Difference between revisions of "David Wise"

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| Name        = David Wise
 
| Name        = David Wise
 
| Picture    = Dave Wise - 01.jpg
 
| Picture    = Dave Wise - 01.jpg
| Born        = ca. 1967 (Age 46)
+
| Born        = ca. 1967
 
| BirthPlace  = Leicester, England
 
| BirthPlace  = Leicester, England
 
| Nationality = British
 
| Nationality = British
Line 9: Line 9:
 
| Alias02    = Dave Wise
 
| Alias02    = Dave Wise
 
| Alias03    = Rare Ltd
 
| Alias03    = Rare Ltd
 +
| Alias04    = デビッド ワイズ (David Wise)
 +
| Alias05    = David
 
| Website    = www.davidwise.co.uk/
 
| Website    = www.davidwise.co.uk/
 
}}
 
}}
  
'''''David Wise's''''' passion for music started around when he was 8 years old and his older brother was taking piano lessons. Due to fairness, he had to wait until he was his brother's age until he could get piano lessons, too. He then found out beforehand that he could learn music by ear, but he also ended up getting piano lessons as well. He also learned how to play the trumpet around then and eventually joined a brass band. When he was 14, he had a paper route and used his earnings to save up for a drumkit. After buying the drumkit, he joined a band. Later, Wise started working at a music shop, working in the drum department until a Yamaha CX5 arrived at the store. He learned how to create music on it. He demonstrated the computer to many customers which led to the sale of many of them. One day, [[Rare]]'s founders Chris and Tim Stamper came into the music shop and asked Wise to demonstrate the computer for them. While David was doing so, he was playing his own compositions. Chris and Tim were mesmerized by his music so instead of buying the computer, they asked Wise if he would do music for their video games and Wise took the job. His first work of video game music was Slalom on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] in 1987. Wise felt confined to writing game music on the NES because not only did he have to go from writing MIDI files on music computers to programming the music in hex code, but he also had only four channels to work with on the NES' soundchip. The fifth channel which used digitized audio, Wise couldn't use because the company didn't have the luxury of cartridge space. During Rare's NES development, they usually handled arcade conversions, so David Wise had to take the challenges of learning the original arcade's music by ear and replicate a good 8-bit conversion which he was always successful in doing. David composed the music for over 40 NES titles, which is probably more than any other NES composer. He worked on all of Rare's NES soundtracks until the SNES era when Rare got other composers and sound designers. Most of the music he composes consists of hard rock or jazz. David said he likes to be called David but doesn't mind being called Dave. In 2009, because of Rare being bought by Microsoft and the company going through some major changes, Wise left Rare and no longer works on video game music.
+
'''''David Wise''''' is a British video game musician, and is one of the most popular in the industry. He is known for composing music to many popular games such as the Donkey Kong Country, Battletoads, and Wizards & Warriors series.
  
Some of David's most popular works include the Donkey Kong Country, Battletoads, and Wizards and Warriors series.
+
David's passion for music started around when he was 8 years old and his older brother was taking piano lessons. Due to fairness, he had to wait until he was his brother's age until he could get piano lessons, too. He then found out beforehand that he could learn music by ear, but he also ended up getting piano lessons as well. He also learned how to play the trumpet around then and eventually joined a brass band. When he was 14, he had a paper route and used his earnings to save up for a drumkit. After buying the drumkit, he joined a band.
  
Wise continues to compose music to this day and likes to use [[CuBase]] and [[Pro Tools]] for his music.
+
Later, Wise started working at a music shop, working in the drum department until a Yamaha CX5 arrived at the store. He learned how to create music on it. He demonstrated the computer to many customers which led to the sale of many of them. One day, [[Rare]]'s founders Chris and Tim Stamper came into the music shop and asked Wise to demonstrate the computer for them. While David was doing so, he was playing his own compositions. Chris and Tim were mesmerized by his music so instead of buying the computer, they asked Wise if he would do music for their video games and Wise took the job.
  
