This jam is now over. It ran from 2023-12-17 23:00:00 to 2024-01-25 23:00:00. View 19 entries
Calling chiptune music creators for our GB music jam! Make some tracks during the winter break to participate in a free download Bandcamp digital release and limited cassette run. Jump in and craft those chip ninja beats!
This is a non-ranked jam, just make music for fun and show everyone your creativity! Our favorite tracks will be curated by Swedish Columbia, known for the Goofy Foot Power Chiptunes compilation and the soundtrack of the 10th Annual Classic Tetris World Championship Compilation. The release will be free, with a limited run of cassettes available at the lowest possible price to cover costs and distribution, and will include link-backs to all artists.
The only requirement for participation is that the core of the track must come from a Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Analogue Pocket or any GB/GBA compatible system or emulators, including the NDS and 3DS consoles. This is a non-purist jam, you can use effects such as reverb, delay, EQ and compression, but the main chip sound must remain.
There is also no limit on how many Game Boy's you are using. Go bananas!
Over the years, various music-making software for the Game Boy consoles has emerged. Those 8-bit sounds, which bring joy to both musicians and gamers, compel us to dance, relax, or to explore! Here are our recommended tools for this jam; take a look and choose the one that suits you best:
Little Sound DJ (LSDJ) is a powerful GB tracker for creating intricate musical compositions. It's somewhat challenging to use, but it allows full utilization of the DMG sound chip. It's free to download and open for donations to support development.
STEPPER is an Elektron-inspired 16-step sequencer for the GBA, focusing on ease of use and live performance. It let's you play it like an instrument, transposing tracks on the fly while keeping everything in the same scale or dynamically sequencing pattern chains. It is free and open-source and accepting donations for development.
Nanoloop is an esoteric 16-step sequencer geared towards live performance. It comes in several versions; you can buy custom cartridges with extra features (like an analog sync port) or try the demo. Nanoloop 2 is also built into the Analogue Pocket.
Have fun, and if you have any questions you can use the discussion forums on this jam or contact Bad Diode or Catbeats on Instagram.
Cheers!
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