop (GG)
Sound Driver Provider
Unreleased Robocop Vs. The Terminator (NES) With Eric Swanson.
Unreleased WildSnake (GG) Sound Driver

Aliases

Sometimes, David was credited by his company's name, Realtime Associates.

In the manual for The Adventures of Rad Gravity (NES), his name is misspelled as "Dave Worhal". In addition, Warhol never actually composed music for this title, but rather arranged George Sanger's music.

Links

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