==Music Composition==
+
His first work of video game music was Slalom on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] in 1987. Wise felt confined to writing game music on the NES because not only did he have to go from writing MIDI files on music computers to programming the music in hex code, but he also had only four channels to work with on the NES' soundchip. The fifth channel which used digitized audio, Wise couldn't use because the company didn't have the luxury of cartridge space.
 +
 
 +
During Rare's NES development, they usually handled arcade conversions, so David Wise had to take the challenges of learning the original arcade's music by ear and replicate a good 8-bit conversion which he was always successful in doing. David composed the music for over 40 NES titles, which is probably more than any other NES composer. He worked on all of Rare's NES soundtracks until the SNES era when Rare hired other composers and sound designers, in which Wise would usually work alongside them. Most of the music he composes consists of hard rock or jazz. Wise stayed with Rare up until 2009 when the company was acquired by Microsoft. Wise also cited major changes to the company as his reason for his departure. Wise still continues to create video game music to this day, and he likes to use [[Cubase]] and [[Pro Tools]] for his music.
 +
 
 +
==Music Development==
 
===ARC===
 
===ARC===
For the Battletoads arcade game, David wrote the music in hex code and sampled his instruments from a Roland U-110 and Korg Wavestation, but composed the songs on an [[Roland MT-32]].
+
For the Battletoads arcade game, David wrote the music in [[assembly]] hex code and sampled his instruments from a Roland U-110 and Korg Wavestation, but composed the songs on an [[Roland MT-32]]. The music was then converted to [[Brian Schmidt]]'s sound driver, as he invented the BSMT2000 sound chip which was used in the game.
  
 
===NES===
 
===NES===
 
From David Wise's OCRemix interview:
 
From David Wise's OCRemix interview:
{{Template: Quote
+
{{Quote
|There was no MIDI, instead, notes were entered data style into a PC. I typed in [[Hex Code|hex numbers]] for pitch and length and a few commands for looping subroutines. And this method of writing video game music continued right through to the end of the SNES development.
+
|There was no MIDI, instead, notes were entered data style into a PC. I typed in [[Music Macro Language#Hexadecimal|hex numbers]] for pitch and length and a few commands for looping subroutines. And this method of writing video game music continued right through to the end of the SNES development.
 
}}
 
}}
 
David also had this to say about how exactly he composed on the NES:
 
David also had this to say about how exactly he composed on the NES:
{{Template: Quote
+
{{Quote
 
| The way it worked, I would use HEX numbers (16 numbers, 0-F) writing in one number for the pitch of the note and one for the length. For example “81,08”– where 81 would be a low c on the keyboard, followed by a length of 8 units. We had certain codes and routines which enabled us to do pitch bends, etc. From memory I think there were two variable pulse waves, a triangle wave and a noise channel for creating the sound tracks/FX. There was also a way to play back very crude samples, but we never had the luxury of that much memory.
 
| The way it worked, I would use HEX numbers (16 numbers, 0-F) writing in one number for the pitch of the note and one for the length. For example “81,08”– where 81 would be a low c on the keyboard, followed by a length of 8 units. We had certain codes and routines which enabled us to do pitch bends, etc. From memory I think there were two variable pulse waves, a triangle wave and a noise channel for creating the sound tracks/FX. There was also a way to play back very crude samples, but we never had the luxury of that much memory.
 
}}
 
}}
According to Wise, Chris Stamper programmed the first version of the sound driver, and was later programmed by [[Mark Betteridge]]. For the arcade conversions, he was sometimes given sheet music for the original arcade music, but other times wasn't.
+
According to Wise, [[Chris Stamper]] programmed the first version of the [[Rare (NES Driver)|sound driver]], and a later version was programmed by [[Mark Betteridge]]. For the arcade conversions, he was sometimes given sheet music for the original arcade music, but other times wasn't.
  
 
===SNES===
 
===SNES===
Wise wrote in hex code until after the SNES era. His instruments for his SNES music and the Battletoads arcade were sampled from the [[Korg Wavestation]] and [[Roland U-110]] sound modules.
+
Wise wrote in hex code until after the SNES era. His instruments for his SNES music and the Battletoads arcade were sampled from the [[Korg Wavestation]] and [[Roland U-110]] sound modules. He wrote his music in the text editor called Brief. The sound driver was originally programmed by [[Chris Stamper]] and later reprogrammed by [[Philip Wattis]].
  
 
==Gameography==
 
==Gameography==
<br clear="all" />
+
{| class="wikitable" |
{{Template: Table Header
+
! Released
| Color    = FFF0FF
+
! Title
| Caption01 = Released
+
! Sample
| Caption02 = Title
+
! Notes
| Caption03 = Sample
 
}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
| 1987/08/??
+
| 1987-08-??
 
| [[Slalom (NES)]]
 
| [[Slalom (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1987/12/??
+
| 1987-12-??
 
| [[Wizards and Warriors (NES)]] (伝説の既視エルロンド)
 
| [[Wizards and Warriors (NES)]] (伝説の既視エルロンド)
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1988/??/??
+
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[California Games (NES)]]
 
| [[California Games (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Chris Grigg]]'s music.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1988/02/??
+
| 1988-02-??
 
