Difference between revisions of "Tim Follin"

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(Geoff didn't introduce Tim to the video game industry, Mike did (I'll do the Gameography page another time).)
(→‎Gameography)
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Some of Tim's prominent works include Plok, Solstice, Treasure Master, Rock 'N Roll Racing, and many others.
 
Some of Tim's prominent works include Plok, Solstice, Treasure Master, Rock 'N Roll Racing, and many others.
 +
 +
Tim's Game Boy / Game Boy Colo(u)r music was sometimes arranged by [[Andy Brock]], however it isn't known if he arranged the music to WWF Warzone on Game Boy.
 
==Music Composition==
 
==Music Composition==
 
Follin used drivers written by [[Stephen Ruddy]] for his early music on the Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, C64, Game Boy, Game Gear, Master System, NES, and ZX Spectrum. To utilize these drivers, Follin had to take his music and convert it to hexadecimal representations of the notes. For SNES music, Follin used a sound driver written by [[Mike Webb]]. The SNES instruments were from either a Korg M1 or Korg Wavestation, and possibly other keyboards.
 
Follin used drivers written by [[Stephen Ruddy]] for his early music on the Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, C64, Game Boy, Game Gear, Master System, NES, and ZX Spectrum. To utilize these drivers, Follin had to take his music and convert it to hexadecimal representations of the notes. For SNES music, Follin used a sound driver written by [[Mike Webb]]. The SNES instruments were from either a Korg M1 or Korg Wavestation, and possibly other keyboards.
Line 42: Line 44:
  
 
==Gameography==
 
==Gameography==
−
{| class="wikitable" |
+
{| class="wikitable"
 
! Released
 
! Released
 
! Title
 
! Title
 
! Sample
 
! Sample
 +
! Notes
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| [[Agent X II (CPC)]]
 
| [[Agent X II (CPC)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| [[Agent X II: The Mad Prof's Back (C64)]]
 
| [[Agent X II: The Mad Prof's Back (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| [[Bubble Bobble (APL2)]]
 
| [[Bubble Bobble (APL2)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| [[Chronos: A Tapestry of Time (ZXS)]]
 
| [[Chronos: A Tapestry of Time (ZXS)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| 1987-??-??
 
| [[Star Paws (C64)]]
 
| [[Star Paws (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
Line 70: Line 78:
 
| [[Bionic Commando (AST)]]
 
| [[Bionic Commando (AST)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Bionic Commando - AST - The Forest.ogg}}
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Bionic Commando - AST - The Forest.ogg}}
 +
| Original soundtrack by [[Harumi Fujita]] and [[Junko Tamiya]].
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Bionic Commando PAL (C64)]]
 
| [[Bionic Commando PAL (C64)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|10 - Bionic Commando PAL - C64 - Ending.ogg}}
 
| {{Song-Box|10 - Bionic Commando PAL - C64 - Ending.ogg}}
 +
| Original soundtrack by [[Harumi Fujita]] and [[Junko Tamiya]], new songs by Follin.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Bionic Commando (ZXS)]]
 
| [[Bionic Commando (ZXS)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Bionic Commando - ZXS - The Forest.ogg}}
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Bionic Commando - ZXS - The Forest.ogg}}
 +
| Original soundtrack by [[Harumi Fujita]] and [[Junko Tamiya]].
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Black Lamp (C64)]]
 
| [[Black Lamp (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Body Slam (C64)]]
 
| [[Body Slam (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (AMI)]]
 
| [[Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (AMI)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Peter Pack Rat (C64)]]
 
| [[Peter Pack Rat (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Psycho Pigs UXB (C64)]]
 
| [[Psycho Pigs UXB (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Raw Recruit (C64)]]
 
| [[Raw Recruit (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Raw Recruit (ZXS)]]
 
| [[Raw Recruit (ZXS)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Renegade (AST)]]
 
| [[Renegade (AST)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| 1988-??-??
 
| [[Scumball (C64)]]
 
| [[Scumball (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
Line 118: Line 138:
 
| [[Sky Shark (NES)]]
 
| [[Sky Shark (NES)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Sky Shark - NES - Stage 1.ogg‎ }}
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Sky Shark - NES - Stage 1.ogg‎ }}
 +
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[LED Storm (C64)]]
 
| [[LED Storm (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (CPC)]]
 
| [[Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (CPC)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[Qix (C64)]]
 
| [[Qix (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (C64)]]
 
| [[Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| 1989-??-??
 
| [[Renegade (AMI)]]
 
| [[Renegade (AMI)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-03-??
 
| 1990-03-??
 
