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Music - Nitrome shop

An advertisement for Nitrome music on the Nitrome.com website.

Most of the music heard in Nitrome games falls under the genre of chiptune or electronic music.

Composer history[]

The first composer for an official game released on the Nitrome.com website was Lee Nicklen for Hot Air. Nicklen was originally commissioned to create four tracks for the game, but only two were in the initial release to maintain a lower file size.[1] Lee Nicklen served as the main composer from 2006 to 2008, of which Dave Cowen started composing tracks for certain Nitrome games for the later half of 2008 beginning with Snot Put. Cowen and Nicklen continued to compose for all of Nitrome's releases up until 2010, where Nicklen stopped creating new music for Nitrome, his last work of that time being Worm Food.

Since 2010, Dave Cowen has composed the majority of music for all Nitrome games. Lee Nicklen stopped creating new music for Nitrome after 2010, though his previously composed works were reused in followups to certain games such as Skywire's original tracks in the Skywire V.I.P. games and both Cheese Dreams tracks showing up in Cheese Dreams: New Moon. He set up a Facebook page called "NitromeMusic" on September 22, 2011 to promote the Nitrome section of his Kayotix website. Nicklen began posting remasters, along with unused tracks, of previously released Nitrome games, including the two tracks composed for Fluffball (a game that was unreleased at the time).

Nitrome announced in January 2014 that Lee Nicklen would make music for their upcoming swapping game changeType(). This would be the last time Lee Nicklen would produce work for a Nitrome game. On March 5, 2015, Nitrome released a remastered version of Fluffball, an older Nitrome game that was once only accessible on Miniclip that Nicklen composed for back in 2007.

Other composers[]

Although Lee Nicklen and Dave Cowen have created the soundtracks for the majority of Nitrome games, a few other composers have also contributed tracks for some releases:

Track types[]

Most Nitrome games have two background tracks each: one for the menu (also known as "title") screens, and one that plays throughout the game itself. Some games, such as Hot Air 2 and Skywire 2, introduced an additional track that would play whenever a boss was fought. This was not consistent, particularly with many of their early releases, where boss areas could still retain the in-game theme, for instance, Aquanaut and Frost Bite 2. For smaller scale and icon games, one track was typically used for both the menu and game. All background tracks loop.

Pest Control was the earliest Nitrome game to use fanfares for completing or losing a level. A short clip of music would play in such instances, often interrupting the background music. Fanfares are also used in most Nitrome Enjoyment System games along with the Trap series and Bad Ice-Cream series. Typically, they are used in games with longer scale levels.

The title track can also serve as the in-game music in a game with selectable levels. The levels, in such cases, will have a level with an exclusively in-game track, followed by a level with the same music as heard in the title screen. Examples of this include Fat Cat, Canary and Droplets. A similar instance of this also occurs in Chisel 2, where an additional in-game track alternates with the in-game track heard in the first game.

Large scale releases, especially in mobile games, may include multiple tracks for different areas. Along with cutscene, menu and boss themes, Gunbrick (mobile) has three tracks per pack, with each track alternating in an ordered sequence within their pack until a boss is encountered. Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage has separate tracks for the titlescreen and the map screen and also uses tracks specific to each of its packs that are then dispersed in levels found in later packs.

FX[]

Effects, also known as FX, is not a type of music, but the sound played when certain things are done. The most recurring effect is the Nitrome Jingle, played at the end of a startup, both appearing in every single Nitrome game.

There have been several FX's made for Nitrome games. The second most used effect was a sped up version of the Nitrome Jingle, which was first used when point related objects were picked up. It was first used for the sound made when the yellow stars from the Hot Air series was picked up. The sound was later replaced with a different effect.

While some FX's are reused throughout other games, others are used only once. Typically, an option to toggle the sound effects is placed next to the "music off" button.

Cover art[]

Tracks available to purchase on the Nitrome shop have cover art to accompany the music. It is a screenshot from the specific game with an overlay of the game's name and composer on the top of the cover art. Below is a gallery of these music covers, in order of release date.

Gallery[]

List of Nitrome music available[]

If the "Music Available" field says "NO", the music cannot be purchased even though the other fields are filled in. Time for the tracks are provided from websites the song is purchasable on. Some tracks are only available in certain countries, while others cannot be found on the shop, but can still be purchased directly from the music store.