| [[R.C. Pro-Am (NES)]]
 
| [[R.C. Pro-Am (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1988/09/??
+
| 1988-09-??
 
| [[Jeopardy! (NES)]]
 
| [[Jeopardy! (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Merv Griffin]]'s [[Jeopardy! Theme]].
 
|-
 
|-
| 1988/09/??
+
| 1988-09-??
 
| [[Wheel of Fortune (NES)]]
 
| [[Wheel of Fortune (NES)]]
|  
+
| {{Song-List|01 - Wheel of Fortune - NES - Title Screen.ogg}}
 +
| Arranged [[Merv Griffin]]'s [[Changing Keys]].
 
|-
 
|-
| 1988/11/??
+
| 1988-11-??
 
| [[Anticipation (NES)]]
 
| [[Anticipation (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/??/??
+
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[Cabal (NES)]]
 
| [[Cabal (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged music from the arcade version.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/??/??
+
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[John Elway's Quarterback (NES)]]
 
| [[John Elway's Quarterback (NES)]]
|  
+
| {{Song-Box|01 - John Elway's Quarterback - NES - Title Screen.ogg}}
 +
| Arranged [[Sam Powell]]'s music from [[Quarterback (ARC)]].
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/??/??
+
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[WWF Wrestlemania (NES)]]
 
| [[WWF Wrestlemania (NES)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - WWF Wrestlemania - NES - Title.ogg}}
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - WWF Wrestlemania - NES - Title.ogg}}
 +
| Arranged wrestler themes.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/01/??
+
| 1989-01-??
 
| [[Sesame Street 123 (NES)]]
 
| [[Sesame Street 123 (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/02/??
+
| 1989-02-??
 
| [[Taboo: The Sixth Sense (NES)]]
 
| [[Taboo: The Sixth Sense (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/03/??
+
| 1989-03-??
 
| [[Marble Madness (NES)]]
 
| [[Marble Madness (NES)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Marble Madness - NES - Practice Race.ogg}}
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Marble Madness - NES - Practice Race.ogg}}
 +
| Arranged [[Hal Canon]] and [[Brad Fuller]]'s music from the arcade version.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/03/??
+
| 1989-03-??
 
| [[World Games (NES)]]
 
| [[World Games (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/07/??
+
| 1989-07-??
 
| [[Cobra Triangle (NES)]]
 
| [[Cobra Triangle (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/07/??
+
| 1989-07-??
 
| [[Sesame Street ABC (NES)]]
 
| [[Sesame Street ABC (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/08/??
+
| 1989-08-??
 
| [[Jordan vs. Bird: One on One (NES)]]
 
| [[Jordan vs. Bird: One on One (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/09/??
+
| 1989-09-??
 
| [[Hollywood Squares (NES)]]
 
| [[Hollywood Squares (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Stormy Sacks]] theme song from the TV show.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/09/??
+
| 1989-09-??
 
| [[Who Framed Roger Rabbit (NES)]]
 
| [[Who Framed Roger Rabbit (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/10/??
+
| 1989-10-??
 
| [[Jeopardy!: Junior Edition (NES)]]
 
| [[Jeopardy!: Junior Edition (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Merv Griffin]]'s [[Jeopardy! Theme]].
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/10/??
+
| 1989-10-??
| [[Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition (NES)]]
+
| [[Wheel of Fortune (NES)|Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition (NES)]]
|  
+
| {{Song-Box|02 - Wheel of Fortune - NES - Setup.ogg}}
 +
| Arranged [[Merv Griffin]]'s [[Changing Keys]].
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/12/??
+
| 1989-12-??
 
| [[Ironsword: Wizards and Warriors II (NES)]]
 
| [[Ironsword: Wizards and Warriors II (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1989/12/??
+
| 1989-12-??
 
| [[Silent Service (NES)]]
 
| [[Silent Service (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/??/??
+
| 1990-??-??
 
| [[The Amazing Spider-Man (GB)]]
 
| [[The Amazing Spider-Man (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/??/??
+
| 1990-??-??
 
| [[Arch Rivals: A Basket Brawl! (NES)]]
 
| [[Arch Rivals: A Basket Brawl! (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Dan Forden]]'s music from the arcade version.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/01/??
+
| 1990-01-??
 
| [[Fortress of Fear: Wizards & Warriors X (GB)]]
 
| [[Fortress of Fear: Wizards & Warriors X (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/03/??
+
| 1990-03-??
 
| [[Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition (NES)]]
 
| [[Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/04/??
+
| 1990-04-??
 