| [[Magic Johnson's Fast Break (NES)]]
 
| [[Magic Johnson's Fast Break (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-03-??
 
| 1990-03-??
 
| [[Target: Renegade (NES)]]
 
| [[Target: Renegade (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-06-??
 
| 1990-06-??
 
| [[Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demons (NES)]] (ソルスティス 三次元迷宮の狂獣)
 
| [[Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demons (NES)]] (ソルスティス 三次元迷宮の狂獣)
 +
| {{Song-Box|01 - Solstice - Title Theme.ogg‎ }}
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
Line 154: Line 183:
 
| [[Pictionary (NES)]]
 
| [[Pictionary (NES)]]
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Pictionary - NES - Title.ogg}}
 
| {{Song-Box|01 - Pictionary - NES - Title.ogg}}
 +
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-11-??
 
| 1990-11-??
 
| [[Silver Surfer (NES)]]
 
| [[Silver Surfer (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| 1990-??-??
 
| [[Magic Johnson's Fast Break (C64)]]
 
| [[Magic Johnson's Fast Break (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1991-01-??
 
| 1991-01-??
 
| [[Qix (NES)]]
 
| [[Qix (NES)]]
 +
|
 
| Composer
 
| Composer
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1991-03-??
 
| 1991-03-??
 
| [[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Taito (NES)]]
 
| [[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Taito (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1991-03-??
 
| 1991-03-??
 
| [[Kiwi Kraze (NES)]] (New Zealand Story)
 
| [[Kiwi Kraze (NES)]] (New Zealand Story)
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1991-12-??
 
| 1991-12-??
 
| [[Super Off Road (SNES)]] (スーパー オフ ロード)
 
| [[Super Off Road (SNES)]] (スーパー オフ ロード)
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1991-12-??
 
| 1991-12-??
 
| [[Treasure Master (NES)]]
 
| [[Treasure Master (NES)]]
 +
|
 
|
 
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1991-??-??
 
| 1991-??-??
 
| [[Gauntlet III: The Final Quest (AMI)]]
 
| [[Gauntlet III: The Final Quest (AMI)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1992-11-??
 
| 1992-11-??
 
| [[The Incredible Crash Dummies (GB)]]
 
| [[The Incredible Crash Dummies (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1992-??-??
 
| 1992-??-??
 
| [[Gauntlet III: The Final Quest (C64)]]
 
| [[Gauntlet III: The Final Quest (C64)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1993-09-??
 
| 1993-09-??
 
| [[Plok (SNES)]] (プロック)
 
| [[Plok (SNES)]] (プロック)
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1993-09-??
 
| 1993-09-??
 
| [[Rock 'N' Roll Racing (SNES)]] (ロックンロール レーシング)
 
| [[Rock 'N' Roll Racing (SNES)]] (ロックンロール レーシング)
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1993-09-??
 
| 1993-09-??
 
| [[Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (SNES)]]
 
| [[Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (SNES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1993-11-12
 
| 1993-11-12
 
| [[Equinox (SNES)]]
 
| [[Equinox (SNES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1993-??-??
 
| 1993-??-??
 
| [[The Incredible Crash Dummies (SMS)]]
 
| [[The Incredible Crash Dummies (SMS)]]
 +
|
 
| Composer
 
| Composer
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1994-??-??
 
| 1994-??-??
 
| [[Rock 'N Roll Racing (GEN)]]
 
| [[Rock 'N Roll Racing (GEN)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1995-08-??
 
| 1995-08-??
 
| [[Batman Forever (SNES)]] (バットマン フォーエヴァー)
 
| [[Batman Forever (SNES)]] (バットマン フォーエヴァー)
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1998-??-??
 
| 1998-??-??
 
| [[Bust-A-Move 3 DX (GB)]]
 
| [[Bust-A-Move 3 DX (GB)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 2002-02-22
 
| 2002-02-22
 
| [[Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (PS2)]]
 
| [[Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (PS2)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 2003-10-31
 
| 2003-10-31
 
| [[Ford Racing 2 (W32)]] (With [[Bjorn Lynne]])
 
| [[Ford Racing 2 (W32)]] (With [[Bjorn Lynne]])
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 2004-05-10
 
| 2004-05-10
 
| [[Future Tactics: The Uprising (GC)]]
 
| [[Future Tactics: The Uprising (GC)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 2004-08-24
 
| 2004-08-24
 
| [[Starsky & Hutch (GC)]]
 
| [[Starsky & Hutch (GC)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 2004-10-29
 
| 2004-10-29
 
| [[Ford Racing 3 (W32)]]
 
