Soundtracking a KS level with SID's?

I grew up with the Commodore 64 computer which as you probably know has a unique culture and aesthetic surrounding it's sound chip, the SID. On my computer I have a SID emulator and a library of almost every single SID tune ever documented. Now my question is this, I've heard people use these tunes in homebrew games and ROM hacks, but what if I were to soundtrack my KS level with them?

Getting permission from the composers is unlikely, I know a lot of the greats are just happy but their music is still enjoyed, but what about the KS archive?

I do have QuadraSID (a VST instrument) and use it a lot in my own music, but the idea of using pre-made music is seductive, since (a) my game is freaking massive, (b) these tunes are from my childhood and (c) they have a unifying technological underpinning.

Any thoughts on this?

If its under copyright, then no, you can't use them, what with it being illegal and all.

Go for it.

I love you Sal. You are awesome, you pwn everyone else and you're funny as hell. And the best part is that I bet you are not even doing it intentional!


i now agree with this


if you ask permission, you should be able to!

Eh... I'm confused, I was hoping for some help with what is a rather grey area, but I seem to be attracting snappy little one liners. As for "duh it's illegal", that seems a tad naiive to me, I can think of a well known KS level that uses a well known chiptune and other copyrighted material, countless ROMS and respected homebrew games have used SID tunes as soundtracks, the tunes themselves are listened to on SLAY radio which is well respected, and are in a public archive available to download, which a lot of the musicians and composers are well aware of... It would appear that in a way they have entered a sort of public domain.

But whatever, I'm going to give it a miss, I know this community kinda looks down on this sort of thing, and I'd rather have people be able to play my level.

It basically comes into the same category as software piracy: it's illegal, but nobody seems to care.

Well, it's similar to a point, in that it's illegal but perfectly doable without being caught, but, when you consider that the public archive of SID tunes is fairly high profile and considered a treasure, wheras a website that dealt with pirated warez and had the same kind of profile and traffic wouldn't last long before it was taken down.

Incidentally, does anyone here listen to SLAY radio? It's good music to map to.

I do

And Slay radio is actually a good example of what you're asking. The C64 has died and so has its games. Yet it is still being played using emulators and the SlayRadio scene (in which I'm taking part) is about remixing those old songs.

Normally you'll need to ask for permission, but its nearly impossible to get that. Although, if you want songs from legends like Reyn Ouwehand (who made numerous songs for the C64) you can ask him through the slayradio community. I'm sure he'll like your idea and agree.

Also, if you want to go for the SID sound and make your own songs, you should try GoatTracker (mono/3chn edition). Its a great tool to get sid sounds. Do save frequently though, as the tracker is known to crash if you use it improperly.

Aside from that, you could always ask if someone is willing to make you a chiptune. I'm a chiptune artist myself and I'm able to get SID sounds in my music if I want.

You can also try and download one of the many SID songs, convert them to MP3 and use those. (Check the High Voltage Sid Collection).

In this case, I would classify what you want to do as making a fan-game. Many people like that, as long as you try to keep it close to the original.

Monty on the Run! Monty on the Run! YEEEAAAAH!

Monty really is one of the greatest chiptunes, especially when you consider it's age... and it was one of the first to show that a home micro could make 'real music' - such a big arrangement and buildup, with only 3 note polyphony... Rob Hubbard was the guy that got me into electronic music production

Anyways, that's cool you're part of the community, LPChip, and it's kind of you to offer your skills. I'll let you know... I will check out goat tracker, I've never seen it before, so thanks for the tip. Currently I use Cubase SX 3 and have QuadraSID. Hell I even bought Rob Hubbard's sound bank . I'm very happy with the sound, it may not be exact, but it's as good as.

I've never made a chiptune myself, I tend to make breakcore and funky IDM, with a heavy dose of electropop, 80's synthpop and chiptune. Most of what I compose doesn't fit the calm atmosphere of Knytt Stories, but I might have a go at throwing something together, as a challenge to myself.

I have looked through the High Voltage SID library, a lot of the old classic tunes don't really fit KS either, they're too bright and bubbly and cover up the ambiences, but I've found a few modern SID's by 4-Mat (Mat Simmonds) which are very nice and chilled. I may just ask people online to compose most of the music, and perhaps throw in a few modern SID's, with permission. That should keep everybody happy.