| [[Double Dare (NES)]]
 
| [[Double Dare (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Edd Kalehoff]]'s theme song from the TV show.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/04/??
+
| 1990-04-??
 
| [[Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off-Road (NES)]]
 
| [[Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off-Road (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Sam Powell]]'s music from the arcade version.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/04/??
+
| 1990-04-??
 
| [[Pinbot (NES)]]
 
| [[Pinbot (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Chris Granner]]'s music from the pinball machine.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/06/??
+
| 1990-06-??
 
| [[Captain Skyhawk (NES)]]
 
| [[Captain Skyhawk (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/06/??
+
| 1990-06-??
 
| [[Jeopardy!: 25th Anniversary Edition (NES)]]
 
| [[Jeopardy!: 25th Anniversary Edition (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Merv Griffin's]] [[Jeopardy! Theme]].
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/07/??
+
| 1990-07-??
 
| [[Snake Rattle N Roll (NES)]]
 
| [[Snake Rattle N Roll (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/08/??
+
| 1990-08-??
 
| [[NARC (NES)]]
 
| [[NARC (NES)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - NARC - NES - In-Game 1.ogg}}
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - NARC - NES - In-Game 1.ogg}}
 +
| Arranged [[Brian Schmidt]]'s music from the arcade version.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/08/??
+
| 1990-08-??
 
| [[Time Lord (NES)]]
 
| [[Time Lord (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/09/??
+
| 1990-09-??
 
| [[Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warship (NES)]]
 
| [[Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warship (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/10/??  
+
| 1990-10-??  
 
| [[A Nightmare on Elm Street (NES)]]
 
| [[A Nightmare on Elm Street (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/10/??
+
| 1990-10-??
 
| [[Super Glove Ball (NES)]]
 
| [[Super Glove Ball (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/11/??
+
| 1990-11-??
| [[WWF Wrestlemania Challenge (NES)]] (WWFレッスルマニアチャレンジ:プロレスゲーム)
+
| [[WWF Wrestlemania Challenge (NES)]] (WWFレッスルマニアチャレンジ プロレスゲーム)
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged wrestler themes.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990/12/??
+
| 1990-12-??
 
| [[Digger T. Rock: The Legend of the Lost City (NES)]]
 
| [[Digger T. Rock: The Legend of the Lost City (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991/??/??
+
| 1991-??-??
 
| [[Battletoads (GEN)]]
 
| [[Battletoads (GEN)]]
| Composer
+
|
 +
| Composer; Music arranged by [[Hikoshi Hashimoto]].
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991/??/??
+
| 1991-??-??
| [[WWF Superstars (GB)]] (WWFスーパースターズ)
+
| [[WWF Superstars (GB)]] (WWFスーパースターズ)
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991/05/??
+
| 1991-05-??
 
| [[Marble Madness (GB)]]
 
| [[Marble Madness (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991/06/??
+
| 1991-06-??
 
| [[Battletoads (NES)]] (バトルトード)
 
| [[Battletoads (NES)]] (バトルトード)
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991/07/??
+
| 1991-07-??
 
| [[High Speed (NES)]]
 
| [[High Speed (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Bill Parod]] and [[Steve Ritchie]]'s music from the pinball machine.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991/10/??
+
| 1991-10-??
 
| [[Pirates! (NES)]]
 
| [[Pirates! (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Ken Lagace]]'s music from the C64 version.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991/10/??
+
| 1991-10-??
 
| [[Super R.C. Pro-Am (GB)]]
 
| [[Super R.C. Pro-Am (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991/11/??
+
| 1991-11-??
 
| [[Battletoads (GB)]]
 
| [[Battletoads (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991/11/??
+
| 1991-11-??
 
| [[Sesame Street 123 ABC (NES)]]
 
| [[Sesame Street 123 ABC (NES)]]
 +
|
 +
| Arranged [[Joe Raposo]]'s [[Sesame Street Theme]].
 +
|-
 +
| 1992-??-??
 +
| [[X the Ball (ARC)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1992/??/??
+
| 1992-??-??
 
| [[Battletoads (AMI)]]
 
| [[Battletoads (AMI)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Composer; Music arranged by [[Mark Knight]].
 
|-
 
|-
| 1992/??/??
+
| 1992-??-??
 
| [[Championship Pro-Am (GEN)]]
 
| [[Championship Pro-Am (GEN)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1992/01/??
+
| 1992-01-??
 
| [[Beetlejuice (GB)]]
 
| [[Beetlejuice (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1992/01/??
+
| 1992-01-??
 