| [[Ford Racing 3 (W32)]]
 +
|
 
|
 
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 2004-10-29
 
| 2004-10-29
 
| [[Ford Racing 3 (PS2)]]
 
| [[Ford Racing 3 (PS2)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 2004-10-29
 
| 2004-10-29
 
| [[Ford Racing 3 (XBOX)]]
 
| [[Ford Racing 3 (XBOX)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 2005-12-07
 
| 2005-12-07
 
| [[Ford Racing 3 (DS)]]
 
| [[Ford Racing 3 (DS)]]
 +
|
 
|
 
|
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 2006-05-23
 
| 2006-05-23
 
| [[Lemmings (PSP)]]
 
| [[Lemmings (PSP)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| Unreleased
 
| Unreleased
 
| [[Firearm (SNES)]]
 
| [[Firearm (SNES)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| Unreleased
 
| Unreleased
 
| [[Time Trax (GEN)]]
 
| [[Time Trax (GEN)]]
 +
|
 
|  
 
|  
 
|}
 
|}
Line 285: Line 344:
 
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQkicZOG-Z4 youtube.com/watch?v=bQkicZOG-Z4] - Video Interview.
 
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQkicZOG-Z4 youtube.com/watch?v=bQkicZOG-Z4] - Video Interview.
 
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=894_PNqBkx4 youtube.com/watch?v=894_PNqBkx4] - Interview about [[Solstice (NES)]].
 
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=894_PNqBkx4 youtube.com/watch?v=894_PNqBkx4] - Interview about [[Solstice (NES)]].
−
* [http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrHyvcfnqssXCKCMR3BYvPA?feature=watch youtube.com/channel/UCrHyvcfnqssXCKCMR3BYvPA?feature=watch] - YouTube.
+
* [https://vimeo.com/user21326665 vimeo.com/user21326665] - Vimeo.
−
 
+
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOxd-q5A0YbDh0IyZu5tdHQ youtube.com/channel/UCOxd-q5A0YbDh0IyZu5tdHQ] - YouTube.
 +
* [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-follin-82969020/ linkedin.com/in/tim-follin-82969020/] - LinkedIn.
  
 
[[Category: Composers]]
 
[[Category: Composers]]

Revision as of 17:59, 3 September 2019

Timothy John Follin
Tim Follin - 1.jpg
Born 1970-12-19 (Age 47)
Birth Place St Helens, Merseyside, England
Nationality British   UK.svg
Aliases Timothy Follin, Software Creations
Website http://baggycat.com/

Tim Follin is a British composer and sound designer who is one of the most popular video game musicians. He is also the brother of Geoff Follin, another popular video game musician, and Mike Follin.

Tim did not have prior music training before starting his music career. He attended the Liverpool Sandown Music College, but dropped out after a year of studies, Mike gave Tim a brief tutorial on creating music on the Spectrum via machine code, and Tim later wrote the music driver and soundtrack for their first professional game, Subterranean Stryker.

Tim and Mike were then hired at Software Creations by co-founder Richard Kay, it was while working at this company where Geoff came along, Tim and Geoff composed the music to a vast majority of their video games, including all of their NES titles. During Software Creations' SNES and Genesis development, the Follins would usually compose the music to the SNES versions while Tony Williams converted their compositions to the Genesis.

Citing a declining work environment, the brothers and 2 other employees left Software Creations in 1994.

The Follins then joined Malibu Interactive, however this only lasted 18 months due to the company filing for bankruptcy, while 3 games were made by the company, only Ultraverse Prime / Microcosm got released, with Time Trax and Firearm getting cancelled.

After Malibu's bankruptcy, Tim spent the rest of his career as a freelancer

Tim often didn't pay attention to the games he did music for, and as a result, many of the soundtracks were unfitting to the game itself (Pictionary being a prime example), he said that if he were to do game music again, that he'd try to make the music more fitting to the game he worked on, Tim also isn't a big fan of his video game work, with the exception of Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, he described his C64 work as nonsense he wasn't particularly happy with, however he likes the SID chip, saying making music on it was "playing an instrument in its own right", Tim seemed to enjoy his music SNES and onwards more.

Tim said that he isn't much of a gamer and just likes to compose music.

Tim's sole game programming credit (not counting music drivers) came with his fourth title, Future Games, where he created one minigame of the several featured.

Some of Tim's prominent works include Plok, Solstice, Treasure Master, Rock 'N Roll Racing, and many others.

Tim's Game Boy / Game Boy Colo(u)r music was sometimes arranged by Andy Brock, however it isn't known if he arranged the music to WWF Warzone on Game Boy.