Name Music Available Composer Stores # of Tracks Tracks & Time
Hot Air Yes Lee Nicklen AmazonMP3
Napster
iTunes
2 Titlescreen (2:12)
Level (1:28)
Sandman No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Chick Flick No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Roly Poly No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Feed Me! Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes, Amazon mp3, Napster 2 Titlescreen (3:25)
Level (3:54)
Tanked Up Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (1:54)
Level (1:42)
Scribble No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Frost Bite Yes Lee Nicklen Available directly from iTunes 2 Titlescreen (1:53)
Level (2:10)
Skywire Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (2:54)
Level (1:35)
Space Hopper Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (1:32)
Level (1:34)
Dangle No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Hot Air 2: All Blown Up No Lee Nicklen None 6 Titlescreen
Level
Boss
Titlescreen(Miniclip)
Level(Miniclip)
Boss (Miniclip)
Square Meal No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Toxic Yes Lee Nicklen iTune
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (1:39)
Level (2:36)
Yin Yang No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Nanobots No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Off the Rails No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Headcase No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Pest Control No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Twang Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen
Level
Thin Ice No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Snow Drift Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (2:08)
Level (3:21)
Jack Frost No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Aquanaut Yes Lee Nicklen Available directly from iTunes 2 Titlescreen (2:38)
Level (2:14)
Dirk Valentine No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Magneboy Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (2:19)
Level (2:39)
Cheese Dreams Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (3:19)
Level (2:03)
Knuckleheads Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (1:12)
Level (3:02)
Skywire 2 Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
3 Titlescreen (2:54)
Level (1:35)
Boss (2:08)
Small Fry Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (2:11)
Level (2:37)
Mutiny Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (1:07)
Level (3:21)
Final Ninja Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (2:50)
Level (2:34)
Onekey Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (1:28)
Level (2:15)
Mallet Mania Yes Dave Cowen Available directly from iTunes 2 Titlescreen (1:27)
Level (3:21)
Dog House Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (2:32)
Level (2:25)
Numbskull No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Bomba Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (1:09)
Level (2:41)
Flipside Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (1:09)
Level (3:11)
Toxic II Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen
Level
Fat Cat Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (2:06)
Level (2:02)
Frost Bite 2 Yes Lee Nicklen See "Frost Bite" 2 Titlescreen
Level
Ice Breaker Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (2:33)
Level (2:19)
Pixel Pop Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
3 Level 1 Music (1:29)
Level 2 (1:29)
Titlescreen/Level 3 Music (1:29)
Flash Cat Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (2:08)
Level (2:04)
Twin Shot Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (1:13)
Level (3:10)
Mirror Image Yes Dave Cowen Available directly from iTunes 2 Titlescreen (1:03)
Level (3:11)
The Glassworks No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Ice Breaker: The Red Clan No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Rustyard Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (1:52)
Level (3:26)
Final Ninja Zero Yes Dave Cowen iTunes 2 Titlescreen (2:14)
Level (2:04)
Power Up Yes Dave Cowen Available directly from iTunes 2 Titlescreen (1:02)
Music (3:07)
Droplets Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (2:09)
Level (2:12)
Double Edged Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (1:56)
Level (1:41)
Castle Corp Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (0:59)
Level (3:11)
Parasite Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (2:17)
Level (2:17)
Twin Shot 2 Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (1:13)
Good Level Music (3:10)
Evil Level Music (2:26)
Rockitty No Dave Cowen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Nebula Yes Dave Cowen Available directly from iTunes 2 Titlescreen (0:57)
Level (3:02)
Cave Chaos Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (2:17)
Level (2:09)
Graveyard Shift No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Cold Storage Yes Lee Nicklen Available directly from iTunes 2 Titlescreen (2:07)
Level (3:11)
Ice Breaker: The Gathering No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
B.C. Bow Contest Yes Dave Cowen Available directly from iTunes 2 Titlescreen (1:00)
Level (3:19)
Avalanche Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (1:09)
Level (3:07)
Rubble Trouble Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (0:57)
Level (2:57)
Skywire V.I.P. Yes (Same as Skywire) Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Same Music as Skywire
Titlescreen (2:54)
Level (1:35)
Blast RPG Yes Dave Cowen iTunes (only in America)
AmazonMP3
3 Titlescreen (0:30)
Level Select Screen (n/a)
Level (3:02)
Tiny Castle Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
2 Titlescreen (1:02)
Level (3:15)
Chisel Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (0:58)
Level (2:59)
Bullethead Yes Lee Nicklen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (0:59)
Level (2:01)
Fault Line Yes Dave Cowen iTunes
AmazonMP3
Napster
2 Titlescreen (0:59)
Level (2:57)
Ribbit No Dave Cowen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Worm Food No Lee Nicklen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Temple Glider No Dave Cowen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Sky Serpents No Dave Cowen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Enemy 585 No Dave Cowen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Super Treadmill No Dave Cowen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Bad Ice-Cream No Dave Cowen None 2 Titlescreen
Level
Rush No Dave Cowen None 2 Titlescreen
Level

Trivia[]

  • The longest track in a Nitrome game is the titlescreen music to Feed Me, which, according to iTunes, is 3 minutes and 54 seconds long.
  • The shortest track of music in a Nitrome game is the start screen music for Leap Day, lasting for a duration of twenty-three seconds (0:23).
  • In Pixel Pop, all 3 tracks are exactly one minute and twenty-nine seconds (1:29).
  • The music for Hot Air 2: All Blown Up on Nitrome.com was completely different then the music on Miniclip. 3 tracks completely different than the Nitrome.com music for Hot Air 2 were made and released only in the Miniclip version of the game for unknown reasons.
  • Orange nose enemy from Jack Frost has hands in the ad for music section of the shop.

References[]

  1. Kayotix: Hot Air, retrieved 19 April 2017.
  2. Eirik Suhrke on Twitter: [1], 17 March 2014, retrieved 19 April 2017.

External links[]


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