| [[Beetlejuice (NES)]]
 
| [[Beetlejuice (NES)]]
 +
| {{Song-Box|01 - Beetlejuice - NES - Title Screen.ogg}}
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1992/03/??
+
| 1992-03-??
 
| [[Wizards and Warriors III - Kuros: Visions of Power (NES)]]
 
| [[Wizards and Warriors III - Kuros: Visions of Power (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1992/08/??
+
| 1992-08-??
 
| [[Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat (NES)]]
 
| [[Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat (NES)]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
| Arranged [[Sam Powell]]'s music from the arcade version.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1992/12/??
+
| 1992-12-??
 
| [[R.C. Pro-Am II (NES)]]
 
| [[R.C. Pro-Am II (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993/??/??
+
| 1993-??-??
 
| [[Battletoads (GG)]]
 
| [[Battletoads (GG)]]
| Composer
+
|
 +
| Composer; Music arranged by [[Hikoshi Hashimoto]].
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993/??/??
+
| 1993-??-??
 
| [[Battletoads in Ragnarok's World (GB)]]
 
| [[Battletoads in Ragnarok's World (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993/??/??
+
| 1993-??-??
 
| [[Snake Rattle n Roll (GEN)]]
 
| [[Snake Rattle n Roll (GEN)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993/08/??
+
| 1993-08-??
 
| [[Battletoads and Double Dragon (NES)]]
 
| [[Battletoads and Double Dragon (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993/??/??
+
| 1993-??-??
 
| [[Battletoads In Battlemaniacs (SNES)]]
 
| [[Battletoads In Battlemaniacs (SNES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993/02/19
+
| 1993-02-19
 
| [[Battletoads and Double Dragon (GEN)]]
 
| [[Battletoads and Double Dragon (GEN)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993/10/??
+
| 1993-10-??
 
| [[Battletoads and Double Dragon (SNES)]]
 
| [[Battletoads and Double Dragon (SNES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993/12/??
+
| 1993-12-??
 
| [[Battletoads and Double Dragon (GB)]]
 
| [[Battletoads and Double Dragon (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1994/??/??
+
| 1994-??-??
 
| [[Battletoads (ARC)]]
 
| [[Battletoads (ARC)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1994/??/??
+
| 1994-??-??
 
| [[Battletoads (CD32)]]
 
| [[Battletoads (CD32)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1994/11/25
+
| 1994-11-25
 
| [[Donkey Kong Country (SNES)]] (スーパードンキーコング)
 
| [[Donkey Kong Country (SNES)]] (スーパードンキーコング)
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1995/12/??
+
| 1994-12-??
 +
| [[Monster Max (GB)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1995-06-??
 +
| [[Donkey Kong Land (GB)]] (スーパードンキーコングGB)
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1995-12-??
 
| [[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)]]
 
| [[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1996/09/??
+
| 1996-09-??
 
| [[Donkey Kong Land 2 (GB)]]
 
| [[Donkey Kong Land 2 (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1996/11/??
+
| 1996-11-??
 
| [[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (SNES)]]
 
| [[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (SNES)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1997-11-14
 +
| [[Diddy Kong Racing (N64)]] (ディディーコングレーシング)
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 2002-09-23
 +
| [[Star Fox Adventures (GC)]] (スターフォックスアドベンチャー)
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2004/11/15
+
| 2004-11-15
 
| [[Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA)]]
 
| [[Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005/11/07
+
| 2004-12-07
 +
| [[It's Mr. Pants (GBA)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 2005-11-07
 
| [[Donkey Kong 3 (GBA)]]
 
| [[Donkey Kong 3 (GBA)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 2007-02-25
 +
| [[Diddy Kong Racing DS (NDS)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2008/09/05
+
| 2008-09-05
 
| [[Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise (NDS)]]
 
| [[Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise (NDS)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2008/10/01
+
| 2008-10-01
 
| [[War World (X360)]]
 
| [[War World (X360)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2012/??/??
+
| 2012-??-??
 