Music Composition

Follin used drivers written by Stephen Ruddy for his early music on the Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, C64, Game Boy, Game Gear, Master System, NES, and ZX Spectrum. To utilize these drivers, Follin had to take his music and convert it to hexadecimal representations of the notes. For SNES music, Follin used a sound driver written by Mike Webb. The SNES instruments were from either a Korg M1 or Korg Wavestation, and possibly other keyboards.

GEN

According to Tim, for Time Trax, he used a sound driver written by Dean Belfield, in which he programmed the music in assembly. Unfortunately, this was the only game he ever composed on the Genesis, so the driver was never used again.

NES

Tim used a sound driver by Stephen Ruddy. He programmed the music in hexadecimal on MS-DOS, and then the music was burned onto an NES cart for playback. Tim did all of the instrument design.

SNES

Tim used a sound driver written by Mike Webb. Follin used an Ensoniq ASR10 keyboard. He also said that guitars were recorded from actual guitars, and some of the basses as well. Even at this time, Tim still had to write and program the music in hexadecimal. He also wrote on his Ensoniq and converted his sequenced files to the sound engine. He later ended up creating MIDI files on Cakewalk.

Gameography

Released Title Sample Notes
1987-??-?? Agent X II (CPC)
1987-??-?? Agent X II: The Mad Prof's Back (C64)
1987-??-?? Bubble Bobble (APL2)
1987-??-?? Chronos: A Tapestry of Time (ZXS)
1987-??-?? Star Paws (C64)
1988-??-?? Bionic Commando (AST)
Original soundtrack by Harumi Fujita and Junko Tamiya.
1988-??-?? Bionic Commando PAL (C64)
Original soundtrack by Harumi Fujita and Junko Tamiya, new songs by Follin.
1988-??-?? Bionic Commando (ZXS)
Original soundtrack by Harumi Fujita and Junko Tamiya.
1988-??-?? Black Lamp (C64)
1988-??-?? Body Slam (C64)
1988-??-?? Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (AMI)
1988-??-?? Peter Pack Rat (C64)
1988-??-?? Psycho Pigs UXB (C64)
1988-??-?? Raw Recruit (C64)
1988-??-?? Raw Recruit (ZXS)
1988-??-?? Renegade (AST)
1988-??-?? Scumball (C64)
1989-09-?? Sky Shark (NES)
1989-??-?? LED Storm (C64)
1989-??-?? Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (CPC)
1989-??-?? Qix (C64)
1989-??-?? Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (C64)
1989-??-?? Renegade (AMI)
1990-03-?? Magic Johnson's Fast Break (NES)
1990-03-?? Target: Renegade (NES)
1990-06-?? Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demons (NES) (ソルスティス 三次元迷宮の狂獣)
1990-07-?? Pictionary (NES)
1990-11-?? Silver Surfer (NES)
1990-??-?? Magic Johnson's Fast Break (C64)
1991-01-?? Qix (NES) Composer
1991-03-?? Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Taito (NES)
1991-03-?? Kiwi Kraze (NES) (New Zealand Story)
1991-12-?? Super Off Road (SNES) (スーパー オフ ロード)
1991-12-?? Treasure Master (NES)
1991-??-?? Gauntlet III: The Final Quest (AMI)
1992-11-?? The Incredible Crash Dummies (GB)
1992-??-?? Gauntlet III: The Final Quest (C64)
1993-09-?? Plok (SNES) (プロック)
1993-09-?? Rock 'N' Roll Racing (SNES) (ロックンロール レーシング)
1993-09-?? Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (SNES)
1993-11-12 Equinox (SNES)
1993-??-?? The Incredible Crash Dummies (SMS) Composer
1994-??-?? Rock 'N Roll Racing (GEN)
1995-08-?? Batman Forever (SNES) (バットマン フォーエヴァー)
1998-??-?? Bust-A-Move 3 DX (GB)
2002-02-22 Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (PS2)
2003-10-31 Ford Racing 2 (W32) (With Bjorn Lynne)
2004-05-10 Future Tactics: The Uprising (GC)
2004-08-24 Starsky & Hutch (GC)
2004-10-29 Ford Racing 3 (W32)
2004-10-29 Ford Racing 3 (PS2)
2004-10-29 Ford Racing 3 (XBOX)
2005-12-07 Ford Racing 3 (DS)
2006-05-23 Lemmings (PSP)
Unreleased Firearm (SNES)
Unreleased Time Trax (GEN)

Picture Gallery

  • Unknown source.

  • Playing a Lute; Unknown source.

  • Tim circa 1987; Unknown source.

  • Unknown source.

Links

Retrieved from "https://vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Tim_Follin&oldid=111699"