Dangerous Dave in the Deserted Pirate's Hideout (the game & soundtrack) are released! Chipbi

I'm so happy that the game and soundtrack are now available! The game is free to play and download on iOS (coming soon to other platforms), and the soundtrack is available on BandCamp. And the soundtrack is also out on iTunes, and Amazon and Google Play.

It features the wonderful fiddle playing of Alisa Rose (who also played on The String Arcade), and I play a variety of slide guitars/dobro/banjo/fretless banjo/upright bass/lapsteel etc, as well as incorporate a lot of fun chip sounds in order to pay homage to the original 1988 game.

Here's an interview with Dren about Dangerous Dave at Examiner.com

And here's the Gamebits podcast featuring gameplay of Dangerous Dave and an extended interview

and now, some words from a press release...

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n 1988, legendary game designer John Romero (Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein 3D, Ravenwood Fair) created Dangerous Dave in The Deserted Pirate's Hideout, a Super Mario-inspired platformer set in the backwoods of Louisiana. The game originally released on an Apple II magazine cover disk and was later ported to DOS.

Last week Dangerous Dave made its mobile debut as an iPhone/iPad download that includes the 8-bit original, plus a remastered HD version with new artwork and original music composed by Dren McDonald. McDonald's Dangerous Dave soundtrack album has 11 original compositions that bring new depth to Romero's rollicking redneck adventure, which originally had no music.

With a hybrid style best described as "chipbilly," this catchy soundtrack combines the twangy country/western swamp music of Dangerous Dave's redneck roots with nostalgic chip sounds reminiscent of the original game's electronic sound effects.

"I wanted to pay tribute to Dave's hillbilly nature, but also include the historical aspect of the game, and the iconic chip sound effects that it employed," says Dren McDonald of the music's chipbilly vibe. "I imagined a group of bluegrass musicians on a porch, jamming together with chip musicians on circuit-bent GameBoys and laptops. Game environments like the caves and the pirate hideouts also play a part in the composition, but the overall sense of blending these instruments together was the guiding principle."

"Dren's soundtrack for Dangerous Dave hit the target perfectly -- 80's chiptune references within a modern hillbilly sound that's bent toward the kind of diversity that games demand in their music," says John Romero. "The amazing violin on several tracks helps showcase the excellent musical framework Dren composed specially for this game."