| [[Tengami (IOS)]]
 
| [[Tengami (IOS)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 +
| 2012-03-31
 +
| [[AXRIA Retro World (W64)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 2013-05-02
 +
| [[Sorcery! (IOS)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 2014-02-21
 +
| [[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (WIIU)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 2014-07-12
 +
| [[Donkey Downfall (WIIU)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| Unreleased
 +
| [[Card Sharks (NES)]]
 +
|
 +
| Composer?
 +
|-
 +
| Unreleased
 +
| [[Super Password (NES)]]
 +
|
 +
| Composer?
 +
|-
 +
| Unreleased
 +
| [[Family Feud: Unreleased Version (NES)]]
 +
|
 +
| Composer?
 +
|-
 +
| Unreleased
 +
| [[Classic Concentration: Unreleased Version (NES)]]
 +
|
 +
| Composer?
 +
|-
 +
|-
 +
| Unreleased
 +
| [[The Price is Right (NES)]]
 +
|
 +
| Composer?
 +
|-
 +
| Unreleased
 +
| [[Roller Thrasher (NES)]]
 +
|
 +
| Composer?
 +
|-
 +
| Unreleased
 +
| [[Super Battletoads (SNES)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| Unreleased
 +
| [[Super Battletoads (GB)]]
 +
|
 +
|
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 +
==Aliases==
 +
To prevent their staff being hired by other companies, Rare obscured their employees' first names from staff rolls, with only the employee's first initial + last name shown (D. Wise).
 +
 +
For Wizards & Warriors II, Wise was credited under the moniker '''''Rare Ltd.''''' This was most likely due to [[Zippo Games]] being the developer, and the company outsourcing their sound to Rare. In addition, they probably received the music files from some random Rare employee, and the music code either didn't have it, or they didn't bother to check the music code for Wise's name.
  
 
==Picture Gallery==
 
==Picture Gallery==
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
File:Dave Wise - 01.jpg|Unknown source.
+
Dave Wise - 02.jpg|Rare staff team (white shirt), The Games Machine 004 March 1988, page 29.
File:Dave Wise - 02.jpg|Rare staff team (white shirt).
+
David Wise.jpg|The Games Machine 004 March 1988, page 34.
File:Dave Wise - 03.jpg|David ca. 1980's; David's Facebook.
+
Dave Wise - 03.jpg|David ca. 1980's; David's Facebook.
File:Dave Wise - 04.jpg|Photo of David at Rare, Ltd.
+
Dave Wise - 01.jpg|Circa 2007. Unknown source.
 +
Dave Wise - 04.jpg|Photo of David at Rare, Ltd.
 +
David Wise - 04.jpg|David's Facebook.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 +
  
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
*'''Facebook:''' [https://www.facebook.com/david.wise.9028]
+
* [https://www.facebook.com/david.wise.9028 facebook.com/david.wise.9028] - Facebook.
*'''Twitter:''' [https://twitter.com/David_Wise]
+
* [https://twitter.com/David_Wise twitter.com/David_Wise] - Twitter.
 +
* [https://medium.com/cuepoint/enter-the-jungle-donkey-kong-country-vs-hip-hop-7b2b5abc8271 medium.com/cuepoint/enter-the-jungle-donkey-kong-country-vs-hip-hop-7b2b5abc8271] - Interview.
  
  
[[Category:Composers]]
+
[[Category: Composers]]
[[Category:Foley Artists]]
+
[[Category: Foley Artists]]

Revision as of 22:04, 15 November 2020

David Wise
Dave Wise - 01.jpg
Born ca. 1967
Birth Place Leicester, England
Nationality British   UK.svg
Aliases
  • D. Wise
  • Dave Wise
  • Rare Ltd
  • デビッド ワイズ (David Wise)
  • David
Website www.davidwise.co.uk/

David Wise is a British video game musician, and is one of the most popular in the industry. He is known for composing music to many popular games such as the Donkey Kong Country, Battletoads, and Wizards & Warriors series.

David's passion for music started around when he was 8 years old and his older brother was taking piano lessons. Due to fairness, he had to wait until he was his brother's age until he could get piano lessons, too. He then found out beforehand that he could learn music by ear, but he also ended up getting piano lessons as well. He also learned how to play the trumpet around then and eventually joined a brass band. When he was 14, he had a paper route and used his earnings to save up for a drumkit. After buying the drumkit, he joined a band.

Later, Wise started working at a music shop, working in the drum department until a Yamaha CX5 arrived at the store. He learned how to create music on it. He demonstrated the computer to many customers which led to the sale of many of them. One day, Rare's founders Chris and Tim Stamper came into the music shop and asked Wise to demonstrate the computer for them. While David was doing so, he was playing his own compositions. Chris and Tim were mesmerized by his music so instead of buying the computer, they asked Wise if he would do music for their video games and Wise took the job.

His first work of video game music was Slalom on the NES in 1987. Wise felt confined to writing game music on the NES because not only did he have to go from writing MIDI files on music computers to programming the music in hex code, but he also had only four channels to work with on the NES' soundchip. The fifth channel which used digitized audio, Wise couldn't use because the company didn't have the luxury of cartridge space.

During Rare's NES development, they usually handled arcade conversions, so David Wise had to take the challenges of learning the original arcade's music by ear and replicate a good 8-bit conversion which he was always successful in doing. David composed the music for over 40 NES titles, which is probably more than any other NES composer. He worked on all of Rare's NES soundtracks until the SNES era when Rare hired other composers and sound designers, in which Wise would usually work alongside them. Most of the music he composes consists of hard rock or jazz. Wise stayed with Rare up until 2009 when the company was acquired by Microsoft. Wise also cited major changes to the company as his reason for his departure. Wise still continues to create video game music to this day, and he likes to use Cubase and Pro Tools for his music.

Music Development

ARC

For the Battletoads arcade game, David wrote the music in assembly hex code and sampled his instruments from a Roland U-110 and Korg Wavestation, but composed the songs on an Roland MT-32. The music was then converted to Brian Schmidt's sound driver, as he invented the BSMT2000 sound chip which was used in the game.

NES

From David Wise's OCRemix interview:

There was no MIDI, instead, notes were entered data style into a PC. I typed in hex numbers for pitch and length and a few commands for looping subroutines. And this method of writing video game music continued right through to the end of the SNES development.

David also had this to say about how exactly he composed on the NES:

The way it worked, I would use HEX numbers (16 numbers, 0-F) writing in one number for the pitch of the note and one for the length. For example “81,08”– where 81 would be a low c on the keyboard, followed by a length of 8 units. We had certain codes and routines which enabled us to do pitch bends, etc. From memory I think there were two variable pulse waves, a triangle wave and a noise channel for creating the sound tracks/FX. There was also a way to play back very crude samples, but we never had the luxury of that much memory.

According to Wise, Chris Stamper programmed the first version of the sound driver, and a later version was programmed by Mark Betteridge. For the arcade conversions, he was sometimes given sheet music for the original arcade music, but other times wasn't.

SNES

Wise wrote in hex code until after the SNES era. His instruments for his SNES music and the Battletoads arcade were sampled from the Korg Wavestation and Roland U-110 sound modules. He wrote his music in the text editor called Brief. The sound driver was originally programmed by Chris Stamper and later reprogrammed by Philip Wattis.

Gameography

Released Title Sample Notes
1987-08-?? Slalom (NES)
1987-12-?? Wizards and Warriors (NES) (伝説の既視エルロンド)
1988-??-?? California Games (NES) Arranged Chris Grigg's music.
1988-02-?? R.C. Pro-Am (NES)
1988-09-?? Jeopardy! (NES) Arranged Merv Griffin's Jeopardy! Theme.
1988-09-?? Wheel of Fortune (NES)
Arranged Merv Griffin's Changing Keys.
1988-11-?? Anticipation (NES)
1989-??-?? Cabal (NES) Arranged music from the arcade version.
1989-??-?? John Elway's Quarterback (NES)
Arranged Sam Powell's music from Quarterback (ARC).
1989-??-?? WWF Wrestlemania (NES)
Arranged wrestler themes.
1989-01-?? Sesame Street 123 (NES)
1989-02-?? Taboo: The Sixth Sense (NES)
1989-03-?? Marble Madness (NES)
Arranged Hal Canon and Brad Fuller's music from the arcade version.
1989-03-?? World Games (NES)
1989-07-?? Cobra Triangle (NES)
1989-07-?? Sesame Street ABC (NES)
1989-08-?? Jordan vs. Bird: One on One (NES)
1989-09-?? Hollywood Squares (NES) Arranged Stormy Sacks theme song from the TV show.
1989-09-?? Who Framed Roger Rabbit (NES)
1989-10-?? Jeopardy!: Junior Edition (NES) Arranged Merv Griffin's Jeopardy! Theme.
1989-10-?? Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition (NES)
Arranged Merv Griffin's Changing Keys.
1989-12-?? Ironsword: Wizards and Warriors II (NES)
1989-12-?? Silent Service (NES)
1990-??-?? The Amazing Spider-Man (GB)
1990-??-?? Arch Rivals: A Basket Brawl! (NES) Arranged Dan Forden's music from the arcade version.
1990-01-?? Fortress of Fear: Wizards & Warriors X (GB)
1990-03-?? Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition (NES)
1990-04-?? Double Dare (NES) Arranged Edd Kalehoff's theme song from the TV show.
1990-04-?? Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off-Road (NES) Arranged Sam Powell's music from the arcade version.
1990-04-?? Pinbot (NES) Arranged Chris Granner's music from the pinball machine.
1990-06-?? Captain Skyhawk (NES)
1990-06-?? Jeopardy!: 25th Anniversary Edition (NES) Arranged Merv Griffin's Jeopardy! Theme.
1990-07-?? Snake Rattle N Roll (NES)
1990-08-?? NARC (NES)
Arranged Brian Schmidt's music from the arcade version.
1990-08-?? Time Lord (NES)
1990-09-?? Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warship (NES)
1990-10-?? A Nightmare on Elm Street (NES)
1990-10-?? Super Glove Ball (NES)
1990-11-?? WWF Wrestlemania Challenge (NES) (WWFレッスルマニアチャレンジ プロレスゲーム) Arranged wrestler themes.
1990-12-?? Digger T. Rock: The Legend of the Lost City (NES)
1991-??-?? Battletoads (GEN) Composer; Music arranged by Hikoshi Hashimoto.
1991-??-?? WWF Superstars (GB) (WWFスーパースターズ)
1991-05-?? Marble Madness (GB)
1991-06-?? Battletoads (NES) (バトルトード)
1991-07-?? High Speed (NES) Arranged Bill Parod and Steve Ritchie's music from the pinball machine.
1991-10-?? Pirates! (NES) Arranged Ken Lagace's music from the C64 version.
1991-10-?? Super R.C. Pro-Am (GB)
1991-11-?? Battletoads (GB)
1991-11-?? Sesame Street 123 ABC (NES) Arranged Joe Raposo's Sesame Street Theme.
1992-??-?? X the Ball (ARC)
1992-??-?? Battletoads (AMI) Composer; Music arranged by Mark Knight.
1992-??-?? Championship Pro-Am (GEN)
1992-01-?? Beetlejuice (GB)
1992-01-?? Beetlejuice (NES)
1992-03-?? Wizards and Warriors III - Kuros: Visions of Power (NES)
1992-08-?? Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat (NES) Arranged Sam Powell's music from the arcade version.
1992-12-?? R.C. Pro-Am II (NES)
1993-??-?? Battletoads (GG) Composer; Music arranged by Hikoshi Hashimoto.
1993-??-?? Battletoads in Ragnarok's World (GB)
1993-??-?? Snake Rattle n Roll (GEN)
1993-08-?? Battletoads and Double Dragon (NES)
1993-??-?? Battletoads In Battlemaniacs (SNES)
1993-02-19 Battletoads and Double Dragon (GEN)
1993-10-?? Battletoads and Double Dragon (SNES)
1993-12-?? Battletoads and Double Dragon (GB)
1994-??-?? Battletoads (ARC)
1994-??-?? Battletoads (CD32)
1994-11-25 Donkey Kong Country (SNES) (スーパードンキーコング)
1994-12-?? Monster Max (GB)
1995-06-?? Donkey Kong Land (GB) (スーパードンキーコングGB)
1995-12-?? Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)
1996-09-?? Donkey Kong Land 2 (GB)
1996-11-?? Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (SNES)
1997-11-14 Diddy Kong Racing (N64) (ディディーコングレーシング)
2002-09-23 Star Fox Adventures (GC) (スターフォックスアドベンチャー)
2004-11-15 Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA)
2004-12-07 It's Mr. Pants (GBA)
2005-11-07 Donkey Kong 3 (GBA)
2007-02-25 Diddy Kong Racing DS (NDS)
2008-09-05 Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise (NDS)
2008-10-01 War World (X360)
2012-??-?? Tengami (IOS)
2012-03-31 AXRIA Retro World (W64)
2013-05-02 Sorcery! (IOS)
2014-02-21 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (WIIU)
2014-07-12 Donkey Downfall (WIIU)
Unreleased Card Sharks (NES) Composer?
Unreleased Super Password (NES) Composer?
Unreleased Family Feud: Unreleased Version (NES) Composer?
Unreleased Classic Concentration: Unreleased Version (NES) Composer?
Unreleased The Price is Right (NES) Composer?
Unreleased Roller Thrasher (NES) Composer?
Unreleased Super Battletoads (SNES)
Unreleased Super Battletoads (GB)

Aliases

To prevent their staff being hired by other companies, Rare obscured their employees' first names from staff rolls, with only the employee's first initial + last name shown (D. Wise).

For Wizards & Warriors II, Wise was credited under the moniker Rare Ltd. This was most likely due to Zippo Games being the developer, and the company outsourcing their sound to Rare. In addition, they probably received the music files from some random Rare employee, and the music code either didn't have it, or they didn't bother to check the music code for Wise's name.

Picture Gallery


Links